Top Speed limit of the narrow Spacesaver wheel/tyre combination?

[esscee]

I always thought these "narrow" units were limited to around 50mph when fitted.
Reason for starting this is that whilst in the centre lane heading south on the M3 from Winchester towards Eastleigh last evening, someone in a rather "loud" matt blue coloured Audi A4 went past in the outer lane at a speed of closer to 90mph than 75mph with one of the above fitted on the forward nearside position.
He then was unsure which lane he was going to stay in and nearly took out the car in front of me.

If anyone knows the owner/driver of this vehicle reg A4 XUG, then I hope he gets his new tyre fitted fitted soon and also checks the max speed of these Spacesavers.

 

[MikeHartley]

I always thought these "narrow" units were limited to around 50mph when fitted.
Reason for starting this is that whilst in the centre lane heading south on the M3 from Winchester towards Eastleigh last evening, someone in a rather "loud" matt blue coloured Audi A4 went past in the outer lane at a speed of closer to 90mph than 75mph with one of the above fitted on the forward nearside position.
He then was unsure which lane he was going to stay in and nearly took out the car in front of me.

If anyone knows the owner/driver of this vehicle reg A4 XUG, then I hope he gets his new tyre fitted fitted soon and also checks the max speed of these Spacesavers.

For a minute a thought you said Specsavers...

 

[PXW]

Seriously dangerous. I’ve only ever driven on a space saver once (when fitted to a Chrysler Grand Voyager) and the limit was 50mph...but the vehicle -unsurprisingly - felt significantly less stable than normal and I certainly didn’t want to put myself in a situation where I might have had to make a sudden manoeuvre. I changed the tyre and got the proper wheel back on there as soon as possible.

 

[MancMike]

For a minute a thought you said Specsavers...

Shoulda gone to specsavers.

 

[BTB 500]

The spare on our Vito is a full size 16" steel wheel (it has factory 17" alloys). Although the tyre on it has speed and weight ratings that match all the others, the wheel is painted red and marked '50 mph'.

The steel space saver spare on our C Class is the normal skinny thing so the 50 mph limit on that seems more appropriate. I have driven both vehicles with the spare at the front and while I'm sure you'd feel a difference on the ragged edge or in emergency braking it felt completely normal otherwise. Possibly it would be different with the spare at the back though.

One thought is that most spares are probably woefully under-inflated, which certainly won't help the performance if you need to use it.

 

[SW18]

Perhaps the driver was hurrying to get to Kwik Fit before closing time?

 

[Martin 1]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't come across him upside down in the middle of the road, disappointed too ! That little tyre will heat up dramatically and blow out.

 

[Benzmanc]

I can only dream of having a spare wheel......

 

[MancMike]

I can only dream of having a spare wheel......

You can just buy one and put it in the boot?

 

[Deleted member 131833]

You can just buy one and put it in the boot

Check that a full size wheel and tyre will fit into the well in the boot, the Honda I had which came without a spare wheel could not put a wheel into the well, not deep enough.

Probably depends on manufacturer seems strange to have different design for the boot floor if some models have space saver and some have a proper wheel

 

[markjay]

The spacesaver wheel has 50mph / 80Kmh speed limit sticker on it...

I actually drive with a full-size spare in the boot, it's an alloy wheel exactly the same as the other four, bought off eBay on the cheap. And it has a good tyre fitted (Conti with 5mm thread). The spacesaver that came with the car is in storage.

But then the W204 has space in the boot for full-size spare... many modern cars do not.

 

[baxlin]

Check that a full size wheel and tyre will fit into the well in the boot, the Honda I had which came without a spare wheel could not put a wheel into the well, not deep enough.

Just bought a spacesaver for Mrs B's Nissan, But I remember back in the day when some cars had the spare hung under the boot in a cradle. It was an accessory offered by Ford for the 100E Anglia/Popular range among others. It was a pig to put the wheel back in, due to the dead weight of the wheel, and you got filthy doing it, even if you wrapped the wheel up.

Or even earlier, when many pre-war (?) cars had a separate slide-in compartment under the boot for the spare, some models having a separate access panel/door.

 

[zipdip]

Like the op I saw something similar on the A14 ,I was doing 75 and a BMW went past at least 20 mph faster and that had a space saver on the front left,I suppose it is a nick if the police spot it,and the car cannot handle as well and may well be dangerous.

 

[AltonAnt]

Like the op I saw something similar on the A14 ,I was doing 75 and a BMW went past at least 20 mph faster and that had a space saver on the front left,I suppose it is a nick if the police spot it,and the car cannot handle as well and may well be dangerous.

May well be?
These spacesavers tend to be less than half the width of a standard tyre so I would go with would be dangerous to exceed the rated speed. It's just another case of Darwin's law in action but they may also take out someone innocent along with themselves.

 

[esscee]

That what I was worried about as the "idiot" overtook me and a few other vehicles.

 

[flying haggis]

presumably in an accident at that speed the insurance would be void

 

[flowrider]

You can just buy one and put it in the boot?

No use without a wheel brace and jack

 

[Benzmanc]

You can just buy one and put it in the boot?

I don't have a spare wheel well and i'm not sure they do a spacesaver for the SL

 

[Benzmanc]

No use without a wheel brace and jack

I have bought a wheelbrace and a jack, i also carry one of these which i used on the E-class and the tyre never went down again

Motorcycle Pocket Plugger Tubeless Tyre Puncture Repair Kit | eBay

 

[219]

But then the W204 has space in the boot for full-size spare... many modern cars do not.

Problem with those cars is - just where do you put the full size wheel with a puncture when you remove it - consider that your boot may be full and the punctured wheel may be wet and dirty .