Hi, I wonder if any one can help with a bit of info?

I want to get a full size spare for my Superb II. It came with the 16" steel spare, but as it's the SE (which has 17" rims), that still doesn't count as full size, so it has the 50mph stickers on it and basically means that if I needed it, I would get out of immediate trouble, but not really be able to go far - I drive across Europe fairly regularly, so the thought of being stuck at 50mph for potentially 100s of miles or having to find a new tyre in Germany at the weekend isn't a good one!!

So, two questions:

If I get a 17" alloy (I don't think they do steels?) then firstly, what size would I need to match the originals? I've found a 17" wheel from a 2005 VW Passat, which is 7.5J and 47ET. The guy can't find the stud pattern size, but is definitely 5 stud, a bit of google research suggests that all recent passats are 112. Is this basically the same wheel as the original spec on the Superb SE?

Second question: will the bigger wheel fit in the space in the boot? I realise that the overall diameter is the same, it's the depth I'm worried about as the 16" spare is 205 and the 17" wheels have 225 tyres. Just wondered whether anyone has tried fitting a 225 in the boot and if so, whether the boot liner will still go flat... it's only an extra 20mm, so I'm hoping it will be ok?

Thank you to anyone who can help and save me going out in the cold to take a wheel off and have a look!

I changed the 17" wich is original on the elegance in sweden to the 16" that comes with the ambitionpackage. I therefore chose the 16" sparewheel (17" is available also), but despite it being a 'real' sparewheel (not those slim things that shouldnt even be considered a wheel) i still got the 80kmph sticker on it. Its the same tyrebrand, model and size as the ones on my original alloys and the steelrim is the same as i got for my wintertires and it still got that sticker..As long as its a normal tyre it shouldnt be any problem to go above 80kmph (50mph).

I alredy mentioned it, but it shouldnt be any problem putting a 17" in the boot, since its available as an option atleast here in sweden.

my Elegance (with 18" Alloys) came with a 16" Spare - yes, it has 50MPH on it, but, does have a full speed rated tyre on it, and as it has the same rolling radius (as close as poss with a 16" anyways) it IS a full-size (technically) spare wheel - it's the size that would come on a GreeLine Spec car.

Al.

My spare wheel -18'' Themisto fitted with 225/40 tyre fits beautifully in the wheel well underneath boot floor !

Sorry forgot to say my car is a mark2 Superb Elegance 4x4

My spare wheel -18'' Themisto fitted with 225/40 tyre fits beautifully in the wheel well underneath boot floor !

I had the Thermisto 18" with 225/40 tyre for spare in my Superb Elegance Hatch, I also have the Thermisto 18" 225/40 tyre in my new Superb Elegance Combi both fitted in perfectly.

With the hatch one dealer said you could not get the full size tyre & wheel in the hatch.

Thank you for all the replies

I think Spectrum's dealer is right - I decided that to be sure I should brave the cold and see for myself and the 17" 225 wheel and tyre is a little proud in the boot well... about 5mm! It's a little annoying, but I think that if I support the carpet on the sides with a piece of hardboard then it won't cause a problem and won't even be noticeable.

It's odd that the Combi has a deeper wheel well than the hatch... must have a completely different back end?!

I can see why they put the 50mph stickers on the wheel when it's a different size to the other 4, as the different tyre profile would potentially make it react differently under heavy breaking or cornering... I agree though that it's not such a concern as with those skinny (non) wheels. I guess they're playing safe, although it sounds like in Sweden they're playing too safe - Zilwer, perhaps it's because you changed the spec on the wheels, but kept the original spare??

Given the trips I will be doing, I've decided to play safe too and am getting a 17" spare. When I got the car it came with non matching tyres on the front, which I don't like, so I was going to change those anyway and that will give me a spare tyre to put on the new rim. I'll use the current 16" steel spare towards the winter set that I'm going to get when the prices are back to normal!

Thanks again guys, really appreciate your thoughts

Kevin

The reason the 50mph sticker is there, even when the wheel is a proper wheel and tyre and not one of the skinny spawn of Satan convenience* spares but is not quite the same size as the OEM wheels and tyres is due to a clause in the Construction and Use regulations.

It's all part of the regs on mixing tyres, you know the ones that say you can't mix radial and cross ply tyres, and you have to have the same size and type fitted on the same axle. Well there is a clause which allows you to have different sizes fitted on the same axle "provided that the vehicle is not driven over 50mph.

