space saver spare

[Henry D]

being an rac patrol i go out to loads of cars that have space savers on them.they are fit for what they supposed to do,be a legal inflated tyre that can get you mobile to home or garage as soon as poss.they do look silly though and have had people say surely thats not safe.i doubt manufacturers would put a wheel in the boot of a car if it wasnt safe or legal lol

Where the space saver becomes unsafe is when the driver thinks they can continue there journey at the same speed as before.

 

[renault12ts]

Different alloy sizes - If I have a spare front alloy wheel and the back one has a blowout, can you place it on the rear in the event of a puncture. Can this mess any of the mechanics up? Presumable the reverse is not true because the rear are bigger than the front? Tyre repair kits and space savers are useless, I would prefer a full sized steel wheel at least that way you can still drive as normal but i am unsure of the mathematics as to what size would match and not mess anything up? .C250 2010 - front 225-45-17-J7.5 rear 245-40-J8.5

Welcome.

Now, exactly how is a space save tyre useless?

As for the maths. Your front and rear tyres may have different widths, but you will find they have the same (or very very close) diameter. The correct size space saver will also have the same diameter...so all should work...except you must reduce your speed to a max of 50...and no racing starts.

If you do not want a space saver, then carry a spare no bigger than a front wheel. But you must still drive carefully because you will have different size wheels/tyres on the same axle if you use it on the back.

 

[essexmarc]

Where the space saver becomes unsafe is when the driver thinks they can continue there journey at the same speed as before.

yeah very true.when i change for the space saver i assure them its a maximum of 50mph.upto them if they ignore my warning

 

[renault12ts]

50...it says it in bright yellow, on the wheel.

 

[Henry D]

50...it says it in bright yellow, on the wheel.

It says 70 mph on the side of a motorway as well,but do people take notice?

 

[steve333]

Absolutely fine to get you home

As Bobby said,fine to get you home so no point getting one as the space saver does the same job(gets you home).

 

[Dean-C250]

Thanks for the replies.... I only class space savers as useless because if I am travelling 200 miles at 10pm on a Saturday night, basically I can't because the limit is 100miles, (I think). I presume the best and cheapest fix would be for me to purchase a decent wider steel wheel that fits with same diameter/ circumference so I can continue at 70mph and not worry about doing several hundred miles almost as normal until I get the wheel replaced.​

 

[V12]

A full size spare does fit in the boot, at least i'm almost certain my dad put one in his.
Remove the foam piece on top of the space saver and then replace foam and space saver with a full size!

Put a matching wheel to one of your front ones. Unless you're trying to drift it round the nearest roundabout you wont notice any balance difference in having one rear tyre as narrow as the fronts.
Mercs drive fine with the space saver on the back within the limits, but they aren't quite as stable when fitted to the front of the car.

At 11pm it may have been boring driving sensibly, but i guess blowing it out and sat on the side of the motorway at 1am is less boring?!