Spare Wheel or Not?

[Expatman]

I know this is an old chestnut and I have always been on the side of having an actual spare wheel, however, I am having second thoughts and as I am about to order a new Yeti thought it worth getting everyones thoughts.

The question I am asking myself now is whether I would really want to change a wheel on a road or motorway bearing in mind just how busy they are nowadays. It seems a particularly hazardous activity to expose oneself to passing traffic as you scrabble around changing a wheel while cars and lorries thunder past only inches away. I have read that several people have been killed by passing traffic while changing wheels! In reality wouldn't it be safer to phone for assistance and get a breakdown vehicle to sort it out? I believe that AA etc. now carry universal "get you home" spares they lease you while you get your tyre repaired/replaced at a proper tyre dealers. The downside is that you would probably have to wait an hour+ for a breakdown truck to arrive but at least you could be safe and not exposed to traffic or elements. Okay if you are working to tight deadlines I can see that waiting for a breakdown truck might be difficult but as I am retired time is rarely of the essence!

In addition you get more boot space and less weight to carry around. Incidentally I haven't mentioned the gunk sealant suppled with new cars because I somehow don't think I would want to risk using it anyway!

[jekyll]

Definitely need a spare wheel! I used mine on three occasions, once at home and twice on other people's driveways. I'm awaiting a new yeti on pch and have added the spare even though I've only got the car for 2 years. Everyone to their own though.

[Smokeyjoe]

To me a spare wheel gives more peace of mind than a tin of gunk which may not fix the puncture anyway.

Edited 11 December, 2016 by Smokeyjoe

[RickT]

What use is a car that doesn't roll!

I carry a spare wheel, I hope its never needed but its there. :thumbup:  

[philbes]

Definitely want a spare the same size as the four wheels/tyres fitted to the car.  To me a full size compatible spare means that I can continue my journey with minimum delay and at normal road speeds (not limited to 80kph due to an 'odd' sized tyre).

 

To the OP - if you are waiting for a breakdown truck when on a motorway or dual-carriageway it is better that you, and any passengers, to not sit in the cat but get further from the road.

[Clive]

I'm a spare wheel fan too , and although my previous 2 cars came without one and I never had a single puncture , I feel much safer with a proper spare in the boot .

[Llanigraham]

I've got a spare in my Yeti more because of the forestry tracks I drive and for towing in Europe. Personally there is no way I would try to change a tyre on the motorway or most A roads, much too dangerous!

 

Worked out the other day I haven't had a puncture since we moved here, 13 years ago, and can't remember when I had one before that.

Edited 11 December, 2016 by Llanigraham

[BillBham]

Always carry a spare. If I had a blow out on the motorway I wouldn't change an offside tyre without support of breakdown services / highways agency / police.

Having had the unfortunate situation of a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere (North Yorks moors) with no phone signal, I always carry a spare nowadays.

[angler]

Being an elderly gent.and not being physically capable of changing a wheel opted not to have one,this gives me enough space for a dog crate.I did have a puncture caused by a screw through the sidewall phoned my recovery agent,Britannia rescue who collected my car phoned around for best price for new tyre took my car and passengers to tyre depot.all sorted in about an hour.

[DGW]

I have a spare wheel for my Yeti and a dog crate which fits the car. The last time I had a puncture - when driving my wife's 2007 Fabia vRS - two very helpful traffic policemen changed the wheel for me at the roadside (while not too obviously checking the other 3 tyres, and me for signs of alcohol) and we wre able to resume our journey shortly afterwards. They helped when they saw the difficulty I was having freeing the alloy from the hub. Their footwear was heavier than mine and judicious use thereof quickly freed the wheel.

[eribaMotters]

I am also one who would not be without a spare. The one that comes with the Yeti has an 80kph max yellow warning sticker on it. The tyre is NOT a spacesaver but is narrower at 195mm I think. The rolling diameter is however the same and both speed and load rating suitable for a fully loaded vehicle. From this you will realise the 80kph is an advisory. I cannot see how it could be a legal max.

 

Colin

[gumdrop]

By the time you start to pull onto the hard shoulder or find

a suitable layby to pull into, the flat tyre could be possibly

beyond recovery by the repair fluid.

Towing, the spare is a must have anyway.

[ernieb]

Spare tyre +1

[philbes]

I am also one who would not be without a spare. The one that comes with the Yeti has an 80kph max yellow warning sticker on it. The tyre is NOT a spacesaver but is narrower at 195mm I think. The rolling diameter is however the same and both speed and load rating suitable for a fully loaded vehicle. From this you will realise the 80kph is an advisory. I cannot see how it could be a legal max.