Must admit didn't know if this is a universal EU rule, but it is certainly the case for UK and Ireland.

* convenience spares! whose convenience? Not ours that is for sure.

When I got the car it came with non matching tyres on the front, which I don't like, so I was going to change those anyway and that will give me a spare tyre to put on the new rim. I'll use the current 16" steel spare towards the winter set that I'm going to get when the prices are back to normal!

Hi kevin,

If you've only just got the car, I'd be tempted to take the car back & tell the dealer (assuming it was a dealer) to put a matching pair of tyres on the front.

I believe because of that it would not pass an MOT. You can "call their bluff" if you want & ask/pay them to do an MOT and then rufuse the car as it is not in a road worthy condition.

I've not done any reading up on this but this is my belief. It would therefore also invalidate your insurance & then what do you do if you have an accident?

I totally agree with you that its something not to like - but I don't see why you should pay for it.

As for the spare tyre & the 50mph limit thanks for the info. I never knew that.

regards

Stef

I believe because of that it would not pass an MOT.

Quoting from the AA;

• Tyres must be compatible with others on the car and generally in good physical condition
  
• Tyres must be correctly inflated to the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure
  
• Tread depth must be above the legal minimum which for passenger cars is 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference
  
• You don't have to carry a spare and it doesn't have to meet the legal requirements while it's stowed away. It may however affect the level of breakdown assistance to which you are entitled if you do not carry a serviceable spare
  

But no where does it say about branding or tread pattern....

According to the data online, as long as tyres have 1.6mm or more (in the center - they can be bald on the edges!) no matter what brand or style, they are legal for use on UK roads.

It's only advisable to use the same tyres; same with winters - it's advisable to use winter's on all 4 wheels, but not the law.

Al.

Quoting from the AA;

• Tyres must be compatible with others on the car and generally in good physical condition
  
• Tyres must be correctly inflated to the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure
  
• Tread depth must be above the legal minimum which for passenger cars is 1.6mm throughout a continuous band in the centre 3/4 of the tread and around the entire circumference
  
• You don't have to carry a spare and it doesn't have to meet the legal requirements while it's stowed away. It may however affect the level of breakdown assistance to which you are entitled if you do not carry a serviceable spare
  

But no where does it say about branding or tread pattern....

According to the data online, as long as tyres have 1.6mm or more (in the center - they can be bald on the edges!) no matter what brand or style, they are legal for use on UK roads.

It's only advisable to use the same tyres; same with winters - it's advisable to use winter's on all 4 wheels, but not the law.

Al.

As above Retired Motor vehicle Technician and MOT tester

Thanks for the extra info guys. I didn't realise it was a specific regulation regarding non matching wheel sizes although common sense says to me that having different tyre wall depths wouldn't be wise as would react differently under hard braking or cornering - I think it proves to me that getting a matching 17" spare was a good idea as can't risk getting stuck at 50mph. I've got the spare alloy now, but haven't got the new tyre yet...it's on the list of to dos

Pushing the dealer into getting a matching front tyre is a nice idea Stef, but I think I got a decent deal already and as the cheapo one was pretty much new and there's nothing illegal (just undesirable) about mixing makes/tread patterns I don't think I've got much argument... I just wish whoever had put it on had spent an extra £30 or £40 and matched the Goodyear on the other side as it wasn't a great economy!

thanks again,

Kevin

I'm not too sure I've got this right so please bear with me..........I have just take delivery of a Superb Elegance 4x4 2.0Tdi Twindoor and as it was bought from the showroom rather than factory ordered it comes with the repair kit rather than a spare wheel of any sort. I was going to retro-order a spare wheel and I know, unless I do otherwise it will be what they call a spacesaver with a 16" rim rather than the 18" which are on the car.

Can anyone tell me, will the spare wheel well accommodate a full size 18" alloy? (eg an 18" Themisto). I know it will be expensive to get a matching single Themisto alloy, but for the sake of use only if/when a puncture, I'd rather a full size wheel allowing normal driving than a spacesaver with a 50mph max. I also tow a caravan and would feel more confident knowing the replacement wheel is a normal full size match even if the alloy is a different design.

Any views folks?????

