Spare Tyre Option - Worth getting?

[rockhopper]

Can you do that? What parts do you order? Can all the bits & pieces with the spare wheel be easily be removed from the boot without major surgery?

10 mins to change last time I did it.....will need to for winter when I carry full size spare winter wheel.

[My_Yeti]

I have not done it, but it seems relatively easy as noted by the posters above.

However, if you don't see yourself evey going to "reinstall" the spare wheel then it might be a better idea to get a suitable Golf/Bora/Octavia/Superb alloy with tyre to sitin the garage instead.

[frozboz]

Absolutely get it! You can always take it out if you want more space on a particular trip, if you don't get it and then decide to change your mind later and buy one from the dealer you'll have an absolute nightmare (and pay much more).

I have the panoramic roof on mine which meant that I couldn't have a factory fitted spare (because of the weight for the CO2 rating). The plan had been for the dealer to supply me with one when I picked it up - problem is Skoda aren't supplying the after sales kit - its been over a year and they still haven't been able to get the kit in.

Fortunately, another Briskodian had a spare kit for sale which I bought - very glad that I got it because I had a puncture which the gunk probably wouldn't have safely fixed for the long night journey which I had to do. (you could always sell yours on, you'll probably find many willing buyers here)

[Kenny R]

I have the panoramic roof on mine which meant that I couldn't have a factory fitted spare (because of the weight for the CO2 rating). The plan had been for the dealer to supply me with one when I picked it up - problem is Skoda aren't supplying the after sales kit - its been over a year and they still haven't been able to get the kit in.

I got my spare wheel kit from TPS,using the part no in the above guide. Ordered one day came the next, think dealer is telling porkies.

[domhnall]

Absolutely get it! You can always take it out if you want more space on a particular trip, if you don't get it and then decide to change your mind later and buy one from the dealer you'll have an absolute nightmare (and pay much more).

I have the panoramic roof on mine which meant that I couldn't have a factory fitted spare (because of the weight for the CO2 rating). The plan had been for the dealer to supply me with one when I picked it up - problem is Skoda aren't supplying the after sales kit - its been over a year and they still haven't been able to get the kit in.

Fortunately, another Briskodian had a spare kit for sale which I bought - very glad that I got it because I had a puncture which the gunk probably wouldn't have safely fixed for the long night journey which I had to do. (you could always sell yours on, you'll probably find many willing buyers here)

hmm odd, mine came already specced from the factory and it has both the sunroof and the spare wheel factory fitted. Maybe they have changed their policy (or found lighter wheels!!)

[kenfowler3966]

This is my first ever car with no spare. I wish I had had one when I had a blowout on the A38 earlier this year. By the time I had found somewhere safe to stop the tyre was beyond reinflation. Thank god it was mid afternoon and the car could have a new tyre coutesy of a helpfull AA man. Had it been after hours I would have had to be relayed home, over 100 miles, and the relayer have to meet and swap every 60 miles or so so they are not too far from base. Then the car would have had to be taken to a garage the next day.

[900000]

People need to make their own minds up about what they want. I want the confidence of a spare since my last three puncture where huge side gashes where the gunk would not have worked...

Also another tale of woe to consider: I read on an Audi forum of someone that used the gunk on a front tyre. He continued his journey and the gunk managed to squirt out again from the gash.... all over the side of his car and all the trim costing him HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of pounds to repair since the gunk is toxic, sticky stuff. I will never touch the stuff even if my life depended on it. No thanks. :no:

[frozboz]

I got my spare wheel kit from TPS,using the part no in the above guide. Ordered one day came the next, think dealer is telling porkies.

Interesting: did you get the skinny wheel, jack kit, hard floor, the fixing spindle, and the boxes?

[Kenny R]

Interesting: did you get the skinny wheel, jack kit, hard floor, the fixing spindle, and the boxes?

Spare wheel kit, Inc jack,wheel brace, boxes, floor and spindle part No 5L0071108

Steel wheel part No 8P0601027 (5L0601011A) , and you need a 195x60x16 tyre as well.

The kit was around £100, the wheel was £45

[frozboz]

Spare wheel kit, Inc jack,wheel brace, boxes, floor and spindle part No 5L0071108

Steel wheel part No 8P0601027 (5L0601011A) , and you need a 195x60x16 tyre as well.

The kit was around £100, the wheel was £45

I've called my 'friendly' dealer's parts guy and asked him about these parts and, after checking, he tells me that they are only for the 4x4. I've asked him to check with SUK on 2wd applicability. Why the parts would be different for the 4x4 I don't know (different under floor?) but I guess that a wheel is a wheel and a jack is a jack and a hard floor is a hard floor!

