i have a fabia sport 1.9 tdi 58 reg with 205 45 16 alloys. the spare wheel is a 195 55 15 steel is this against law

I dont know if its against the law but I think its pot luck if you have a spare wheel. I have a 57 fabia with a spare wheel and my father has a 59 without. Both cars are level 2 but he has a punture repair inflator.

No its not against the law, the overall diameter of the spare is exactly the same as your alloys fitted to the car. The width difference is why the wheel has a max recommended speed printed on it. If it were illegal then all space saver spares would also be illegal.

I have 225/40x18s on my road wheels and a 205/50x16 spare.

I dont know if its against the law but I think its pot luck if you have a spare wheel. I have a 57 fabia with a spare wheel and my father has a 59 without. Both cars are level 2 but he has a punture repair inflator.

A spare wheel on a new Fabia is not pot luck,

if you ask for one when you order the car you will get it, if not you get a repair kit. (You don't get one for nothing it come's at a cost)

A spare wheel on a new Fabia is not pot luck,

if you ask for one when you order the car you will get it, if not you get a repair kit. (You don't get one for nothing it come's at a cost)

When I bought mine there was no mention of extra money for the spare wheel and I never asked, I just haggled on the price and off I went.

It was'nt until I got home and looked over the car and noticed I had a full size spare wheel. My father did the same thing at the same gagrage (18 months later) and when he got home no spare wheel. It appears it must be down to certain dealers.

Sorry for going off the thread a bit.

The removal of the spare wheel being standard came about 8 months ago, all cars suppled after that date have no spare wheel unless its ordered as an optional extra which costs £50. If you dont specify the wheel as an extra, you get a can of tyre weld instead. My dads greenline also came with a tyre inflator, a jack, wheel wrench and locking wheel nut key. So 18 months ago you would have got a spare as standard, and then from somewhere around April 2009 you would not have.

No its not against the law, the overall diameter of the spare is exactly the same as your alloys fitted to the car. The width difference is why the wheel has a max recommended speed printed on it. If it were illegal then all space saver spares would also be illegal.

I have 225/40x18s on my road wheels and a 205/50x16 spare.

195 55 15 is actually slightly larger in diameter than 205 45 16 but neglible. I guess the wider tyre will compensate for smaller diameter when it comes to fuel economy and engine effort to move the car.

No its not against the law, the overall diameter of the spare is exactly the same as your alloys fitted to the car. The width difference is why the wheel has a max recommended speed printed on it. If it were illegal then all space saver spares would also be illegal.

I have 225/40x18s on my road wheels and a 205/50x16 spare.

Mannyo, could you please explain how a "255/40x18 tyre is the same overall diameter as a 205/50x16". One is 18" diameter the other 16". This is a 1" height difference when fitted to the car. This means the ride height on one corner of the car will be different and the smaller tyre will be rotating at a difference speed to the rest of the wheels. This screws the ESP up as the computer thinks one of the wheels is on ice/oil. Or have I misunderstood what the x18 and x16 mean.

Putting larger wheels on a car increases it's top speed but reduces it's 0-60 due to the gearing change and extra weight of the larger typres so I prefer the performance rather than the look.

EDIT: OK should be 225/40 and not 255/40 my mistake.

Edited 3 January, 201016 yr by davidbrownuk

Mannyo, could you please explain how a "255/40x18 tyre is the same overall diameter as a 205/50x16". One is 18" diameter the other 16". This is a 1" height difference when fitted to the car. This means the ride height on one corner of the car will be different and the smaller tyre will be rotating at a difference speed to the rest of the wheels. This screws the ESP up as the computer thinks one of the wheels is on ice/oil. Or have I misunderstood what the x18 and x16 mean.

People may find this site useful for calculating overall diameter of different tyres:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I think the 255/40x18 is a mistype of the manyo's 225/40/18 - and if that is the case, you are correct that there is a 1" difference in tyre diameter (a 4% error at the speedo).

In the Original Poster's case, 205/45x16 v 195/55/15 the difference in diameter is negligble (0.8%).

I hope this is useful for people.

Pete

People may find this site useful for calculating overall diameter of different tyres:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I think the 255/40x18 is a mistype of the manyo's 225/40/18 - and if that is the case, you are correct that there is a 1" difference in tyre diameter (a 4% error at the speedo).

In the Original Poster's case, 205/45x16 v 195/55/15 the difference in diameter is negligble (0.8%).

I hope this is useful for people.

Pete

Thanks Pete very useful website.