Spare or not to spare

[Pouclee]

It's a discussion forum, where a member had asked other members for for their opinion, resulting in a discussion. Thought that was the whole idea?

[DonjSZ5]

Much of the discussion is not on the need but the loss of space in the boot. I think we ALL have a need at some point or other but it does have just that one drawback. I think I can live with it. My Vitara has its spare bolted onto the door, I took the cover off 4 years ago and have not done so since. Gosh, It might not be in there now...must have a look this weekend.

Edited 30 April, 2014 by DonjSZ5

[Horacecoker]

For the sake of having a much bigger boot and I mean MUCH bigger, I haven't gone for a spare again on my second Yeti. My brother also has a Yeti and he got a cancelled order and finished up with a spare. Side by side I can tell you the boot with the spare is significantly smaller. You don't get a flat floor if you fold and tip the seats or take the seats out. The handy hooks in the boot  won't 'hang' shopping bags because the bags rest on the boot floor due to the lack of depth. When it's my brother's turn for driving on a day's walking trip in The Lakes with four or five up, we struggle to get the rucksacks in because they can't stand upright like they can in my boot because there isn't sufficient depth in the boot due to the spare!

 

I had my first Yeti three years and had one slow puncture which was a screw in the tyre. I didn't need a spare or gunk because I could pump it up and get to a garage. All the punctures I've ever had seem to have been of this nature.

 

Before my first Yeti, I had a Honda Civic and that didn't come with a spare. I drove it for three years with just the gunk and then I went and bought a spare because the dealer was doing a special offer on them. I had the same car for another three years and never needed the spare! The difference with the Civic and the Yeti is that the Civic had a genuine space safer spare and it didn't take up ANY extra boot space because it went under the false floor of the boot! Otherwise I would never had got one!

 

The Yeti boot with a spare is no bigger than a super-mini boot. My wife's Polo boot is bigger! So by all means get a spare if you feel it is essential but be warned you will have a much smaller boot.

Edited 30 April, 2014 by Horacecoker

[Brijo]

Perhaps the OP would let us know when he's heard enough and we can put the subject back to bed again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS It's not been a good day

[DonjSZ5]

Perhaps the OP would let us know when he's heard enough and we can put the subject back to bed again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS It's not been a good day

This could be said for many topics,

 

Beards for instance, how many more puns can it take. With me it's hair today, gone tomorrow.

 

Also how many mpg are you getting in your 2.0 diesel or 1.2TSi or Greenline, when we know there are so many variables. Like forgetting you have had a 100lb glass roof fitted or there are 3 others in the vehicle each weighing 200 lbs or..........there's a spare wheel in the boot. It all makes a difference.

 

On that what WILL my mpg drop to if it is in the boot. :think:

[jjw]

Yes I've heard enough !

I'll look forward to a smaller boot partly filled with my comfort blanket spare wheel.

[notyeti]

I reckon I get a puncture every two years on two cars - 1 per car per 4 years.   Interested to see how this stacks up with other peoples experience.  I googled it, and got answers for the US.   About 1 puncture per vehicle per year there.

here: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_get_a_flat_tire_per_year?#slide=2  and here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States

 

Confirms me in my decision.

 

You have just got to expect a non-gunk mendable puncture is likely over ten years.  Depending when and where, it could be a real nightmare. 

[bilun777]

I've had 8 puntures (that I can remember.)

2 were high speed blowouts,1 a cut sidewall on the M11.

2 were on the same 530 BMW, within weeks of each other,and embarassingly I hadn't had a new tyre fitted ,so was marooned by the second one....

I would never consider a car without some kind of spare wheel.

[Llanigraham]

My reckoning is that I have not had an "event that needed a spare wheel" for more than 10 years, that being the time we have lived here. For 7 of those years I have been doing more than 18k miles a year, so well above the national average. Prior to that I worked for Vauxhall Demo Fleet and was doing 100k miles a year and can only remember having 1 puncture in the 5 years I was with them.

 

And remember that I have driven off-road for a lot of those years!

 

However I do now have a spare, but only because of the risk of it spoiling a caravan holiday whilst in France.

[fastestlouigie]

I had a chunk of metal rip into the top of one of my rear tyres last night but thankfully I was only a couple of miles from home, so I managed to limp back to my drive. Luckily, the wheel was Ok, though I drove at about 15mph all the way back.The hole in the rubber was about an inch across and the manual stipulates that you should only attempt a (temporary) repair with the compressor and gunk if the puncture is less than 4mm!

The Skoda repair guy was great, coming out first thing this morning as promised to put a spare wheel on my car and follow me down to my local Skoda dealer where I had a new tyre fitted for the same price as the internet dealers. All done, including the 4 mile drive across busy Reading in less than an hour.

