Muppets with spacesavers on

[grenpayne]

I commute on the M4 between J15 and J16 everyday and have done for over 10 years. Today I saw something genuinely shocked me, a right muppet in a new Mazda 3 (LL60 **F) in the outside lane at about 85 leptons with a spacesaver spare on (and no lights when it was practically dark - tt)

As soon as I saw it I dropped well back as I could just see it shearing off and causing a bloody great mess on the motorway. Then, as the traffic thinned out he was off, at what looked like well over 100 leptons!

Now I thought spacesavers were good for about 50mph? Or are they that good now that you can crack on as if nothing's changed?

[Acheron]

I hate them, they are so obviously dangerous.

I had one on the Mondeo a few weeks back thanks to a pothole. In reality i should have stuck it on the back but never had time to piss about.

Heavy braking was a nightmare, the car would lurch to the left, the side the SS was on. Even turning sharply at reasonable speed prompted a fair bit of understeer. I made sure i was at 45mph all the time with that damn thing on.

I also noticed when i came to take it off, 2 of the 5 bolts holding it on had managed to work themselves to only being hand-tight.

Totally dangerous, i hate them. If its a cost saving exercise, at least make the tyre space big enough for me to buy and fit my own normal size steelie.

[Deerfoot]

Acheron said:

If its a cost saving exercise,

I`m guessing that the name spacesaver indicates it`s a space saving excercise.

[MX7]

I think they are rated at 55mph generally, but in reality should be about 40. In fact, ban them from motorways.

[geeteeaye]

The spacesaver I had to use a few times on the Impreza used to make a terrible road noise if I got to 50-55mph or so, whether it was designed this way or was really just suffering that much even at those speeds I dont know. Certainly made me want to drive on it as little as possible, felt embarrassing crawling along at 45-50.

[Acheron]

Deerfoot said:

I`m guessing that the name spacesaver indicates it`s a space saving excercise.

I've never had a problem with space in cars that are fitted with a normal wheel.

[joebongo]

Neighbour's had one on for over a week - plenty of trips since then.

I despair except it's Essex where brains come second to bling and suiting yourself.

[Jimmyarm]

Deerfoot said:

I`m guessing that the name spacesaver indicates it`s a space saving excercise.

'manufacturingcostsaver' may be more accurate then ?

Full size spares are still an option with quite a few brands aren't they ?

[Acheron]

And apparently there's an 80mph version out;
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/...

[Trommel]

Doing about 190 km/h on a Portuguese motorway - was overtaken by an Audi S3 with a space saver on the back.

[geeteeaye]

Acheron said:

Deerfoot said:

I`m guessing that the name spacesaver indicates it`s a space saving excercise.

I've never had a problem with space in cars that are fitted with a normal wheel.

That's because those cars have sufficient space, the ones with spacesavers don't - not rocket science is it.

[shouldbworking]

Acheron said:

I hate them, they are so obviously dangerous.

I had one on the Mondeo a few weeks back thanks to a pothole. In reality i should have stuck it on the back but never had time to piss about.

Heavy braking was a nightmare, the car would lurch to the left, the side the SS was on. Even turning sharply at reasonable speed prompted a fair bit of understeer. I made sure i was at 45mph all the time with that damn thing on.

I also noticed when i came to take it off, 2 of the 5 bolts holding it on had managed to work themselves to only being hand-tight.

Totally dangerous, i hate them. If its a cost saving exercise, at least make the tyre space big enough for me to buy and fit my own normal size steelie.

Bloody 45mph everywhere numpties

[TheLurker]

I thought they were OK over 50mph, but there was some law against it? Different size tyre on an axle?

IMO, they are pretty dangerous things, but how often do you need to use them?

[Acheron]

geeteeaye said:

That's because those cars have sufficient space, the ones with spacesavers don't - not rocket science is it.

I fail to understand. If a vectra can store a full size wheel, why cant a mondeo?

Its not like the manufacturer made the car body, then the enginner stood there scratching his head wondering how the wheel would fit into the hole he was given, so decided on a space saver.

[Jimmyarm]

TheLurker said:

I thought they were OK over 50mph, but there was some law against it? Different size tyre on an axle?

IMO, they are pretty dangerous things, but how often do you need to use them?

AFAIL it's an MOT fail to have different sizes on the same axle, if you took your car in for an MOT with the space saver on it would fail.

Doesn't this mean its technically illegal to drive with a spacesaver on ?

[deveng]

A 'spacesaver' is not a space saver, its a money saver. my mk1 focus had a spacesaver, my friends had a full size.

Its purely a money saving think. Manufacturers will only package space for a 'spacesaver' so that they can save £70 a car for no additional outlay.

As for speed rating, they are 'rated' to 50mph, but they are infact mostly 'N' rated tyres so are good to (IIRC) about 90mph. Realistically, with load taken into account, you can *probably* get away with about a tonne before anything get really hairy.

The problem is they are made of natural rubber, not synthetic, so they get rooking hot at speed, and this completely changes the wear characteristics. A 'spare tyre for life' as intended (they are made of natural rubber so they don't perish when left in the boot for 15 years, also don't leak as much pressure) will only be good for 30-40 miles at full pelt.

[geeteeaye]

Acheron said:

I fail to understand. If a vectra can store a full size wheel, why cant a mondeo?

Its not like the manufacturer made the car body, then the enginner stood there scratching his head wondering how the wheel would fit into the hole he was given, so decided on a space saver.

Presumably if the Mondeo had a full size spare, it would reduce the boot size below what Ford wanted?

Can't speak for every car but bear in mind how wide some wheels are nowadays, not hard to see why the boot space would be hugely comprised by a full size spare. Of course the alternative is to have run-flats like BMW's - I'd rather have a space saver.

[busta]

deveng said:

A 'spacesaver' is not a space saver, its a money saver. my mk1 focus had a spacesaver, my friends had a full size.

Its purely a money saving think. Manufacturers will only package space for a 'spacesaver' so that they can save £70 a car for no additional outlay.

As for speed rating, they are 'rated' to 50mph, but they are infact mostly 'N' rated tyres so are good to (IIRC) about 90mph. Realistically, with load taken into account, you can *probably* get away with about a tonne before anything get really hairy.

The problem is they are made of natural rubber, not synthetic, so they get rooking hot at speed, and this completely changes the wear characteristics. A 'spare tyre for life' as intended (they are made of natural rubber so they don't perish when left in the boot for 15 years, also don't leak as much pressure) will only be good for 30-40 miles at full pelt.

It's not that people doubt the integrity of the tyre itself at speed, more the fact that it is 1/3rd of the width of the other tyres, will behave differently under load and obviously offers significantly less grip and control.

On the plus side, if you have a pair of them they are great in the snow.

[MX7]

deveng said:

A 'spacesaver' is not a space saver, its a money saver.

It depends. A MX5 isn't capable of getting a road wheel in the boot.

Actually, that was a 17 inch in a Mk1, but I doubt that a 15 would fit either, and it leaves you in a difficult position if you get a flat on the motorway wil a boot full of luggage and a passenger.

Edited by MX7 on Wednesday 2nd March 21:01

[Ed.]

Do BMW's even have a space for a spare now most models have runflats?
There must be some packaging savings somewhere like the removal of handbrakes.