Just a quickie, will I be alright doing 70 on a steel wheel spare that has a bright yellow sticker and 50mph written on it?

Surely as long as its bolted on right and the speed rating is good enough it should be fine right? Obviously it's an odd tyre from the other 3

Only IF the 3 other wheels are exactly the same size.

If you have 17's on and putting on the 16" spare you WILL have to stick to 50 :(

I've got standard 16's in anthracite ish colour I shall get home at a decent time tonight then

Why risk it? Is it really worth it? End of the day it's got a limit for safety reasons.

Just a quickie, will I be alright doing 70 on a steel wheel spare that has a bright yellow sticker and 50mph written on it?

Surely as long as its bolted on right and the speed rating is good enough it should be fine right? Obviously it's an odd tyre from the other 3

Nice quick and easy way to get points on your licence and a fine if you got caught.

Why do you think the sign is there? For fun?

Orrrrrrrrrrrrr, if the other wheels and tyres are the same size as the spare and the spare's speed/ load ratings are OK, you could just peel the sticker off

The stickers fell off mine when I went to the local Albanian wash and scratch

The stickers fell off mine when I went to the local Albanian wash and scratch

cheap VAG glue IMO, bound to happen eventually

Nice quick and easy way to get points on your licence and a fine if you got caught.

Why do you think the sign is there? For fun?

It's there for when the wheel has a directional tyre on it. In all other cases, it's just a regular spare and can be driven as per the limitation on the tyre rating,

HTH,

Chris

The sticker is there for show only.

not only does it give you an extra 5bhp but you can do up to 100mph on it! twice the recomended speed!!!

Also, it looks badass and phat as phuck with different size wheels all over the car.

Come on buddy use common sense. it says 50mph for a reason, the tyre is only tested to 50mph because its for short journeys. that's why its a spare.

not only does it give you an extra 5bhp but you can do up to 100mph on it! twice the recomended speed!!!

That would be why I was overtaken on a motorway by an audi with a pram one on the front wheel! I bet the differential made a lovely noise as he zoomed past too.

This has been discussed many times on here, many times in Fabia I section, but I don't think a conclusive answer has been found.

The tyre is exactly the same size and speed & load rated as the other 4, The only difference is it's a non directional tyre, but you can legaly drive with 4 different tyres on the car.

It could be because it's mounted on a steel wheel and not an Alloy one.

If it's not the same overall size, width and profile as the other 3 then it will behave and feel different. Especially over bumps. Your car will handle a little differently and you need to be aware of that.

If it's not the same overall size and you have a 4wd car, then best keep the speed down as it is working the diffs and haldex clutch more than normal.

My spare will be getting a same overall size tyre as the other 3 shortly, then the 50mph sticker will be coming off. Currently it's a scout with a 205/55R16 spare, which would be full-size on any other octavia but is a full inch short on the scout.

Like said if their all the same size and loading then its ok to a certain degree, i have my winters on ATM which are 205.55.16 which is my spare wheel size but since they are all the same its ok.

Also think about tyre age, once a tyre has been sat in the boot of your car a few years it will lose a good percentage of its grip levles, even if it has not been used.

A spare is the old fashioned limp home mode

It's there for when the wheel has a directional tyre on it. In all other cases, it's just a regular spare and can be driven as per the limitation on the tyre rating,

If the only difference between the spare and the road wheel is steel versus alloy there's still likely to be a weight difference across an axle, which might hit you in unexpected ways. Even more the case when the spare wheel is narrower, when the spare tyre is narrower and/or has a higher profile.

I'm not convinced that directional versus non-directional is anywhere near as significant as these other factors. Although many prefer the same tyres on an axle, or even on all four wheels, there's nothing to stop people having the correct size tyre fitted even if it has a quite different tread from its partner.

A spare is the old fashioned limp home mode

A proper (i.e. identical to road wheels) spare means you can continue your journey for the sake of a 15 minute delay. Anything else is crap, and I'm surprised so many drivers are willing to put up with it.

