Was checking/ blowing up all the tyres on my new car today. I note the steel spare wheel has got the 50mph warning sticker on it. The tyre is identical to those on my alloy wheels.

Am I committing an offence if I drive more than 50mph on it?  I do understand it would be if the tyre was a different size.

The steel wheel is a different weight to the wheel at the other side of the car , and then unless the 3 tyres staying on the car are brand new,

so unless the spare is used it is a 'green tyre for a good few miles',  so an odd one out.

1 tyre fitted as a temp is going to be in need of reducing your speed when fitted.

Or notice has been given that you should, or seriously consider that on one axle there are non match wheels / tyres even though the tyre size is the same.

Edited 1 November, 20169 yr by Offski

I do understand it would be if the tyre was a different size.

Is your spare wheel/tyre the same size as the other wheels/tyres?

 

I ask because I have the same 50mph sticker on the spare and when I checked the spare is a 205/55x16 but the rest of the tyres are 225/45x17 - so the rolling circumference is almost identical but the tyre and wheel are a different size.

The spare wheel will be a standard item across many different models with various wheel sizes. Stickers will be applied to all as matter of course as it's far to labour intensive to only apply stickers to specific wheels.

Yup tyre is identical in all respects to those on the alloys. I am querying the legality of going at more than 50mph. Fitting a single new tyre does not impose a 50mph legal limit. Definitely advisable to take it easy for 100 miles or so though.

Just being nosey but what size & brand are the tyres that the car came with

& was the Spare wheel a standard fitment or an option you paid extra for.

Spare wheel and tool kit etc. was around £150- I bought this for a used vehicle-it's much cheaper as an option on a new vehicle.Tyre is same as those already on car i.e. Michelin Energy Saver 205/55/16.

Been reading the owners manual. I quote

"If the dimensions or design of the temporary spare wheel differ from the tyres fitted, never drive faster than 80km/h (or 50 mph)"

 

So that literally  answers my query.

 

But it also opens a whole other can of worms, implying that all four tyres on the road wheels must be of the same design......

But it also opens a whole other can of worms, implying that all four tyres on the road wheels must be of the same design......

 

I think the regulation is (I'll wait for someone else to jump in an quote it) that the tyres have to be the same size and type (not just rolling radius) on any axle.

 

The handbook reads like that because Skodas tend to have all four wheels the same.

It is certainly advisable to have matching tyres on the same axle, but many cars do not, not the same brand / tread pattern, but they are usually the same size.

(Watch used cars from Arnold Clark & others like them selling used cars, they sometimes have fitters that are called Tommy.)

 

All 4 wheels or tyres do not have to be of the same design or size. But Pairs should match, and then AWD or Full Time 4x4's are another matter.

 

 Different pairs are fitted to the likes of a Audi RS3, as an option.

Not as with a BMW, Porsche & others where the wide wheels / tyres might be on the rear.  the Audi gets the wider wheels / tyres on the front.

 

PS

If you have directional tyres and carry one spare with a directional tyre, there will be a 50/50 chance it is going the correct direction if you need to put the spare on.

There are Skodas that have OEM Directional Tyres and the Spare is again a wheel / tyre to use as a temp and that you should reduce your speed to 

a safe speed while using one.

All just common sense stuff really, but then many never bother until the first time they start to lose it on a corner.

Edited 1 November, 20169 yr by Offski

Spare wheel and tool kit etc. was around £150- I bought this for a used vehicle-it's much cheaper as an option on a new vehicle.Tyre is same as those already on car i.e. Michelin Energy Saver 205/55/16.

The label might be because the same 16" spare wheel could be used on cars with larger wheels. The full size spare on my 15 month old car doesn't have a warning sticker. That might be because it was known that it was the same as the other wheels when it was fitted, or because Skoda has changed its policy. This year's brochure says "Spare wheels are restricted to 50mph", which is new.

 

I think the regulation is (I'll wait for someone else to jump in an quote it) that the tyres have to be the same size and type (not just rolling radius) on any axle.

When it says type, it means radial or cross-ply. I doubt that anyone's planning to fit cross-plies to an Octavia.

 

Back when all cars had proper spare wheels, we didn't worry about the tyre on the spare being identical in brand, age, wear, tread pattern or depth to the other tyres.

?

Is that a Royal We?

 

Back when ESP was something cars of the future there was lots of things that people never bothered about.

Still many do not.

If by chance there is a Crash Investigator or Loss adjuster checking your vehicle they might well show an interest in the speed a car with 3 alloys and one steel wheel fitted was travelling at.

...

 

 

If by chance there is a Crash Investigator or Loss adjuster checking your vehicle they might well show an interest in the speed a car with 3 alloys and one steel wheel fitted was travelling at.

 

Replace "might well" with "definitely will".

 

 

Does anyone else wish that some of the idiots out there do have a crash? No serious injuries, no third party involvement or damage or expense, just wrecking their pride and joy - or their company's.

The Audi who passed me at well over 80 a few weeks back, for instance. I could imagine the spacesaver screaming for mercy.

My car fitted 205/55 16s came supplied with a full size steel spare with no sticker. So all 5 tyres and rims match in size so there is no speed restrictions.

I understand that the OP bought his spare separately, I would assume that the spare was labeled with restrictions because it could go on any car and tyre size and and aspect ratio may not match. If tyre size and aspect ratio match on the axle there are no speed restrictions.

Found this link

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/non-standard-spare-wheels.html