Hi, everyone. This is my first car I have ever owned that does not have a spare wheel. I was wondering what other peoples thoughts are on this. I don't have a lot of confidence in the gel that is supplied with the car. I was thinking of buying one of these. https://www.thewheelshop.co.uk/vehicle-year-2017-present-day/diameter-3f-17/?product_cat=skoda-karoq&filter_vehicle-year=2017-present-day&searched=true Has anyone else used this company? I will be driving down to Northern Spain in August and would feel a bit more chilled with one of these in the boot.

Regards,

Mick.

Welcome to the forum.

Agree with your feelings about not having a spare - I specified a full-size spare (16") when I bought my wagon 11 years ago.

I've never been comfortable driving without a spare, even though I've only ever had to fit one on a very few occasions in more than 60 years of driving!

Space-saver will be fine, I assume you have 17s as standard.

The sealant 'gunk' doesn't always work, certainly won't with much more than a very small puncture - and more than a few tyre fitters have told me that they won't repair and refit a tyre that's had it used on - so very likely you will have to write-off a tyre for a repairable puncture!

The Gel is only any good for a slow puncture, it’s a limp you home measure. Many tyre fitting companies will not repair a tyre that’s had the Gel or some other temp solution injected. Remember a Space saver should not be used on the front axle - so use the space saver on the back and put the good back wheel on the front. The TPMS will alert you to a low pressure but unless it’s a pressure monitoring valve it will only alert after the pressure has dropped by around 10 psi. If you have the Gel then you have a pump so you can often do a pump and go sequence.

3 minutes ago, thamestrader said:

Remember a Space saver should not be used on the front axle

I did not know that, good to know thanks! Is there a specific reason for that?

Mick.

11 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Welcome to the forum.

Thankyou.

The reason for not mixing wheel sizes (E.g.) space-saver) is because there can be a differential issue if the rolling circumference is different by more than a certain amount on the drive axle.

If driving long distance I'd want a full size spare. No idea why but neither the wheel width nor tyre profile are specified on that 17". Possibly also worth mentioning that Skoda don't offer a 17" space-saver, only 16 & 18", so there could be an insurance issue using one.

Best bet would be to find a same size wheel, both diameter & width, as fitted to the car, as that takes some of the pressure off of finding an immediate replacement should you get a puncture. One thing to note is that a full width wheel will eat into boot space.

1 hour ago, Rbz5416 said:

If driving long distance I'd want a full size spare. No idea why but neither the wheel width nor tyre profile are specified on that 17". Possibly also worth mentioning that Skoda don't offer a 17" space-saver, only 16 & 18", so there could be an insurance issue using one.

Best bet would be to find a same size wheel, both diameter & width, as fitted to the car, as that takes some of the pressure off of finding an immediate replacement should you get a puncture. One thing to note is that a full width wheel will eat into boot space.

Thanks for the reply Rbz5416. I agree about the full size spare however my way of thinking is I would like to be in a position where I could change the wheel and get off of a motorway or remote location for safety with family in the car to a tyre centre or even a hotel.