Possible good news for caravan towers.

My Superb has 18 inch rims and came with an inflation kit rather than any sort of spare.

As I tow in remote places, I didn't want to get stranded with a gashed tyre. Rather than a 'spacesaver' spare, my buddy at the local dealer sold me a full sized 205/55/16 on a steel rim that neatly fits in the wheel well, together with the foam insert complete with jack, etc, retailing for £135 VAT inc (but I got a good discount).

Skoda Customer Service has now supplied the following Quality Assured information:

Dear (my name)

Thank you for your email dated 6 November 2012, regarding the spare wheel for your ŠKODA Superb.

I have discussed your enquiry with our Technical Support Team, and can confirm the following information:

- The spare tyre pressure is 2.4 bar and not 4.2.

- The space savers wheel can be used on the vehicle to tow at 50 mph for 50 miles. This is for temporary use to drive the

vehicle to your nearest tyre repair centre.

I hope this information is to your satisfaction; however, should you require our assistance in the future, please call ŠKODA UK

Customer Services on 08457 745 745 and we will be more than happy to help you.

Thank you once again for contacting us.

Kind regards

So I'm sorted and should never get stranded.

Edited 12 November, 201213 yr by Mayor of Newark

Also available on the bay, from No1 for skoda for £129

£105 from my buddy, but thanks for the eBay tip. Real reason for posting is the Skoda official OK to tow with it.

BTW, are you REALLY the Mayor of Newark???

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

I got a full size 16" steel from the factory as an extra. However because it's not the same size as my 18" Themistos they treat it as a spacesaver. So my guess is it's the size you quote.

Got my wheel and jack of of ebay from a company car driver whom had bought his own spare and then resold it when he changed his car. As the tyre is identical to those that are standard on the car including the speed rating, I am baffled as to the reason why they add a 50mph label to the rim. Its definitely not a low speed space saver as said above.

The only reason I can think for the 50 limit is so that drivers with the wider wheel & tyre combinations as standard drive more sensibly due to the possibility of slight instability or handling differences ?

Edited 13 November, 201213 yr by Pesmog

It varies. Some folks will have a space saver, in which case the higher pressure / lower speed does apply. Others will have what I have; namely, a 14K miles, 10 month old superb direct from Skoda, bought through a main dealer. In the boot, it has a brand new full size 16" steel wheel, with a used 205/55 x16 tyre on it. Note, the wheel has never been on (no marks on the mounting holes). I suspect this car came without a spare, but a wheel was ordered and the original user then had a second hand tyre fitted.

The full size 18" wheel and tyre fit in the spare wheel well perfectly. Might cost a little extra but if required meets full legal specs for road use and has the full speed limit.

The full size 18" wheel and tyre fit in the spare wheel well perfectly. Might cost a little extra but if required meets full legal specs for road use and has the full speed limit.

If your spare is directional then you only have a 50% chance of having a spare that can be used at the full speed limit or event at all!?

A good point but how many Superbs have directional tyres fitted, interesting to start a poll on this.

Also interesting on insurance, when mixing directional and n on directional tyres.

My winter tyres are directional (and I use one as a spare....)

On average I only have one flat every 10 years, so I will simply drive slower than...

That is the thing about this. One puncture in 10 years it may not be worth bothering with a spare. But if you get one a year like I do then, then its difficult to contemplate travelling without one.

Interesting point about number of punctures. Thinking about it I've only had one the last twenty two years. But that was a big hole and pump and goo wouldn't have fixed it. I also had a tyre start to delaminate (the tread started falling off). So both times a spare tyre was the only way out.

That is the thing about this. One puncture in 10 years it may not be worth bothering with a spare. But if you get one a year like I do then, then its difficult to contemplate travelling without one.

How many miles a year do you cover?

BTW, are you REALLY the Mayor of Newark???

Definitely, in at least one of an infinite number of parallel universes.

Having a spare is just practical insurance.

You weigh the risk of something bad happening against the cost of protecting against it.

Some people are risk takers, others will have a spare and a can of goo!

I have had the occcasional slow puncture (50 miles at 50mph would have not been a problem) and have only had two 'flats' in the last 15+ years, but they were both within 3 months of each other. Luckily I had had the original tyre fixed in time.

Would I have died of exposure in a remote location if I didn't have a spare? No, but I was still pleased to have one as the cost of the spare versus the cost of callout/delayed travel was, to me, worth it.