Sodding space savers

Author
Discussion

vikingaero

10,256 posts

168 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Rich1973 said:
At least it's not a can of useless goo.
Exactly at least you are reasonably mobile on a spacesaver. With goo, what would you do? Drive to work on a gooed tyre? Drive on a punctured runflat. Of the 3 I'd rather driver on a spacesaver than something that could fail again.

gazza285

9,779 posts

207 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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bristolracer said:
For some of us more senior members on here
Modern space savers are far superior to some of the stuff we used to have on all four wheels.
When 185/70 13 was a wide performance tyre...

AyBee

10,522 posts

201 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Saw a space saver on a caravan at the weekend being towed at more than 70mph on the M25 yikes If you're just going 10 miles to work, I'd be happy driving that at up to 50mph for a few days until the new tyre arrived tbh.

Bill

52,472 posts

254 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Riley Blue said:
FWIW, a friend had a puncture in his Alfa 156, fitted the spacesaver and drove home, four-up, 130 miles away perfectly safely at normal motorway speed.
I got passed on the motorway by a 156 doing 80+ with a space saver on the front. In the rain. eek

I'd happily drive 10s of miles on one, but would make allowances for the fact one corner is going behave very differently to the others if pushed.

Chromegrill

1,067 posts

85 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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NiceCupOfTea said:
Worth remembering that if your car is more than a few years old it has been sat festering in the boot and will be well past its best.
I've only ever once had a puncture while driving and had to get the nice man with the AA van out. Even he struggled.....




.....to loosen the bolt holding the never-before-used spacesaver firmly under the boot floor.

I hadn't realised how big normal tyres are until we changed the tyre - the regular wheel only just managed to fit inside the boot. Thankfully I was on my way home from work and didn't have a boot full of luggage.

What irked more than calling the AA out to loosen the wheel from the holder was that I got to a nearby garage to find that the punctured tyre was irreparable and yet barely a week old!

Superhoop

4,676 posts

192 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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They are supposed to be a get you home/to a repair place solution really, but 20 miles shouldn't be an issue really as long as you stick to the 80kph limit that it will be rated to.

Also worth noting, that some manufacturers specify it should only be fitted to a specific axle (rear only for example) meaning having to first fit the space saver to the rear, and then fitting the now displaced rear wheel to the front axle if that's where the puncture was...

GoneAnon

1,703 posts

151 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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I've usedone to get from Wick toInverness.

On a Sunday, that really was the nearest place to get it replaced.

Vitorio

4,296 posts

142 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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williredale said:
addz86 said:
Didn't PH put two on the back of a C63 and go drifting round in it?

Be rate I reckon
biggrin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY
That looks absolutely brilliant!


As for space savers, just stick to the advertised 50 limit and dont worry too much, sit behind a lorry on the freeway and thank the motoring gods for not cursing you with one of those quick repair kits instead.

shakindog

489 posts

149 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Space saver wheels are a temporary measure their is no distance restrictions but speed is limited to 50mph
Ideally you don't want to be doing mega mileage on one but a few days till you get a new tyre sorted not a problem.

Just to add the kit in the boot of cars without a spare of any kind is NOT BLOODY FOAM.

parabolica

6,703 posts

183 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Bill said:
Riley Blue said:
FWIW, a friend had a puncture in his Alfa 156, fitted the spacesaver and drove home, four-up, 130 miles away perfectly safely at normal motorway speed.
I got passed on the motorway by a 156 doing 80+ with a space saver on the front. In the rain. eek

I'd happily drive 10s of miles on one, but would make allowances for the fact one corner is going behave very differently to the others if pushed.
When I lived in Aberdeen there was a WRX on my street that had a SS on the offside rear and it must have been on there for 3+ years. I had to use mine on my old 93 for a few days and it was skittish AF, even at 40mph!

