Anybody Else Wish They Had a Full Size Spare Wheel?

[Vanin]

Thinking of taking the Volvo XC 70 to Austria on a ski holiday but with the time of arrival in the early hours of Saturday morning the thought of a puncture is a great worry.
Unpacking all the luggage to retrieve the spare and then finding the alloy will not fit back in the well in an already tightly packed car. Then to carry on the rest of the journey on the space saver at 50 mph, which may be nearly three hundred miles. Garages shut, roadside assistance would do no more than I can do anyway. Presume that tyre inflating aerosol treatments still limit the speed.

I miss my old 940 Estate at times like this!

So much for progress!

[Zod]

Given the difficulty I had getting two rear tyres into my car to take it to get them fitted, no.

Even in my wife's car, it would be a pain, given the sheer size of the things.

[sploosh]

Spare on my wife's astra is bigger than the road wheels because she has an 'eco' model - very surprised when I saw that.

[Fort Jefferson]

I have a full size spare.

[V8forweekends]

I don't wish I had one - because I have.

[Patrick Bateman]

I don't even have a space-saver between the two cars. I don't particularly trust the foam stuff to do its job either.

[alangla]

Yep, even if it was a full size tyre on a crappy steel rim I'd be happier than I am with the space saver. On my last car a spacesaver, jack & wheel brace was a no-cost option, on the current one it was £100!

[Crapgame]

Yes no idea where I would put the full size wheel given the faff it was even when the boot was empty
It's on the list of things to do!

[kambites]

I haven't got a spare wheel at all and I can't say it particularly worries me. It's not as if punctures are frequent, I've had one in 17 years of driving.

[MGJohn]

Wrongly assumed my new ZS would have a spare when I picked it up Epic fail on my part because it did not. Just a get-you-going-maybe aerosol. Soon bought a full sized spare off ebay. Brand new with new tyre for 40 quid! OK it did not seat fully in the wheel well meant for a space saver, but, we can live with that. Just a wheel sized hump in the spacious hatch area. No big deal. Still have that car and only ever had one flat tyre to change. Glad of that spare though. Soon mobile again.

Several cars since have had no spare ( aerosol .. ) or space saver. Never good enough. Enthusiasts' web sites and good old ebay solved that as now these cars do have a full sized matching spare.. Better than useful not forgetting the well known law of sod. No spare you WILL get a flat. Never fails. Money well spent getting those spare spare wheels ... recommended.

[anonymous-user]

Got a full size matching spare alloy wheel and tyre when I bought my FL2 last year, crazy not to as its less than £200 which if you were to buy a tyre and wheel separately aftermarket would be much more.

Id have been happy with a space saver tbh but the only other option is foam/gum which apparently can then render a punctured tyre unrepairable?

[rallycross]

I would be happy even with a space saver but Bmw being the idiots they are have given my car no spare wheel and filled up the space I could store a space saver with pointless storage space. And I have got rid of the horrible run flats so I do need a space saver for long distance trips.

[alangla]

MGJohn said:

Better than useful not forgetting the well known law of sod. No spare you WILL get a sidewall failure/mangled rim/valve failure. Never fails.

EF(gloomier)A.

[lemonslap]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I have an XC90.

It has no spare at all.

Its ridiculous

It's normally under the vehicle . Only know as I helped a friend out that had a flat recently.

[lemonslap]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I have an XC90.

It has no spare at all.

Its ridiculous

It's normally under the vehicle . Only know as I helped a friend out that had a flat recently.

[lemonslap]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

lemonslap said:

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I have an XC90.

It has no spare at all.

Its ridiculous

It's normally under the vehicle . Only know as I helped a friend out that had a flat recently.

Dealer option, requires a winch and cradle fitting, is a space saver only and the winch system often fails through rust . Not worth bothering with really

Ahh ok, one I used worked fine. greese the cables and mech job jobbed.

[morgrp]

Mrs morgrp has just purchased a kia sportage - all models come with a full size ALLOY(!)
spare - rare these days and certainly nice to see in my opinion

[MGJohn]

alangla said:

MGJohn said:

Better than useful not forgetting the well known law of sod. No spare you WILL get a sidewall failure/mangled rim/valve failure. Never fails.

EF(gloomier)A.

Cheer up chap... I'm a my glass is half full geezer... You can challenge the motoring gods/sods though with little effort.

Even my now aged MGF has a new unused complete spare under the bonnet. Best Insurance I know against the Law of Sod. The spare in my 1999 620ti has never been used either neither.

If your car does not have one and has sufficient storage space, silly not to get a good spare. Often relatively cheap if you search enthusiasts' car sites and even ebay.

[Matttracker]

I had this exact problem this august! E91 BMW estate on the way back from France just got off the ferry with a full car, kids, camping crap etc!!
Luckily I bought a e60 space saver and always carry that, but suddenly the tyre light comes on and a fully flat rear tyre 19x10 which I had to fit in fully loaded car. It did go in with a bit of work and packing stuff around the kids. But very glad I had the spare.

[framerateuk]

I have a full size spare - I bought one so I could refurbish my wheels one at a time and still be able to use the car!

I don't keep it in the car though, while it does fit in the boot cavity, I don't trust the boot floor to be able to deal with the weight. Tyre weld for me instead!