My Octavia has a full size spare wheel and tyre (ie not a space saver) but has a big sticker on it saying max 80kph. It's a steel wheel, the car is fitted with alloy wheels.

 

I have had two tyre specialists look at it and they both said it is perfectly safe to drive at highway speeds (110kph).

 

I queried this with the Skoda dealer and their answer was that Skoda must have a good reason for this.

 

Any thoughts?

 

The first time we got a puncture we ended up driving 200km on a single lane highway at 80kph with a long line of vehicles behind us (this is Australia!)

53 minutes ago, Dennis3 said:

My Octavia has a full size spare wheel and tyre (ie not a space saver) but has a big sticker on it saying max 80kph. It's a steel wheel, the car is fitted with alloy wheels.

Is it the same size as the road tyres? I've had similar where the spare tyre (not the wheel but the tyre) was an odd size so I bought a same size tyre. If the tyre sizes match, just peel the sticker off.

Full size spare is still an Emergency Spare even if the load and speed rating is correct but it is a different size tyre from the one on the other side of the car.  Profile / width, tread pattern and compound.  Non identical and the steel rim is  different size / width from the alloy. .   ? Where did you find tyre specialists, at a tyre and exhaust centre?     PS, a good reason advice or stickers can be there is some people do not think, so there is stuff that goes about like Spare wheels, to different countries, continents even.  Dry roads are rather different from wet roads, and the different spares might be on fwd cars or ones with haldex, and the circumference slightly different. 

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by Ootohere

Yep I have a 16” steel spare with the same note on it and running 18” alloys from factory. Does make you think why you can’t go quicker with a full sizes spare but as @Ootoheresays there are many factors to consider. 

When you fit the spare wheel there will be mismatched wheels (one alloy and one steel) on that axle, this is why it has a 50mph sticker - it's not the tyre that's the issue it's that it's not the same as the tyre/wheel on the other end of that axle which will make the handling less predictable.

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by PetrolDave

6 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

When you fit the spare wheel there will be mismatched wheels (one alloy and one steel) on that axle, this is why it has a 50mph sticker - it's not the tyre that's the issue it's that it's not the same as the tyre/wheel on the other end of that axle which will make the handling less predictable.

Cite from Motor Vehicle Construction and Use Regs needed to justify this argument.

6 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

Cite from Motor Vehicle Construction and Use Regs needed to justify this argument.

It's not a regulation thing, just something that two very experienced former racing drivers (F1 & Group C sports cars) who became ride & handling experts for a well known sports car manufacturer said to everyone prepared to listen to drivers with their level of skill.

It's also physics. Unless the tyre size (spec) is identical and the wheel dimensions are the same, oh and the mass of the wheel is the same, then it won't be a matched pair and the car will handle like cack. Add in modern stuff like abs etc and the car will not be happy.

5 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

It's not a regulation thing, just something that two very experienced former racing drivers (F1 & Group C sports cars) who became ride & handling experts for a well known sports car manufacturer said to everyone prepared to listen to drivers with their level of skill.

So it's just Juan Carlos Fandango's opinion, based on driving at 101% of the car's capability. You and @MarkyG82 should come back when you can demonstrate that you can consistently lap a race track at that level.

That's humourous and all but you should come back when you can demonstrate you can catch that diesel covered patch in front of someone who pulls out on you without the aid of the stability control or abs.

I bet you put winter tyres only on the front too.

 

Insults and snide remarks asides, it really does make a difference unless you know the pressure difference required to make them rotate at the same speed. A different tyre profile will rotate differently under load and the stability programs aren't designed to cope. One of the reasons the speed is limited is to allow the driver additional reaction time due to the unbalanced tyre layout making it unfamiliar. Not necessarily just the cars ability to function.

@Dennis3 What size are the tyres on the four alloys? And on the steel spare?

10 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

So it's just Juan Carlos Fandango's opinion, based on driving at 101% of the car's capability. You and @MarkyG82 should come back when you can demonstrate that you can consistently lap a race track at that level.

Try Googling mixing tyres on the same axle... you find lots of hits, this quote is from Protyre

 

Quote

Unequal tyres can adversely affect your car’s steering, acceleration, and general handling characteristics. You could experience less grip and reduced control, because the steering feels sloppy.

 

@MarkyG82 @PetrolDave Well, you've just both demonstrated that you can't be bothered to actually read what other people say. From yesterday, "

Is it the same size as the road tyres? I've had similar where the spare tyre (not the wheel but the tyre) was an odd size so I bought a same size tyre."

 

Since you've ignored that and continued to argue about running an odd size spare, you're both blocked!

@Paws4Thot same size tyre is only part of the consideration. Wheel dimensions contribute too. If you have a 5th alloy with the same size (and spec) tyre then yeah all is good. A narrow rim or offset difference is not to be messed around with.

12 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

@MarkyG82 @PetrolDave Well, you've just both demonstrated that you can't be bothered to actually read what other people say.

And you've demonstrated an inability to consider that regulations don't cover every aspect of using a vehicle, and an inability to think about the effect on handling of different weight wheels on the same axle.

 

You're blocked too for your seemingly arrogant and inflexible attitude.