The yeti boot does not have wheel well as such look up to the post by The Plumber showing an image of the bottom of the boot.

Does the depth of the raised floor allow for the full size alloy? If not, you'd be better off with the 16" steel wheel wouldn't you?

An old argument, which Skoda/Vag dont seem to care much about.

All you can do is chew the dealers ear off at ordering time that car must have it, at no cost, and get it in writing!

I collected my Octy in December last, on the understanding that a full sized wheel would be provided free of charge. This was agreed and confirmed in writing. Having been a user of the "gunk stuff" I can tell you that it does not work if the damage is in the sidewall of the tyre.

Just checked the on line manual and special screws are mentioned for fitting the spare. Does not say where they can be found though.

Must look- maybe in the wheel with the tools. Anyone know?

Just been called back by the service department at Gordon Lamb. They have never heard of special bolts being required and agree the standard ones for the Pallas alloys will fit. On their head be it.

The best way around this would be keep a hold of the one you have at the moment before you trade it in for a new one, that's if the new car does not come with one.

My spare has never been on the car yet

Hopefully, you'd tell the buyer, otherwise, the poor sod might find out he has no spare wheel when it's dark, raining and he's in the middle of nowhere!

Does the depth of the raised floor allow for the full size alloy? If not, you'd be better off with the 16" steel wheel wouldn't you?

You will find a long discussion on the Yeti pages here http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/136639-boot-space/

I will not waste my money on a wheel and tyre combination that is not fit for purpose. All wheels and tyres should be of the same dimensions, this is particularly so for all wheel drive vehicles like the Yeti which also has sophisticated electronic chassis controls. It is not good practice to use dissimilar wheel/tyres for a number of reasons, the electronics will be generating incorrect information to the ECU which in turn could be processing that incorrect information and wrongly acting on it. Having differentials working overtime for long periods of time can cause ware issues with the bearings and journals in the differentials. The car may handle differently. the travelling speed with the supposed Full Sized Spare Wheel is reduced, this may be for safety or mechanical issues it is not satisfactory. If one needs to change a wheel/tyre one may be delayed in any case due to down time, the last thing one would want to suffer then is a prolonged journey at a slower pace especially if it is a very long journey. Appointments could be lost. One may be stuck with the small spare wheel/tyre for some time one cannot always rely on finding an identical replacement particularly in remote places or in rural areas.

I would rather suffer some loss of space and have the convenience and safety of a real full sized and identical wheel tyre as all the rest on the vehicle. I will build a plywood floor, very easy to do and take it from there. I may also commission a proper outside spare wheel holder like those fund on larger 4x4 vehicles. One person in Australia has modified a Thule Cycle Holder on another similar vehicle. This seams to work quite well.

I do not think that Tyre weld or gloop is satisfactory, it will only work with small simple punctures through the tread. It will not repair large holes or holes in the side wall. their may be issues with safety with this also. Any of these repairs might be very temporary. I do not think that people have thought it through and imagined just how inconvenient not having any spare at all might possibly be. Great f your down the road in your own neck of the wood but what if you are not!

You won't get any argument from me about the bottle of gunge being useful, that's why I ordered the spare wheel.

If I have to use it, it will be to get me to my destination where I will then get the original tyre replaced, for me, the spare wheel is there to get me where I'm going and then it's back in the boot.

I would have to be somewhere extremely remote not to be able to get a tyre fitted by the mobile vans from Kwik Fit, ATS etc.

I'd rather be late than not get there at all...

Do these mobile tyre vans, ATS etc work in the middle of the night and do they cover areas like the remoter parts Wales or even worse Scotland? The thing is, recently I twice visited a well known tyre dealer and on those occasions I had to wait hours for a tyre to come as they did not have my size in of the tyre of my choice, then when the new tyre did arrive at the depot it was a different pattern but nominally the correct size. That was in the middle of the day Living here one soon learns that even simple things can take a long time to sort, I am sure that other similar areas have the same problems.

