My i year old octavia has a full size steel spare which is labelled 50 mph maximum speed. What is the reason for this?------is it anything to do with the main wheels on the car being alloys? My local dealer didn't have an answer for this query.

Edited 19 December, 201015 yr by roop5

Because the type and size of tyre on the spare may be different from your normal wheels it is advised to keep below 50 mph and repair / replace the original tyre as soon as possible. The 205/55R16 spare is the "standard" full size spare for most if not all Octavias even if your normal wheels are a different size. On my Scout the Summer tyres are 225/50/17 but the spare is still 205/55R16. Even now I'm running 205/55R16 they are winter tyres so it would be a different tyre on the spare. I don't know why the dealer didn't know, scary really that these are the people that sell and service cars yet they know so little!!

Its not always obvious though, why does the Fabia vRS have a warning on the spare? Same tyre as whats fitted on the car.

Is the Fabia vRS spare on a steel wheel though? May have different offset. I think all the spares are labelled that way so if you happen to have 16" steel wheels with the same tyre you'd be fine.

It is on a steel, however plenty of other cars (inc Skoda) have steel spares and no warning.

My view it's a bit of 'Health and Safety' culture. Just in case the person who's changed it hasn't tightened up the bolts sufficiently and hopefully heeding a 50mph limit shouldn't inflict too much damage, were the worst to happen....

It's the only thing I came up with. Especially as mentioned on the Fabia, when they were exactly the same size and width, with a proper tyre fitted. What other reason could there be? Plus the P/N of the spare is the same as the one used if you were to ask for a set of 'winter steels' for the Fabia.

Steve

I reckon its purely because they fit the same spare wheel across the range regardless of the size of the other wheels on the car. So your spare could be an identical tyre to the others on the car but will be marked as a temporary speed limited spare.

Isn't it strictly illegal to fit different sized tyres on the same axle but the police turn a blind eye for so called space saver spares? (hence the 50mph limit on what is in reality a standard everyday tyre rated much faster on the sidewall).

I would happily drive faster than 50mph on my spare, but I would be concerned that I'd have a lot of explaining to do if stopped by plod.

I don't think its got anything to do with concerns over drivers' ability to change a wheel properly, but I could be wrong of course.

I reckon its purely because they fit the same spare wheel across the range regardless of the size of the other wheels on the car. So your spare could be an identical tyre to the others on the car but will be marked as a temporary speed limited spare.

Isn't it strictly illegal to fit different sized tyres on the same axle but the police turn a blind eye for so called space saver spares? (hence the 50mph limit on what is in reality a standard everyday tyre rated much faster on the sidewall).

I would happily drive faster than 50mph on my spare, but I would be concerned that I'd have a lot of explaining to do if stopped by plod.

I don't think its got anything to do with concerns over drivers' ability to change a wheel properly, but I could be wrong of course.

I think you are about right, all part of the nanny state we live in

Does anyone have a recent Octavia with a spare (ie the one supplied with the car) that isn't stickered with a 50mph restriction? I'm just wondering if the "full sized spare wheel" actually exists for any of the range?

The whole reason for the 50 MPH limit on the spare is generally only applicable to a space saver whell due to the difference in diameter. If you were to drive faster than the 50MPH limit it would begin to effect the differential as you would have two wheels spinning at different rates due the the size. At low speeds this effect is neglegable but at higher speeds you can seriously damage the diff

In regards to the full size spare there is no reason whatsoever to stick to a 50 MPH limit as the wheels will be virtually identical in diameter to the original wheels (in most cases) as its often misconceived that the middle number in the tyre size (i.e. 225/40/18 is a measurement. In fact its not it is a percentage of the width of a tyre. Hence a 225/40/18 tyre attached to an alloy would be neglegably different to a 205/55/16.

The whole reason for the 50 MPH limit on the spare is generally only applicable to a space saver whell due to the difference in diameter. If you were to drive faster than the 50MPH limit it would begin to effect the differential as you would have two wheels spinning at different rates due the the size. At low speeds this effect is neglegable but at higher speeds you can seriously damage the diff

In regards to the full size spare there is no reason whatsoever to stick to a 50 MPH limit as the wheels will be virtually identical in diameter to the original wheels (in most cases) as its often misconceived that the middle number in the tyre size (i.e. 225/40/18 is a measurement. In fact its not it is a percentage of the width of a tyre. Hence a 225/40/18 tyre attached to an alloy would be neglegably different to a 205/55/16.

I have a big fat 205/55 x 16 steel spare. This is the spare marked with a 50mph limit in the boot of my VRS.

In the brochure its says: "Only a temporary ‘Space saver’ spare wheel can be ordered with ‘Neptune’ alloy wheels as an option."

Clearly any differential based restriction would not apply in this case as there's about 5mm difference in overall diameter and that could easily be found between two identically sized tyres due to wear and inflation differences.

It may be not actually save very much space, but this is what Skoda call a "space saver". It should more properly be called a "temporary speed restricted spare".

PS Checking the footnotes in the brochure has answered my previous question. You can actually get a full size spare on an "S" for example. As the "S" comes on 15" wheels as standard I assume this is not 205/55 x 16!

Edited 23 December, 201015 yr by juan27

Presumably a 205/55/16 wheel and tyre is narrower than the 18 wheel? Some space saving there?

Presumably a 205/55/16 wheel and tyre is narrower than the 18 wheel? Some space saving there?

Depends on the wheel rim width, but I doubt there's much more than 35 mm. I think its been posted that you can fit an 18" Neptune alloy + tyre in the spare wheel well, so I'm not sure what real world gains it provides.

I think most people would assume a space saver is considerably different in size and hence the spare wheel well would be much smaller too as on other cars I have owned.

About a year ago, I had a tyre defect on a newish Pirelli PZero on my Fabia, which looked like a slash. I was part-exing the car and had to get it back to Scotland and as soon as ATS deflated it it was apparent it was a manufacturing defect. I was miffed as it meant I had to drive 300 or so miles on the (virgin) spare since it would have been too dangerous to reinflate the original. For that journey it effectively meant I had no usable spare, but fingers crossed I set off. I was however happy to do upto 90mph (when I reached that bit of private road of course...) as the tyre was of the same size and rating as the original 4 even though the wheel showed a speed warning. I think I would have experienced some feedback if the wheel was "suffering". Of course, some on the forum told me how silly I'd been... but over a century ago they thought you'd die if you went over 25mph...

My 09 FL has a full-size steel with the same tyre as the alloys and no sticker.

I think that in these days of rabid litigation, Skoda are covering their butts just in case 'something happens' even though it may have nothing to do with the 'space saver wheel'.

Mac

My 09 FL has a full-size steel with the same tyre as the alloys and no sticker.

Yes in the brochure some facelift models can be ordered with a full size spare. The VRS isn't one of them.