Losing the Spare

[Triple Star]

Fellow Petrol head I know, said Oh I dropped the spare years ago for a can of tyreweld, goodbye 25kgs of flab, quicker car better mpg etc. Small potatoes for sure but over a year, its sounds like common sense. Dumping the jack as well.

just a thought.

what does the board think of the proposal.

 

[LTD]

Works well in principle until you are in the middle of nowhere and discover the puncture you had is more than the tyreweld can fix. It will be dark and it is also guaranteed to be raining as well.

 

[Will]

Up to you I guess. It's obviously a bit of a gamble - if it pays off you're laughing. Possibly not so good if you're planning a longer journey in more remote areas etc.

Sod's law probably says though that for most people, as soon as you take the spare out you'll get a unrepairable puncture late at night in the rain or something!

Will

 

[Rory]

Friend of mine has Vauxhall Zafira with a can of tyre-weld. Didn't work when he needed it to so was standed on motorway hard shoulder.

Another point is that you can't repair the tyre once tyre-weld has been used.

 

[bennesspipers]

Tyre fitters hate the stuff !

 

[scooter]

commuting good long distance/trips spare

 

[x332race]

I do long distance trips for work so I cannot rely on tyreweld...I even dislike the spacesaver spares and try and get a full size spare for my car just in case....that way at least I know I can get home at a reasonable speed without having to find a tyre fitter.

 

[petermansell]

Works well in principle until you are in the middle of nowhere and discover the puncture you had is more than the tyreweld can fix. It will be dark and it is also guaranteed to be raining as well.

+ 1 Tyreweld only works for simple punctures.

 

[grober]

Full size spare wheel should be a no cost option when a new car is ordered. It's that important.

 

[geoffd]

spare wheels

Full size spare wheel should be a no cost option...

It's a great idea, but...

How ?

All the cars I've ever owned with a space saver spare wouldn't have the room in the wheel well for a full size spare.

And is using a space saver really that big an inconvenience for the few times it happens ? I think I've only used the spare twice in the last ten years - am I just lucky ?

Geoff

 

[Doodle]

If you're worried about saving weight, drive a Lotus or Caterham, not a W124 made from girders.

 

[x332race]

Full size spare wheel should be a no cost option...

It's a great idea, but...

How ?

All the cars I've ever owned with a space saver spare wouldn't have the room in the wheel well for a full size spare.

And is using a space saver really that big an inconvenience for the few times it happens ? I think I've only used the spare twice in the last ten years - am I just lucky ?

Geoff

You are lucky...had one so far this year.....two last year....quite easy to pick stuff up when driving around country lanes, industrial estates and building sites like I have to do

 

[wemorgan]

It's a game of percentages.

I'm quite sure in 17 years of motoring I've never had a puncture that's caused me to break-down. Some cars I've owned (Audi A2 and Smart) didn't have a spare.
I don't think I'd take the spare out if I had one though.
I'm the kind of person who also has spare bulbs and fuses in the boot too.

 

[BTB 500]

IIRC the roadside rescue organisations won't help if you have a puncture and no serviceable spare?

Isn't it also a requirement to have one for some stretches of road ... Dartford tunnel?

25kg is a 1.4 per cent saving on a 1700 kg car. Who's going to notice that in normal driving?

 

[lynall]

I wish i was 25kg lighter, if you tried the same weight loss the money you would save on food would easily pay for the extra minimal fuel with some left over for a mars bar treat!

I always laughed years ago when we had alloy cement tanker trailers that had loads of stuff removed to keep the weight down, then the super fat lorry driver would get into the cab and i would think that was a worthwhile exercise

Tim also carried more spare parts, chains, pipes, clips etc than anyone would ever need.



Lynall

 

[grober]

Full size spare wheel should be a no cost option...

It's a great idea, but...

How ?

All the cars I've ever owned with a space saver spare wouldn't have the room in the wheel well for a full size spare.


Geoff

That's possibly true but easily solved at the manufacturing stage. I have a feeling there are some countries where a full size spare wheel is a legal requirement. Besides which you just missed out on a spare "wheel" and a spare "new full size tyre" which amounts to quite a lot of money on today's cars. The rate road potholes are taking out complete wheel+tyre combos means replacement is increasingly likely??

 

[Beetnik]

Got no spare on our Audi - problem is, and it's happened, you get a puncture and use the tyreweld then have to buy a new tyre as you'll not find anyone who'll repair the old one. Fine if it's got 000s of mile on but not when it's nearly new.

 

[stevesey]

I'm quite sure in 17 years of motoring I've never had a puncture that's caused me to break-down.

Shredded a side wall on a pot hole that lept out from under the car in front about 20 years ago - also that was the last time I had to change a tyre at the side of the road (had a puncture of two in the meantime - but no rapid deflations).

 

[corned]

Slight drift - sorry.

Many years ago, I decided to try to max out my XJ-S on a local die-straight (and virtually unused) single-carriageway stretch of the A5.

I got an indicated 140 out of her without any mishap or excitement, and decided to bottle out at that. Not that there would have been much left to go, you understand!

Anyway, the point of the story is - I drove straight home and when I got there something caught my eye on one of the rear tyres. Right at the shoulder, the tread had split from the carcass and sidewall, and you could clearly see the metal banding inside the structure of the tyre.

Needless to say that the next several moments were spend in very subdued and quiet contemplation... I have had a 'thing' about the state of tyres ever since.

My advice is carry a spare. Don't use that foam stuff - horrible!