Do these mobile tyre vans, ATS etc work in the middle of the night and do they cover areas like the remoter parts Wales or even worse Scotland? The thing is, recently I twice visited a well known tyre dealer and on those occasions I had to wait hours for a tyre to come as they did not have my size in of the tyre of my choice, then when the new tyre did arrive at the depot it was a different pattern but nominally the correct size. That was in the middle of the day Living here one soon learns that even simple things can take a long time to sort, I am sure that other similar areas have the same problems.

I'm sure they'll cover those areas, but maybe at a premium or a wait (unless you're on on of the more remote islands). I don't believe they'll come out in the middle of the night, but that is what the spare wheel is for, to get you out of an emergency situation.

I only do about 25000 miles a year and if I have to do a couple of hundred miles on the spare (at reduced speed) before I can get the tyre replaced then I'll do so.

The spare wheel is a temporary fix for me and I'd be prepared to travel back out of the wilderness to get it replaced... I would also have phoned ahead and booked the correct tyre from whoever could supply it for when I am out of the remote part of the country.

I would just prefer to have a spare exactly the same as the rest of the wheels/tyres. For me less inconvenience and the ability to carry on as previously.

Edited 22 January, 201016 yr by Anthony 1

Its a space saver as an option on the vRS NOT a full size spare..apparantly

I was told that as well, it's not completely true...whilst not being a full-sized 18" spare it is a normal, 16" steel wheel (mine came with a Goodyear tyre on it). No speed warning stickers on it...certainly not what I'd class as a traditional skinny "space-saver", although compared to the remaining alloys it'll look like it!

We have a Scout with variable boot floor and full size alloy spare and have no problems with the vbf not fitting properly. All works wonderfully.

I would just prefer to have a spare exactly the same as the rest of the wheels/tyres

Also means that should you get one of those unrepairable punctures you can purchase one new tyre, and by using the new spare you end up with a pair of new tyres, and a part used spare, for the price of one tyre

We have a Scout with variable boot floor and full size alloy spare and have no problems with the vbf not fitting properly.

Does the "normal" boot floor fit flush, or does the Alloy eat into the gap between the two floors. If the later, by how much?

When I had a flat tyre on my old Mk2 my 17" Pegasus (225/45/17) alloy would not sit in the well and allow the boot carpet to sit flush, oddly enough it was about 20mm proud, the VBF fitted OK as it created a gap of around 4-5 inches above the original carpet floor. The steel spare was 205mm and the wheel well sized accordingly.

And who really cares if the spare is steel or 16" or skinny or limited to 50 mph or whatever? As long as it can get you off the hard shoulder of the M25 quicker than a can of that crappy gunk and a split sidewall it gets my vote.

I would just prefer to have a spare exactly the same as the rest of the wheels/tyres. For me less inconvenience and the ability to carry on as previously.

Very few manufacturers offer a full size spare anymore.

Its not an uncommon practice to delete the spare wheel now by manufacturers. BMWs and also my new Mazda 6 dont come with one, the well is still there but its filled with part of the BOSE stereo system. You can get a wheel from the dealer parts department but its not fitted as standard.

My L&K (58 plate) has 17" 7J Sputnik alloys but a 16" 6.5 J steel spare (it fits I've used it twice due to the rubbish roads here in Aberdeen). The 7J wheel does not allow the boot carpet to fit flushly so I am now looking for some 16" 6.5J alloys for the long term (I have a set of 16" 6.5 J steelies clad in Michelin Pilot Alpins for the snowy stuff, that came off yesterday probably saved me twice a week since christmas on the icy stuff) as the ride on 16's is far better it will eliminate the mismatch in wheel and tyres problem that sets up mayhem in the TPMS and ABS when I have the spare on with 17's on the other 3 wheels. It also negates the 50 mph problem. The query about tyre fixing vans in the remote north is true both ways, the big chains don't get you there, but the locals will know a man who can, at a cost. By the way on my other car (Alfa GTV which only comes with a skinny space saver cos a full size one fills the boot) I have had the joy of nervously driving 117 miles on a 50 mile 50 mph space saver on a wet sunday night to get home as there was no where open between inverness and aberdeen! Hence the liking for full size spares.