[Expatman]

I've called my 'friendly' dealer's parts guy and asked him about these parts and, after checking, he tells me that they are only for the 4x4. I've asked him to check with SUK on 2wd applicability. Why the parts would be different for the 4x4 I don't know (different under floor?) but I guess that a wheel is a wheel and a jack is a jack and a hard floor is a hard floor!

Okay I have decided to order the Yeti with a spare tyre, the dealer now tells me that I will not be able to remove the spare wheel assembly if I ever wanted to use the max storage space because "the spare wheel package is permanently fixed to the car". I would be grateful if any Yeti owner who has the spare wheel could confirm, or deny, this. The salesman was convinced that parts of the spare wheel "unit" were fixed permanently to the car including the "screw down part" and the boot floor 'wall' at the back of the spare wheel housing - behind the rear seats.

Ideally I had planned to buy the boot carpet/floor that is fitted to Yeti's supplied without the spare wheel so for local use (where I am more likely to need the max boot space) I could leave the spare tyre etc. at home, put in the new carpet /floor and have a finished boot identical to those Yeti's not bought with the spare tyre option. Anyone even know the even if the boot floor/carpet is available from Skoda?

[Agerbundsen]

Okay I have decided to order the Yeti with a spare tyre, the dealer now tells me that I will not be able to remove the spare wheel assembly if I ever wanted to use the max storage space because "the spare wheel package is permanently fixed to the car". I would be grateful if any Yeti owner who has the spare wheel could confirm, or deny, this. The salesman was convinced that parts of the spare wheel "unit" were fixed permanently to the car including the "screw down part" and the boot floor 'wall' at the back of the spare wheel housing - behind the rear seats.

Ideally I had planned to buy the boot carpet/floor that is fitted to Yeti's supplied without the spare wheel so for local use (where I am more likely to need the max boot space) I could leave the spare tyre etc. at home, put in the new carpet /floor and have a finished boot identical to those Yeti's not bought with the spare tyre option. Anyone even know the even if the boot floor/carpet is available from Skoda?

Your dealer is full of BS.

Yes, there are a few screws to hold things down, but nothing than cannot be removed in a few minutes.

[carisbrook]

Your dealer is full of BS.

Yes, there are a few screws to hold things down, but nothing than cannot be removed in a few minutes.

Agreed...I bought my demo with the variable floor but also ordered the spare wheel kit...changed it over in 20mins with all the flooring etc,before we went on our hols.

[eccleshill]

Is that definite? Seems a major expense to buy a new tyre for a minor nail puncture in the centre of the tread?

If all you have is a nail in the centre of the tread then chances are you don't need to use the gunk. Instruction is to use the compressor to re-inflate and use the gunk only if you can't get it up to pressure after some number of minutes (can't remember what it is!!) of inflation.

You don't use the gunk on a slow puncture just re-inflate and take it to be fixed.

What you lose with having no spare is the option to drop off the wheel when it is convenient and call back later to pick it up.

I have no spare wheel and don't see it as a problem. The last time I had a puncture that couldn't be reinflated so I could drive it to the tyre centre was in 1976! Mayo Avenue in Bradford, Hillman Avenger, brand new Goodyear G800! Remember it well. At an average of 12000 miles per year that is 420,000 miles. I've had a few slow punctures since then, all detected at home by regular tyre pressure checks, but never used the spare "in anger". Maybe I've just been lucky!

This whole spare wheel argument reminds me of my old dad moaning about the loss of the starting handle when he went from a 1958 Moggy Oxford to a 1963 Moggy 1100 - "How will I start it if the battery goes flat"...

[rockhopper]

Maybe I've just been lucky!

Yes.......you have.

In My BMW's I covered about 100,000 miles over 4 years and had 4-5 nails at least in tyres. My previous Octavia (40,000 miles in 18 months) I wrecked a tyre in the dark and very wet, hitting a damaged piece of kerb which I could't see when parking, and the Yeti I have had to use the spare twice, once when bent rim, with no damage to tyre, and once side wall damage. I'm currently on target for about 15-16,000 miles per year now. With previous vehicles I was only doing about 10-12,000 miles and can't remember any punctures. But that is probably rose tinted glasses.

[Deputy]

Yes.......you have.