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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The only puncture I've had in 20 odd years was at night on a tiny B road, barely one car wide; I clipped a rock at the bottom of the hedge and put a decent sized hole in the front tyre. Imagine my delight when i discovered the space saver wouldn't fit over the caliper, so had to extend the creaking bit of pressed tin that Honda laughingly call a jack to maximum so i could also get a rear wheel off to fit on the front and put the space saver on the rear. Somehow managed it without the car falling off the jack, but prompted me to start carrying a full size spare which I'll probably never need.

jamiem555

750 posts

210 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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I drove home from the middle of Wales to Scotland on a spacesaver. 400 miles on a Saturday evening. There was no way I'd be waiting to get a replacement at that time.

Mandat

3,878 posts

237 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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walsh said:
Well, I have joined the pucture club. At 60mph in the rain, which was much less dramatic than it sounds.

My mood was somewhat ruined however more by discovery that the golf doesn't have a proper wheel, as I thought it might, rather one of these wky space savers. I have ordered a new tyre from black circles, but I'm now wondering if it's even legal, let alone safe/sensible, to drive to work this evening on the space saver. A quick search on the Internet/ /ph seems to bring up various conflicting answers.

Opinions? Or even better, facts? It's "only" 10 miles away, but I don't like to use the car at all unless it's legal.. First time in ages I haven't got anything else running in the fleet either. Balls.
Yes, it's totally illegal to use the space saver wheel.

This is specifically why VW have provided one for you, so that you cannot use it. rolleyes

Matttrakker

630 posts

146 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Last time I had a puncture and annoyingly I've had about 5. I was in my old 2008 Bmw fully laden with camping gear wife and kids. Got a puncture as I came off the ferry, changed it and drove home to Milton Keynes at a nice 50 mph all the way.
I'd much prefer to have one on the rear even on a rwd than on the front for steering.
I try and keep a good eye on tyres but I've been unlucky, perhaps not as I do a large mileage so it's inevitable I guess. I've had a few at work too that I'm not counting on work vehicles. I don't even drive up curbs!
If you are extra cautious I don't see the problem using the car for a couple of days.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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Jesus Christ what a bunch of jessies. Just use the fking tyre until you can get a new one and drive sensibly in the meantime. fk me.

caelite

4,273 posts

111 months

Wednesday 29th March 2017
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They are adequate for a lazy commute, I got stuck with one on the front of a 200hp hot hatch for a couple of weeks after cracking an alloy on a pothole, pulling away was a pain in the Ass, the car felt nervous under braking but it was adequate.

Legally speaking I think the only restriction is the 50mph limit, I wouldn't recommend you exceed that.

Slow

6,973 posts

136 months

Thursday 30th March 2017
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Drove for about 2 weeks on one.

Burst a front tyre in a pothole, ordered a new one - being the highlands its like 3-4 days. The day after it was fitted the other front tyre met a large screw so back on with the space saver.

Riley Blue

20,914 posts

225 months

Thursday 30th March 2017
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Bill said:
Riley Blue said:
FWIW, a friend had a puncture in his Alfa 156, fitted the spacesaver and drove home, four-up, 130 miles away perfectly safely at normal motorway speed.
I got passed on the motorway by a 156 doing 80+ with a space saver on the front. In the rain. eek

I'd happily drive 10s of miles on one, but would make allowances for the fact one corner is going behave very differently to the others if pushed.
This was on the rear, in Belgium/France, at night, in the rain. I was prepared for a slow ride home but it wasn't my car and he was pissed off - but we survived.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Thursday 30th March 2017
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Fort Jefferson said:
Space savers are for emergency use only to get you home. They are not for driving about on until you can be bothered to change it.
Yes, but you appear to be suggesting that this can be tested, which it cannot.

No, you wont pass an MOT with one fitted, but you neednt prove that you have just had a puncture and have not yet made it home if you are seen using one.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Thursday 30th March 2017
quotequote all
Mandat said:
Yes, it's totally illegal to use the space saver wheel.

This is specifically why VW have provided one for you, so that you cannot use it. rolleyes
It did used to be - but this changed thirty-odd years ago. Porsches fitted both with collapsible tyre thpes and the more conventional skinny wheel types both came with a letter from PCGB explaining that their use was prohibited and requesting that owners contact Porsche recovery in the event of a puncture.