"Full size" spare wheel vs space saver vs "repair kit".

Clobbered a rock at the weekend buggering my tyre. My car has one of those daft repair kits which was obviously going to be useless so recovery was in order. Had me thinking I really should have a spare of some description so been thinking of the options.

I could go for a spacesaver as there is room in the boot well for one but also been wondering whether to go for a set of “full size” winter wheels and tyres and keep one in the boot with me, at least if I’m going on a long journey. Yeah, it’ll take up space but thinking it’s still a step up from a spacesaver. Done the calculations for size etc and think it’s surely the way forward (205/16 65 compared to 235/45 18 at present. 9mm difference in diameter).

Any thoughts? I await the responses of those more clued in than me… 🙂

Space saver is generally fine.

They are generally speed limited to 50mph which could make a long motorway journey home a pain but they will save you in the many situations where a can of sealant isn’t enough – eg, anything more major than a straightforward puncture.

I got a puncture that should have been repair kit fixable, but the tyre had come off the rim and the weeny compressor didn’t have enough oomph to reseat it. Green Flag did with their big compressor, and then the latex did its bit, although they also put an anchovies thing in as well.

The issue came when i came to repair the tyre properly, tyre places wouldn’t touch it because of the latex inside, which they claim degrades the rubber. The man at Continental (supplier of the repair kit) refuted this but also admitted it’s up to the tyre repair place, because if they repair and a tyre then fails they’re the ones who get the blame, and there’s this urban myth going around about tyre degradation – which is where i came in.

So – end result if you have the option, get a spare or space saver and don’t bother with the repair kit; even if it works to get you home or to the garage you might end up worse off as a result. But also, a space saver loose in the boot is something i wouldn’t want bouncing around inside in the event of a collision, so if you do get one make sure it’s properly secured.

A spare wheel isn’t 100% fool proof. Personally I’ve been stumped twice with one because 1) the garage had impact drivered the nuts to the max meaning the wrench broke trying to get the wheel off 2) the supplied jack snapped when lifting the vehicle.

If you go for the spare wheel remember you’ll be paying the fuel to lug it around, probably unused, for years. The repair kit will get you out of bother most of the time.

Not an option on my car, no place for even a spacesaver plus front and rear tyres are different specs. How often are you going to get a puncture to warrant carry the whole full size spare around in the boot ? It may not even be road legal to mix winter / summer tyres

How much extra fuel would i need to use to compensate for the £200 on a pair of new tyres that it cost me when no-one was willing to repair the punctured one?

if you do carry a spacesaver, make sure it actaully has some air in it and you aren’t stuck in the middle of dartmoor with a torn tyre, a flat spare and no mobile signal. 8)

The spacesaver is the best option IMO as it embarrasses you into actually getting the tyre sorted properly… if my spare were a proper wheel I would just drive around on that until I got another puncture!

I personally wouldn’t have a car that just had a repair kit; just a dumb idea IMO.

Wish I had a space saver but if you get one, make sure the bolts/studs fit.

A pot hole split side side wall, latex didn’t fix it.

RAC mans space saver fitted but the bolts were too long to fit it as they were designed for fat alloys.

Ended up being towed backwards

If you go for the spare wheel remember you’ll be paying the fuel to lug it around, probably unused, for years. The repair kit will get you out of bother most of the time.

Also make sure you had a good dump before you drive anywhere,

Also consider if carrying round a full tank of fuel is worth it for the journey you are making.

A spare wheel isn’t foolproof but it’s a damn sight more useful than a can of tyre weld! As for lugging it about, think I’d rather do that than find myself stuck. If I can whip one wheel on and off myself and be on my way then great (I’ve also been in the situation where I broke a cheap supplied wrench trying to get the bolts off, learnt my lesson there. Decent telescopic wrench and jack in car).

Jambalaya, you ask how often would I warrant carrying a spare around, this is my sixth(four nails, one slasher, one rock!) puncture now, four of which I was able to sort by virtue of having a spare tyre. This latest one would have been sorted in ten mins had I had a spare as well but you do raise a very good point about the legalities of mixing tyres. I hadn’t given that a thought but surely it’s still gotta be better than a spacesaver?

Spare wheel for my van is getting on for 20kg. I have yet to have a dump of those proportions, your experience may differ.

To be fair – that was my first puncture for over 25 years but it was still 3 hours of my life sat in the sunshine in the middle of the New Forest* waiting for and then watching the RAC man struggle and fail to solve the problem before deciding to tow me.

*It was actually quite nice but might have been different in the rain on a motorway hard shoulder somewhere up north when wanting to get home

If you go for the spare wheel remember you’ll be paying the fuel to lug it around, probably unused, for years. The repair kit will get you out of bother most of the time.

I doubt it cost as much as the two £130 tyres my g/f has had to replace in the last year, as the tyre fitter will not repair the tyres once the latex has been used (as mentioned above). This thread has reminded me, I need to get her a spacesaver tyre, cheers

We’ve done exactly as the OP is thinking – bought a set of four steel wheels from a scrappie for Mrs Gti’s Ibiza then mounted some rather tasty Avon Snow & Ice tyres on them. In summer three winter wheels live in the garage and one in the wheel well along with a jack kit we got off Ebay for a few quid. The stupid compressor and latex have been thrown in the attic for when we sell the car.

In winter the situation is reversed and one summer wheel & tyre lives in the wheel well.

Winter tyres are absolutely frikkin’ ACE; a front-drive car with a nice heavy diesel engine is unstoppable in snow.

One warning: if you buy wheels from a scrappie get them to agree to take back any that turn out to be bent and tell the tyre fitter to spin the wheels before fitting the tyres. Guess how I learned this?