In My BMW's I covered about 100,000 miles over 4 years and had 4-5 nails at least in tyres. My previous Octavia (40,000 miles in 18 months) I wrecked a tyre in the dark and very wet, hitting a damaged piece of kerb which I could't see when parking, and the Yeti I have had to use the spare twice, once when bent rim, with no damage to tyre, and once side wall damage. I'm currently on target for about 15-16,000 miles per year now. With previous vehicles I was only doing about 10-12,000 miles and can't remember any punctures. But that is probably rose tinted glasses.

Wrecked a tyre when parking !! Crikey, How fast do you park? Maybe the park assist option would be better than a spare tyre and you get more space

[rockhopper]

Wrecked a tyre when parking !! Crikey, How fast do you park? Maybe the park assist option would be better than a spare tyre and you get more space

The Yeti has park assist.....and I use it as much as I can.

Octavia tyre was just ripped open by the damaged kerb as I drove slowly past it. Not impressed as I couldn't find the tool to undo the locked wheel nuts.....it had fallen out under the spare wheel. It was dark and very wet.....I found it eventually.

I have had a few tyres damaged this way, always in the wet, apart from an Austin Maestro City, which had a funny design and just had to look a a kerb and the side wall would rip open...... (I worked for a taxi company many years ago briefly and they provided these as taxi's and several of us had the same problem.... So much so that taxi company started charging us for the tyres....I left and got another job in engineering.)

[Agerbundsen]

Hit a curbstone on a frisky exit from a roundabout, and your'e toast without a spare. Worse, hit a pothole out in the middle of nowhere at night - and discover your cellphone has a dead battery.

It's all about what risks you are willing to take.

I have a spare and hope never to need it.

[900000]

Maybe I've just been lucky!

+2

I've also had far more than I'd like and on each occasion would not have been able to use the gunk. So I will always want a spare.

... and discover your cellphone has a dead battery.

Just like with a spare I will never travel long distance without a car charger for my phone so this problem should also not be an issue! But I see your point.

[eccleshill]

Hit a curbstone on a frisky exit from a roundabout, and your'e toast without a spare. Worse, hit a pothole out in the middle of nowhere at night - and discover your cellphone has a dead battery.

It's all about what risks you are willing to take.

I have a spare and hope never to need it.

I keep a fully charged spare battery for my cellphone in the glovebox - takes up much less space than a spare wheel

Doesn't help if you're out in the middle of nowhere with no network coverage however!

[freedie]

Bent rim sounds like a steel wheel; what might have happened with an alloy?

[rockhopper]

Bent rim sounds like a steel wheel; what might have happened with an alloy?

New Alloy.......steel rim repaired with club hammer!!!!

[vwcabriolet1971]

You only need to experience one flat tyre that won't pressurize with the "gunk" ( cut by glass ) and the cost saving of a proper spare tyre or the minute consumption improvement becomes irrelevant. Imagine motoring up to north Scotland late one night with the family over a bank holiday period without a spare and then get a damaged tyre that won't re-flate ! . For me its a no brainer when the original cost for our Octavia's proper spare wheel was £55 !

[yellowyeller]

Like most, I am firmly in the "spare wheel" camp.

Also, the height of the Yeti roof is such that I'm not sure the higher floor is such a problem; I can fit a (mountain) bike upright in the back without too much difficulty - just need to take off the front wheel and lower the saddle post. Infact the false floor creates a loading height flush to the tailgate so could even be an advantage. The only possible issue is the shopping "hooks" become rather pointless with the increased floor height - hardly the end of the world!!

[eccleshill]

I have no spare wheel and don't see it as a problem. The last time I had a puncture that couldn't be reinflated so I could drive it to the tyre centre was in 1976! Mayo Avenue in Bradford, Hillman Avenger, brand new Goodyear G800! Remember it well. At an average of 12000 miles per year that is 420,000 miles. I've had a few slow punctures since then, all detected at home by regular tyre pressure checks, but never used the spare "in anger". Maybe I've just been lucky!

Should've kept my great big mouth shut

It took just 3 days...

Came out of work last night, quick visual of all 4 tyres as usual, rear off-side just about totally flat!

Have I changed my mind though? :no: NO! :no:

Following the instructions only to use the gunk as a last resort if all else fails, I attached the wonderful compressor supplied and reinflated the tyre to 3 bar. Took 3-4 minutes. Waited for 5 or so minutes to be sure it wasn't going to deflate quickly. Drove 3 miles to nearest town at 40mph with window open to hear any sign of deflation. Arrived at tyre depot with tyre still looking OK. Wheel off; offending piece of hacksaw blade removed from outer tread, puncture fixed and on my way home.

Total cost - about 40 minutes and a tenner.