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by AnotherGareth

Well I went no faster than 70 all the way home (40 miles) and all seemed fine. I didn't chuck it about as much as I usually do on the roundabouts and bends mind. I also didn't exceed 65 on my way back to work today (4e0 miles again) and all still seems fine. New rear tyres today though even If they are relatively cheap firestones, gotta be better than the MOT failures I had on there. Definitely gonna keep a closer eye on tyres in future as one is low on tread, the other has cracks on the inside wall (which is the one I had replaced with spare). Hopefully soon all this long distance commute will be over and I can start enjoying the vrs properly again

EJ is way too young to remember this; at twice her age I'm too young to have ever done it, but it used to be that there was a recommended way of rotating which position all 5 wheels and tyres were on that went something like "every 3_000 miles, move spare to OSR, OSR to NSF, NSF to NSR, NSR to OSF and OSF to spare".

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by KenONeill

A proper (i.e. identical to road wheels) spare means you can continue your journey for the sake of a 15 minute delay. Anything else is crap, and I'm surprised so many drivers are willing to put up with it.

Yes if it was a full size wheel (matches the rest) it just a delay but space savers and smaller spares are only a way to get home or to a tyre shop.

When you have anything bigger then 16 inch wheels then its not to be depended on.

If it's not the same overall size, width and profile as the other 3 then it will behave and feel different. Especially over bumps. Your car will handle a little differently and you need to be aware of that.

If it's a Mk1 Fabia vRS we are talking about, the spare is 205/45 16 which is exactly the same as the other 4 tyres. Mine is a W speed rated Michelin Pilot Premacy asymmetric (non-directional) tyre.

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by Jim H

If the only difference between the spare and the road wheel is steel versus alloy there's still likely to be a weight difference across an axle, which might hit you in unexpected ways. Even more the case when the spare wheel is narrower, when the spare tyre is narrower and/or has a higher profile.

Any difference due to the weight between a steel and alloy wheel of the same size is insignificant. Wheel weight alone isn't a handling concern.

If it's a Mk1 Fabia vRS we are talking about, the spare is 205/45 16 which is exactly the same as the other 4 tyres. Mine is a W speed rated Michelin Pilot Premacy asymmetric (non-directional) tyre.

In that case, peal that stupid sticker off.

Coppers will do you for it no doubt if spotted doing in excess of the wheel limit.

Not only is it illegal as many have already said, but have a bump and the insurance company probably won't pay out for your damage either so not woth the risk IMO. Have a dump where injury is involved and it'll go downhill pritty quick when HMC turn up too.

This is interesting. What if your spare is a 16" steel rim fitted with a tyre that brings it to the same rolling circumference as an 18" alloy?

No stickers etc., just a plain steel wheel, okay for speed and load ratings?

Edited 20 February, 201313 yr by Yearofthegoat

Coppers will do you for it no doubt if spotted doing in excess of the wheel limit.

The limit is for when the tyre and wheel is a mismatch. If the tyre and wheel are identical size then no speed restriction exists.

Just like winter tyres, there is nothing for the police or insurance to be concerned with.

This is interesting. What if your spare is a 16" steel rim fitted with a tyre that brings it to the same rolling circumference as an 18" alloy?

No stickers etc., just a plain steel wheel, okay for speed and load ratings?

Same situation here but 17" instead of 18". The supplied 16" tyre was smaller OD than the other 17's by about an inch, so it is a space-saver and needs to be driven carefully and slowly.

I'll be replacing mine with a larger 16" to get the same OD as the 17's. At that point it's no longer a smaller "space saver" so I'll still be driving carefully if fitted but I won't be stuck doing 80km/h for hours at a time.

Edited 21 February, 201313 yr by Kiwibacon

This is interesting. What if your spare is a 16" steel rim fitted with a tyre that brings it to the same rolling circumference as an 18" alloy?

No stickers etc., just a plain steel wheel, okay for speed and load ratings?

Mine for example vRS has 225/40/18's standard so my spare is a 205/55/16, same rolling radius other wise the car would be on a wonk and would rotate faster but its the different tyre set up. My standard tyre is a high load reinforced tyre to cope with torque but the spare is just a bogo tyre you find on anything so you give it the beans the tyre will not be able to cope aswell as the standard tyre. Sort of like what you see on dragsters, the tyre ripples as they launch, this is fine for them as it is a controlled environment but on an everyday road this could lead to loss of control.