Hello all,

 

I took a punt on ebay and bought a spare wheel and tool kit (new) for my Rapid.

It was advertised as a genuine Skoda spare for a Rapid.

However it has arrived and has an ET43 not ET38 which the other wheels have (I think) and a label stating Fabia.

 

The spare wheel size is 195/55/R15.  My rapid wheels are 185/60/R15.

 

Will this be OK as a spare?

 

cheers

 

Gnat

 

 

 

 

That's the tyre size not the wheel. 195/55 is the wrong profile tyre. It should match your tyre size.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello,

 

Thanks for the reply, I should have said tyre size, my mistake.

 

cheers

Punch all the info into www.willtheyfit.com and it will tell you how much the difference will affect your Speedo reading.

HTH

The rolling radius of that combination with your existing wheels will be more than 2.5% different - therefore no, it will be dangerous to use, even at limited mph.

The rim is OK though, and you can always have new, correctly sized rubber fitted to it.

The rolling radius of that combination with your existing wheels will be more than 2.5% different - therefore no, it will be dangerous to use, even at limited mph.

The rim is OK though, and you can always have new, correctly sized rubber fitted to it.

Is the link below the correct calc?

http://www.brspecialtuning.co.uk/tyre%20size%20calculator.htm

If so it gives a difference of 1.24%

Cheers

Gnat

You're right. It's almost exactly the same diameter.  Way safer than a space saver in any case.

Yeah, entirely my mistake (was doing the calculation on my phone earlier, on a train, and hit the wrong number in a drop down - inadvertently did 195 65 15, which came out at over 5% difference).

The percentage is indeed 1.24% - perfectly fine if treated as a space saver spare (Max speed 50mph), but avoid going at 70 on it.

Sent from my iPad Mini with Retina using Tapatalk, please excuse any typos.

Edited 29 January, 201511 yr by chrisgreen

I'm guessing that a 195/55R15 is likely to be at least H rated so why the suggested limp home speed?

I'm guessing that a 195/55R15 is likely to be at least H rated so why the suggested limp home speed?

While the variance in rolling radius is small, it is still a variance, and the car will not be fully balanced under breaking, and will likely pull lightly to one side.

Most manufacturers that supply full size, but slightly undersized spares (Renault, Peugeot Citroen, Ford etc) always label the wheel with the same speed limit warnings as a space saver due to the above. It's just a small safety/arse covering thing on their parts, but one I consider to be a wise move.

Having driven my last car for a week with its spare on (main wheels were 205 50 17, spare was 195 65 15 - variance of just 0.36%, but still made a noticeable difference to handling, especially under breaking. Noticeable pull to the side the spare was on. That spare, while not a space saver in the conventional sense, was labeled with the same speed restriction as one. It needed it.

Thanks for the information.

 

I can live with the reduced speed, compared to the current alternative of the can of gunk, its no contest.

 

cheers

 

Gnat