 

Colin

If the spare tyre is not the same diameter, width and aspect ratio as the tyre it replaces then the car is legally limited to 80kph.  So the 205/55-16, supplied as the spare for the 225/40-18 tyres on my Octavia vRS, means legally limited to 80kph if the spare is used.

[Expatman]

Most of the posts relate to the arguments I have made myself to justify always having a spare wheel - peace of mind, not getting stuck etc. - however, I wonder if this really makes sense nowadays? If you wouldn't change your own wheel because of traffic etc. then just as well make use of the one carried by the AA breakdown truck (Skodacare use AA) and release the boot space. Agreed you could get stuck on, say, the North York Moors without phone signal but how likely is that? Statistically it is highly unlikely and you could just as well break down for some other reason.

In effect then it comes down to statistics - anything can happen but how likely is it to happen and what are the consequences if it does? Statistically chance of having a puncture is very low and consequences are having to wait till summoned help arrives. Not a major consequence surely so going against a lifetime of having a spare wheel looks like the sensible choice. 

[Llanigraham]

I am also one who would not be without a spare. The one that comes with the Yeti has an 80kph max yellow warning sticker on it. The tyre is NOT a spacesaver but is narrower at 195mm I think. The rolling diameter is however the same and both speed and load rating suitable for a fully loaded vehicle. From this you will realise the 80kph is an advisory. I cannot see how it could be a legal max.

 

Colin

 

Because the Law demands that if the spare wheel that is fitted is narrower than the other tyre on the same axle then the speed has to be limited to 80kph.

It is NOT advisory!

[Llanigraham]

Most of the posts relate to the arguments I have made myself to justify always having a spare wheel - peace of mind, not getting stuck etc. - however, I wonder if this really makes sense nowadays? If you wouldn't change your own wheel because of traffic etc. then just as well make use of the one carried by the AA breakdown truck (Skodacare use AA) and release the boot space. Agreed you could get stuck on, say, the North York Moors without phone signal but how likely is that? Statistically it is highly unlikely and you could just as well break down for some other reason.

In effect then it comes down to statistics - anything can happen but how likely is it to happen and what are the consequences if it does? Statistically chance of having a puncture is very low and consequences are having to wait till summoned help arrives. Not a major consequence surely so going against a lifetime of having a spare wheel looks like the sensible choice. 

 

Agreed, but if I get a puncture in the middle of Hafren or Crychan Forest I can easily be up to 10 miles from a road, and no recovery vehicle is going to come there to fix it. However if I am on the motorway I will be out of the car with my phone in my hand, waiting for the recovery truck.

[eribaMotters]

Thank you philbes and Llanigraham for putting me on the correct side of the law..

Bugger, wish I had known that before I towed a van 650 miles through France with a non legal wheel on my Touran after a blow out.

 

Colin

[Ryeman]

I've had slow leaks from picking up the odd screw or nail..........plenty of time to get a replacement organised

I don't recall ever having a blowout as such

[longedge]

I've had slow leaks from picking up the odd screw or nail..........plenty of time to get a replacement organised

That's my view nowadays especially since I don't do a lot of driving. The TPM gives sufficient warning and (in my experience) warns you well before things become critical. I'd accept that for some they are really necessary though.

[Ryeman]

A tyre getting slashed from FOD (foreign object damage) is the biggest risk or sidewall slashed by sharp curb or rocks on our tracks.

Putting air in your tyres helps, as American Ford 'Exploder' drivers found out..........they are an inventive lot, find ways to kill themselves whilst exploring their 'freedoms'

[Expatman]

Agreed, but if I get a puncture in the middle of Hafren or Crychan Forest I can easily be up to 10 miles from a road, and no recovery vehicle is going to come there to fix it. However if I am on the motorway I will be out of the car with my phone in my hand, waiting for the recovery truck.

Exactly, for your type of off roading a spare is essential but if, like me, off roading is parking in a damp field then a spare really is a waste of space. Never thought I would write that - but with age comes wisdom - or senility!!

[rarrar]

Once you are away from  urban areas and the main roads I suspect mobile coverage is poor and can be limited to one network only - possibly not yours. 

I wrote of 1 tyre and damaged another (but still drivable) by catching a slate kerb in the country, no mobile signal for several miles, getting dark ..... glad of the spare.

[goosander]

Generally I prefer having a spare, but this time I am choosing not to partly because I don't want to pay one on a leased car and partly because I need the additional load space height you gain from not having one.  I seem to get a puncture every 2 or 3 years, so the inconvenience of waiting for Skoda assist to fix it if necessary is neither here nor there really.

[Expatman]

Anyone got the variable Boot Floor? Wondered what it's like, I assume you can position it level with the tailgate opening - as if you had the spare wheel - and also position it flat on the boot floor so you have the full boot depth available and more boot space. Welcome confirmation on how it actually works.