Interesting to note that the Breakdown guy was not enamoured with the gunk, with him saying that whilst it might have worked on my tyre, despite the size of the hole, he said that it almost wasn't worth trying, as it's more likely to cover your vehicle's paintwork than effect a repair (totally unofficial information that didn't come from him of course!)

This is my second puncture in over twenty years driving and 18000 miles annually. 'Might think about getting the spare wheel kit after my three years of Skoda breakdown runs out however.

Edited 2 May, 2014 by fastestlouigie

[DonjSZ5]

 

This is my second puncture in over twenty years 

I think it shows....driving 2 miles on a flat tyre at 15mph how dangerous to others and yourself is that.

 

well,,,, someone had to say it.

[rockhopper]

The big question is.......

How many spare wheels do you need?........

I damaged the sidewalls of 2 tyres on Strata Florida on Sunday. I could have done with 2 spare wheels.

Gunk was absolutely useless.

[Llanigraham]

Mike, 

Did Strata a few years ago with someone who did that and we repaired one tyre with superglue!! It got him back to the Midlands after.

[Huskoda]

The big question is.......

How many spare wheels do you need?........

I damaged the sidewalls of 2 tyres on Strata Florida on Sunday. I could have done with 2 spare wheels.

Gunk was absolutely useless.

 

In that situation, I would request they flatbed me home and I'll put the winter wheels on

[Llanigraham]

You wouldn't get a flat bed down Strata Florida!!

 

Scroll down to Strata here:

http://www.wetroads.co.uk/ceredigion.htm

[Yetiflute]

My reckoning is that I have not had an "event that needed a spare wheel" for more than 10 years, that being the time we have lived here. For 7 of those years I have been doing more than 18k miles a year, so well above the national average.

I had similar history to above before being faced for the first time when buying my Yeti with the decision spare or no spare. Chose to order the spare and have needed it 3 times in the 3 years of driving the Yeti despite now doing a lower annual mileage. It is pure chance (no logic) but I always seemed get those punctures immediately after changing to/from winter wheels/tyres.

[adarajames]

the decision was made for me and have one in the soon to arrive yeti, as it meant my yeti was already on the way instead of only just being ordered and built!

[Huskoda]

You wouldn't get a flat bed down Strata Florida!!

 

Scroll down to Strata here:

http://www.wetroads.co.uk/ceredigion.htm

Well, that's a bit of an extreme case where you would go prepared and not something you would get into accidentally, unless you're one of those satnav morons who would follow it into the sea.

Though I have passed a golf stranded on the side of the M1 with both right hand tyres flat, which was the kind of rare situation I was referring to.

[rockhopper]

To give you a brief flavour, here is my Freelander wading through about 750-800mm of river...

[DonjSZ5]

I think this topic is getting sidetracked and off Skoda.

[awfabia]

Pedantic of Purely says 'Gunk is engine degreaser and a Trade name'. Sealant is wot you put in punctured tyres NOT gunk!

P.S. the security of having a spare in my snow monster outweighs the loss of boot space FOR ME.

Differing opinions for different uses of car. I can change a wheel in about 10 minutes, quicker than waiting for roadside assistance. If that's not your bag then maybe have 'no spare' option.....

[prodata]

Pedantic of Purely says 'Gunk is engine degreaser and a Trade name'. 

 

Ambiguity is the enemy of pedants! The OED says for gunk: ''An unpleasantly sticky or messy substance', which I dare say is exactly what sealant might be (though I must admit to always having steered clear of needing to use any such stuff).

 

It's also customary in English to capitalise the first letter of the first word of a sentence (hence 'Gunk').

[DonjSZ5]

Ambiguity is the enemy of pedants! The OED says for gunk: ''An unpleasantly sticky or messy substance', which I dare say is exactly what sealant might be (though I must admit to always having steered clear of needing to use any such stuff).

 

It's also customary in English to capitalise the first letter of the first word of a sentence (hence 'Gunk').

you forgot to mention the 'wot'

[MajorTom]

Some like to carry a spare wheel, but I don't bother for either car. If I did, then I'd want to do it properly and carry a full size summer or a full size winter... so two sets of five wheels. For each car. Hmmm.

 

If you're concerned about the gunk (or sealant) wrecking a tyre, assuming its capable of being fixed, then the Slime kit (capital S) is useful as it is water-based and a 'Slimed' tyre can be washed out by the tyre fitter. They're not expensive.

 

Thankfully, no-one has mentioned run flat tyres yet. That's a whole other can of worms and endless threadery. I don't run those either.

[900000]

Some like to carry a spare wheel, but I don't bother for either car. If I did, then I'd want to do it properly and carry a full size summer or a full size winter... so two sets of five wheels. For each car. Hmmm.

 

 

Yes, I happen to have the standard Yeti summer spare and also have a full size winter spare that I swap over with the rest.  It is no more difficult to store five extra tyres somewhere than it is to store four...