John

Yes as the rolling circumference and therefore diameter of the spare is unchanged. AFAIK it's not a space-saver like a really thin 50mph max tyre but I think it is a 16" steel wheel with 205/55/16 tyre. The main reason for this, I think, is that the spare wheel well is not deep enough to accommodate the 225 wide alloys.

Edit...sorry, should have read the whole post, hence the cobblers I wrote earlier. The answer is no due to width of alloy and depth of wheel well (unless you hide it under the variable boot floor - estate only).

Edited 13 March, 201214 yr by smf1007

It MIGHT fit, depending on your configuration:

A 225 mm wide tyre fits only if you have the luggage compartment without the double bottom (don't know how you call this in the UK) and with the rails, since this combination (I have it) has an approximately 3 cm (1 inch for the English) high polystyrene foam inlay below the entire bottom of the luggage compartment, to compensate for the height of the rails.

The versions with the double bottom don't have space for a 225 mm tyre, 205 is the maximum there.

And my guess is that the version without the rails also does not have the polystyrene inlay, so this version doesn't have enough space either (but I have not verified this, since I have never seen a version without the rails).

BTW there is nothing wrong with a 205/55R16 wheel: I have eight of them, and they drive very well. Driving around with one of those (and the rest 18") is probably not the optimal set-up for testing the top speed of your car, but it will be very save to drive with it at 130 km/h (75 MPH).

Edited 13 March, 201214 yr by andrehj

I have a 4x4 estate with the rails in the boot and the polystyrene pad under the carpet. I'm looking for a single Themisto 18" wheel to use as a spare, as from what I can tell from here, it will either fit in the wheel well, or almost fit in the wheel well with a slight bump in the carpet - no problem with that.

Now is it me or have Themisto alloys disappeared off the Skoda website? I've tried all the different keywords I can think of but they don't come up.

Edited 8 August, 201213 yr by Yearofthegoat

Here in NZ all the Superb 2 Estates I've looked at have a full size alloy and tyre for a spare. I suspect our boot floors are higher than yours.

Something about the antipodes means you guys get full size spare wheels, we don't as standard, just a can of tyre destroyer to get you to the next tyre salesman. With the family in the car most journeys I want a proper spare wheel!

Anyway, I fired an email off to Skoda and they quoted me £153.64 inc vat plus £12.50 delivery. Need to get a price for a jack next. Oh and a wheel centre cap is £7.20 plus £3 delivery. I'll talk to my local dealer as well to see what they can do.

Better (and much cheaper) alternative:

Use one of your winter wheels as spare, then you only need the jack kit (jack + polystyrene insert + wrench + special plastic nut etc), which cost me only € 49.50, so it should be around 40 UK pounds.

154 pounds for a spare wheel seems rather ridiculous to me.

True, but to get to that position I'd have to buy a set of winter wheels - much more expensive than a single wheel, surely.

Something about the antipodes means you guys get full size spare wheels, we don't as standard, just a can of tyre destroyer to get you to the next tyre salesman. With the family in the car most journeys I want a proper spare wheel!

Anyway, I fired an email off to Skoda and they quoted me £153.64 inc vat plus £12.50 delivery. Need to get a price for a jack next. Oh and a wheel centre cap is £7.20 plus £3 delivery. I'll talk to my local dealer as well to see what they can do.

We need real spare wheels here. The trips I do can see me doing 800km and being in cell reception for about 100km of that and driving through two towns with tyres in stock and probably not in your size. Your travel times get a lot longer if you get a puncture (rare, thankfully) when your spare is a space-saver good for 80km at 80km/h and the nearest garage on AA callout is 200km away and might only be able to tow you.

Good lesson in self-suffiency I suppose.

Absolutely. I don't like the idea of a car full of tired kids and wife trying to get somewhere at 50mph, even in a relatively small country like England. My car's a 4x4 as well so I think I need to keep all the wheels the same as far as possible.

True, but to get to that position I'd have to buy a set of winter wheels - a much better idea much more expensive than a single wheel, surely.

Correct

FWIW my 225/40/18 did not fit in the spare wheel well either (Combi with variable boot floor)

If you have the boot with the luggage rails and without the variable boot floor, than a 225 wide tyre will fit inside the spare wheel well. The only problem you face then is that the polystyrene insert will not fit nicely inside your spare wheel, since it is made for a 16" wheel.

At least now I know why a "variable boot floor" isn't an option in my markets. We have a full-size spare instead.