Car came with the kit. There is space for a spare but I lose the extra boot compartment and that’s where I store all my bike repair tools, which is far more important 😀 (well, and car repair bits also).

Like with tubeless bike tyres, a car puncture these days I find is very rare. Though I’ve found the odd nail stuck in there and probably been driving on it for years like that.

There’s also the option of run-flat tyres, but not too sure what the deal is with them. They puncture, go flat and you still drive? (without damaging the rims?). Anyway, new tyres I bought didn’t come in run-flat option.

To save a lot of messing about I bought tyres with wheels from mytyres.com.

I believe those things are more weight- than space-savers, helping to lower the official mpg figures. Has anyone found a snow tyre to fit one of the awful things?

I prefer the kits. It’s very rare that I puncture and when I have done it’s usually a slow puncture where I can get to the garage in time. I have also never managed to get the wheel off with the wimpy wrench that cars come with. The weight of the spare wheel, which everyone is laughing at so much, does make a difference and I don’t see the point unless I’m travelling a long way into the wilderness.
Personally, if I’m paying for breakdown cover then I’d get them to sort it out if the kit failed.

Also, I’ve never had a punctured tyre which a place has been happy to repair, it’s always been a replacement even without any sealant used.

I have one car with a space-saver and the other car has run flats with nothing else, I hate both systems!
The space-saver will allow you to continue on your journey but at only 50mph. Fine if you’re close to home but not good if you’re on a long journey. You also need to get the pressure regularly checked as being so small they need to be at about 80psi. I did about 50miles on one which was lower than it should have been and it was destroyed afterwards.
Just having run-flats is worse as you’re supposed to limp to a garage and just buy a new tyre. If this isn’t an option you’re stuck. Worse still, if you get a normal puncture which could be repaired for any other tyre I found no-one will touch it “becuase we can’t ensure the run-flatted-ness hasn’t been compromised” or some such twaddle.
If you have a tyre well in the boot and you do long journeys get a full wheel, it’s the only option with which you can continue without changing plans. Which reminds me, I need to buy a wheel….

I do 600+ miles a week, up to 200 miles away from home.
Full size spare for me, no brainer in my instance really.

f you go for the spare wheel remember you’ll be paying the fuel to lug it around, probably unused, for years. The repair kit will get you out of bother most of the time.

Family car 1400kg. Spare wheel 20kg? I doubt the extra fuel could be measured. If I worried about the weight of my spare wheel I’d never brim the tank either and I’d lose a bit of weight.

FINALLY stopped procrastinating over what to do and ordered four Falken all season tyres on steel rims. Seem well rated and “adequate” for a Nottinghamshire winter as opposed to say, The Highlands or even the Peaks where you’d probably be after a full winter tyre. One in the boot as a spare, and can stick them all on from the start of November-ish. £430 quid inc. delivery, can’t say fairer than that, really.

I thought the space savers were to save space giving a larger boot and reduce cost. Either way I’d rather carry one than a tyre sealant and compressor.

These days even with a spare I might call the AA.

I changed a front on an Audi at the side of the M6. I even pulled onto the grass a little and frankly changing a wheel there was pretty lethal. The speed and proximity of cars was scary. I managed but next time I’ll call the services.

These days even with a spare I might call the AA.

I changed a front on an Audi at the side of the M6. I even pulled onto the grass a little and frankly changing a wheel there was pretty lethal. The speed and proximity of cars was scary. I managed but next time I’ll call the services.

Don’t. Get out and stay out. Use the emergency phones to call assistance (so they know where you are, better than mobiles in that regard)

https://www.gov.uk/breakdowns-and-incidents-274-to-287/additional-rules-for-motorways-275-to-278

In my case the police coned off the lane and then sat in their car while they let me fix it, but that was 10+ years ago, suspect they’d get you towed to safety nowadays.

US, but the same happens here

I run a old Ford Focus, as standard it has one of those spacesavers in the well but I went to the local breakers & bought a good part worn tyre fitted to a wheel & have that in the boot. Obviously it takes up space but for peace of mind I’m happy to put up with the inconvenience.

The space-saver will allow you to continue on your journey but at only 50mph.

How often do you get stuck with a flat tyre AND a heart transplant in a cooler in the boot AND a long way to drive?

Seems like a remote and not very significant inconvenience.

I thought it was frowned upon or possibly even illigal to change a wheel on the motorway these days .

I put the sealent kit in both my cars for the mrs as i dont want her jacking up the car and struggling to get the wheel nuts undone ,,,, – they are correctly torque which means that the supplied wrench needs a fair heft to undo them ,

Both have full size spares

My third has a full size spare mounted on the bonnet . No load space issues here 🙂

I’ve never had a puncture in any motorised vehicle in an all the years I’ve been driving.

jambalaya – Member

It may not even be road legal to mix winter / summer tyres

Not in the uk. Could be an issue in those areas of europe with winter tyre regs

I’ve never had a puncture in any motorised vehicle in an all the years I’ve been driving.

<Sad trombone> Wah, wah, waaaahhhh! <Sad trombone>

Hope you’ve got a coat in the boot for your long wait for rescue tonight. Friday evening, worst time to have a breakdown.

Yup I could have just cursed myself but I’m sat at home and walking to the pub in 10 minutes so it won’t be an issue tonight.

Trail rat – if you don’t want the Mrs struggling to jack up the car and change the tyre then get out of the drivers seat and give her a hand.

🙂

There’s always a track pump in our boot. They’re surprisingly effective for topping up car tyres. Never bother with petrol stations now. It’s a lot of work from completely flat but 10psi isn’t a problem

We dont live in the middle east wca, mrs t-r takes her own car places on her own.