Do these mobile tyre vans, ATS etc work in the middle of the night and do they cover areas like the remoter parts Wales or even worse Scotland? The

The ATS ones work out of a depot during normal hours.

I had a puncture in Barmouth, Wales last year and had to drive home on the spare as the mobile didn't cover than area. I also had two tyres go 2 years ago in Whitehaven, West Cumbria and the nearest mobile was Blackpool!

Steve

I have a Limited Edition VRs that has special 18" alloys, however the spare is a 16" steel. Does anyone know if an 18" alloy will fit in the wheel well of an Estate?

I have a Limited Edition VRs that has special 18" alloys, however the spare is a 16" steel. Does anyone know if an 18" alloy will fit in the wheel well of an Estate?

Believe that it fits 'across' wise as it will roughly be the same diameter, however the 18" wheel and tyre are wider and will stand proud of the wheel well pushing the boot floor up.

Believe that it fits 'across' wise as it will roughly be the same diameter, however the 18" wheel and tyre are wider and will stand proud of the wheel well pushing the boot floor up.

You don't need the same wheel as spare, it just needs to be the same radius on the outside of the tyre, so, let's say you have 215/45/17 alloys, if you spare is steel with 205/60/15 the difference in radius is something like 0.26%. Aestethics suffer, but it's emergency spare, it's not supposed to be pretty, as long as it fits in the boot.

If you ask me the whole spare wheel issue needs a class action. Out of 7 punctures in my life, 5 ended in tyre shredded to bits before reaching hard shoulder. That can of foam is good for a hairdressers cabrio driven along Brighton shore, not for something like Scout or vRS. If manufacturer wants to save weight and emissions, they should provide run flat tyres. Otherwise spare, as well as jack (which, as Auto Express found to their inconvenience, is an option with spare on Scout) is a must.

Edited 26 January, 201016 yr by v0n

If I'm correct, the space saver is designed to work with the same bolts as the standard alloys, whereas a normal 16" steel wheel needs different bolts...

We've just ordered an Octavia Estate & chose to order a full size steel wheel with tools for £55 extra. I think this is bargain. I was told tyre will be 195/65/16 which is a little smaller than the 205 width on car but a lot better than the spacesaver .i.e. no speed restrictions ( apart from common sense !) and no mileage restriction (50mph/120miles on spacesaver).

I have a MK6 Golf supplied with the spacesaver . This "minature" spacesaver wheel is significantly smaller in diameter as well as in the width than wheel/tyre on the car. VW do not give you the option to order either the spacesaver , compressor & aerosol or "full" size steel wheel on the Golf. I had to order wheel ,tyre,boot floor raisers & longer clamp bolt separately at inflated spare part prices . VW new Polo has full size steel wheel as std.

I'll check bolt sizes on delivery. I would have thought bolt would be smaller in length for steel wheels .

The best way around this would be keep a hold of the one you have at the moment before you trade it in for a new one, that's if the new car does not come with one.

My spare has never been on the car yet

You don't need the same wheel as spare, it just needs to be the same radius on the outside of the tyre, so, let's say you have 215/45/17 alloys, if you spare is steel with 205/60/15 the difference in radius is something like 0.26%. Aestethics suffer, but it's emergency spare, it's not supposed to be pretty, as long as it fits in the boot.

If you ask me the whole spare wheel issue needs a class action. Out of 7 punctures in my life, 5 ended in tyre shredded to bits before reaching hard shoulder. That can of foam is good for a hairdressers cabrio driven along Brighton shore, not for something like Scout or vRS. If manufacturer wants to save weight and emissions, they should provide run flat tyres. Otherwise spare, as well as jack (which, as Auto Express found to their inconvenience, is an option with spare on Scout) is a must.

Are you saying that Auto Exress ordered a spare wheel as an option and even then it didn't come with a Jack ??