hello,

have found a spare wheel in my recent purchase (superb 140cr se dsg estate) as follows,

16 inch steel,205/55/r16 94v conti 2. the rim has the yellow logo s stating a 50 mph speed

limit!! . is this correct given the spec, or have the logo s been attached  mistakenly.

                        thankyou for your help

That is correct given the spec. Your as fitted road wheels /tyres are a different size.

 

 

Battash - that sounds like an emergency (read that as "space- / weight- / cost-saving") wheel. They're only designed to keep you going until you can get a puncture fixed. The tyre isn't up to the spec of the main set, hence the max speed limit. There might also be a maximum distance limit - probably worth checking.

1 hour ago, KenM said:

that sounds like an emergency (read that as "space- / weight- / cost-saving") wheel.

 

Well, it is a "proper" wheel - not the glorified bicycle wheel type that accompanied my Mothers Honda. Mine came with Continental Sport Contact 2, 205/55 R16 rubber on a steel wheel . As you said, I've assumed that the speed warning is a generic one due to the spec -  most cars may have different rubber on a different size/weight of wheel (my wheels are 17'2 on 225/45 R17 alloys).

 

The owners manual for my car says this about max speed: "If the dimensions or design of the temporary spare wheel differ from the fitted tyres, never drive faster than 80 km/h (or 50 mph)."

 

1 hour ago, KenM said:

There might also be a maximum distance limit - probably worth checking.

 

I was given one for a BMW I had - but that was probably related to using the runflats with a punture.

 

My Superb owners manual doesn't manage to give a distance at all, it just says "If the dimensions or design of the spare wheel differ from the tyres fitted to the vehicle (e.g. winter tyres or low-profile tyres), it must only be used briefly in the event of a puncture and if an appropriately cautious style of driving is adopted"

I have got a set of 5 winter alloys - 205/55-16 - and one of those is my spare and I would - and have in the past - treat it as a "proper" wheel. On the steel spare I peeled the lovely yellow sticker off. Comes off nicely with a heat gun or hair dryer.

 

Killed my brand new Uniroyal RS3 :( on my way back home from Europe - 154 miles from Rotterdam Europoort, it was late for ferry so 60-70 mph then another 100 miles from Hull to Manchester - this time ~60mph no problems at all

 

Hint: after first tyre pressure warning - you need to stop, turn the engine off and then you can reset warning

On 01/12/2018 at 11:44, 26DIPP said:

I have got a set of 5 winter alloys - 205/55-16 - and one of those is my spare and I would - and have in the past - treat it as a "proper" wheel. On the steel spare I peeled the lovely yellow sticker off. Comes off nicely with a heat gun or hair dryer.

 

 

That is fine when you have 205/55 16 tyres as your main tyres (as my car has)  but the original poster has an SE spec car with 17" tyres in which case the different 205/55 16 needs to be treated as an emergency wheel as it will handle & brake very differently compared to the standard fit wheels/tyres.

 

 

Edited 2 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

On the last V70 - 225/45-17 standard wheel - again my spare had a winter tyre on. I had caught a bolt and had a puncture on the motorway and fitted the 215/55-16. The drive and handling including braking was no different. Maybe the ESP and the ABS are just too clever to allow any mishaps, but there was no flickering of any warning lights in the dashboard.

I agree that by law a different size is an emergency wheel. But then by law I do not go over 70 M/H on the motorway.

1 hour ago, 26DIPP said:

 

I agree that by law a different size is an emergency wheel. But then by law I do not go over 70 M/H on the motorway.

 

I had to do an out and out 70-0 emergency stop in the Superb a couple of years ago on the A1, all was well but the car was running on four identical tyres (TS850's). I think if the tyres had been different makes I think things would have been different, never mind running on different sizes and profiles. For me and my family I'll only stick to 50 if I put my spare on (in my case same size but very different tyres)

 

In France by law you have to run with the same make of tyre on each axle and tyre fitters insist if a tyre is replaced after a puncture that the one on the other side is replaced at the same time. 

Edited 2 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

On 30/11/2018 at 20:24, KenM said:

Battash - that sounds like an emergency (read that as "space- / weight- / cost-saving") wheel. They're only designed to keep you going until you can get a puncture fixed. The tyre isn't up to the spec of the main set, hence the max speed limit. There might also be a maximum distance limit - probably worth checking.

The speed limit is because the tyre is a different size and speed rating compared to other wheels/tyres on the car and there could be situations where it's unsafe to drive too quickly: it's largely Skoda covering their arse in the event of an accident. It's a proper wheel and tyre combination, and if your car has 16s from the factory it's the same spec as those.