Car manufacturers phase out spare tyres

NathWraith · 31 Oct 2012 at 14:57

PardonTheWait said:
I saw a car once going along on two space saver spare wheels.

a) where the hell did he get the second one from

b) how was finding another space saver less effort than getting new tyres

c) how long was he driving on one space saver to get ANOTHER puncture?

My mind literally boggled. I mean it made an actual 'boggle' noise that could be heard outside of my head.

this made me lol hard

Hagar · 31 Oct 2012 at 17:12

Eliot said:
Theres no rules in either the mot or anywhere else about it, its just recovery companies being annoying.
What difference is there between my 306 without a spare and my mates factory standard vxr without a spare?
ZERO RAC/AA...... ZERO.....

Just a business opportunity. For people who cannot fix a wheel by the roadside due to,

lack of experience or knowledge

lack of tools, repair kit or spare wheel

laziness (or a boot full of luggage).

Basher · 31 Oct 2012 at 17:21

nkata said:
Just a business opportunity. For people who cannot fix a wheel by the roadside due to,

lack of experience or knowledge

lack of tools, repair kit or spare wheel

laziness (or a boot full of luggage).

Or perceived safety.

ShakenNstirred · 31 Oct 2012 at 17:32

Merlin5 said:
Don't know how old this article is and if it's common knowledge, but it seems that repair kits are replacing the spare tyre. Their reasoning is that what you might end up paying for a replacement tyre if you fail with the repair kit is compensated by a lighter car giving additional fuel economy. Sure

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/spare-tyre

more like it saves them money by not giving you one

Lowe · 31 Oct 2012 at 17:35

I've not got a spare - the standard spares won't go over my 4 pots. I have to make do with foam and the AA.

adam cool dude · 31 Oct 2012 at 20:03

My car still has the 15 year old tire on it that came with the car. It doesn't hold air anymore and have to keep pumping it up. Im sure it would get me home if I needed to though. Only problem is the jack is in my garage propping something else up at the moment

.

Vertigo · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:00

I was relieved and somewhat surprised to find my brand new A3 still came with a space-saver spare rather than the gunk/compressor combo.

Interestingly, when I had my first A3, they came without a spare at all but you could have it instead of the gunk as a no-cost option. When I came to order the next one a few years later, there was no longer an option - the spare was standard and has been ever since.

Makes me wonder if they listened to feedback after the first model and recognised that customers were unhappy at not having a spare wheel.

Westyfield2 · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:27

My 182 doesn't have a spare, but no run-flats either. The factory design of the exhaust means no room for a spare wheel cage/well.

Matt82 · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:29

PardonTheWait said:
I saw a car once going along on two space saver spare wheels.

a) where the hell did he get the second one from

b) how was finding another space saver less effort than getting new tyres

c) how long was he driving on one space saver to get ANOTHER puncture?

My mind literally boggled. I mean it made an actual 'boggle' noise that could be heard outside of my head.

i mate of mine fell asleep driving home one night, drove over a pedestrian traffic island thing and blew two tyres

he called me and i helped him out with an additional spare

Django x2 · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:33

I have a space saver. Sometimes I fit it to the rear wheel for fun so I can be an awesome driving god and get the backend out on all the corners. True story

abbotsmike · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:38

Matt82 said:
i mate of mine fell asleep driving home one night, drove over a pedestrian traffic island thing and blew two tyres

he called me and i helped him out with an additional spare

I managed to do something similar once, except I was totally awake and had the choice of high kerb or ploughing into a minicab that flew into my path from out of sight! 2 tyre popping makes a hell of a racket! Fortunately i did it within 300 yards of a mates house, so he cam to help me out!

WRT to spare v gunk v AA, spare for me every time. have an almost full sized steel spare in the boot, along with a decent bar to get the bolts off. Jack sucks, but is functional. I would personally far rather change it myself than wait for ages (can take hours) for mr AA to arrive. To deal with dark roads and the like, as most of my long distance driving is at night, i also have hi vis, a warning triangle, and a couple of torches in the car. The car has lights too!

abbotsmike · 31 Oct 2012 at 21:59

Brookert said:
Your not a real man if you can't change your own wheel. Saying that, I didn't look particularly manly when I had to jump up and down on the socket arm because the wheels nuts were torqued up by what seemed to be chuck norris himself!

Just one of the advantages of doing all your own maintenance! My wheel nuts get torqued, if not by a torque wrench all the time, but by my calibrated mk1 arm! At least then I know that they're tight but undoable. My dad's a mechanic, and the amount of people he knows that just go happy with the air gun when doing wheels up is unreal.

Matt82 · 31 Oct 2012 at 22:20

changing a wheel is one of those most basic man things there is, up there with shaving

Alibaba99 · 31 Oct 2012 at 22:37

Eliot said:
Theres no rules in either the mot or anywhere else about it, its just recovery companies being annoying.
What difference is there between my 306 without a spare and my mates factory standard vxr without a spare?
ZERO RAC/AA...... ZERO.....

Why is it recovery companies being annoying? Your car comes with a device that allows you to get home in the event of a puncture. You chose to take it out, so why should the AA or RAC rush to recover you from something self inflicted and easily avoidable.

This is completely different to a car supplied without a spare, as there is no choice.