Spare tyre/wheel-does anyone not carry one?

[ndevans]

Does anyone not carry a spare wheel, and just rely on Can of tyreweld to get them out of trouble?

With minilites on my Traveller, I can't fit a spare under the rear loading bay, only a standard wheel, which would do to get me a short distance, as a kind of emergency spare. It's not ideal though, and I'm wondering whether anyone else has just done away with the spare?

[Shropshiremoggie]

Tyre Weld may be OK if the tyre is not seriously damaged . My wifes car has no spare and was supplied with tyre weld and a small inflator . Problem was , when she had a puncture , the tyre was beyond being inflated due to damage . Not something I would rely on if a spare wheel can somehow be carried .

[simmitc]

On a modern, we were faced with a can of tyre goo instead of a spare wheel. The goo failed completely to have any impact on the flat tyre and we had to have the car recovered to a garage for a new tyre to be fitted. Not having a spare wheel seems to be a weight/cost saving thing and is, in my view, stupidity embodied. I've had a few punctures on the Minor over the years and always just swapped to the spare and completed the journey without any problem. Years ago I had a Landrover that got a puncture, and when I fitted the spare wheel, I found that it was 3 inches bigger diameter than the other wheels. Made for an unusual ride, but no other problems; so I'm sure you'd be OK with a standard wheel as a spare for a short distance.

I recommend that you always carry a spare wheel, and leave the tyre goo on the shelf.

[geoberni]

Totally agree with the above responses.
The moderns that have no spare and rely on some sort of 'goo' and a small pump are hoping you only have a small leak. Anything more than a small nail and they can't cope.
Carry a spare if you can do so.

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I too have heard nothing but negative comments about tyre weld and the likes, pretty much the same as the 'space waster' mini spare wheel that is otherwise provided in moderns.
A proper spare wheel every time for me, I even sourced a full sized wheel for my 1995 Polo, to find that it fitted fine in the wheel well, the well itself is still full sized!!
Which leaves me to surmise that car producers are just trying to save money and up their profits, at our expense (convenience-wise) in this case......
Best wishes,
Mike.

[ndevans]

Ok, nuff said, thanks all. I was thinking of fitting a larger fuel tank, and just carrying tyreweld, but I'll stick with what I've got. Cheers N

[cococola]

I have bigger banded wheels on my Minors and have a standard size wheel as a spare to get me home.
In the family modern Vauxhall Mokka,we had a can of weld but soon swapped it for a proper spare as Ive seen so many tyres scrap at work after the tyre weld has been used or not worked enough to inflate the wheel.

[pgp001]

When I bought my Skoda Yeti, I insisted on it having a spare wheel kit fitted or I would buy elsewhwere. They relented and fitted it FOC.

I was told the reason new cars don't have them is to save weight, apparently it is all to do with the CO2 emissions rating applied to the car.

Phil P

[kevin s]

The problem is with most modern tyres by the time you notice and stop the tyre is too badly damaged for the goo go work there is a goo you have put in each tyre and drive around with (I think its called slime) , the theory is it stops the leak before to much pressure is lost they use it on bikes and LPG conversions where the tank replaces the spare.

My wifes mx5 is a Japan spec and the spare is tiny but it gets you home not as if you have got any electronics to confuse in the minor!

[GavinL]

I wonder if you could find a space saver spare at the breakers with the correct PCD which would fit in the space available? It would at least get you home.

[ndevans]

I wonder if you could find a space saver spare at the breakers with the correct PCD which would fit in the space available? It would at least get you home.

Good thought, but I doubt many cars are made these days with a 4" pcd, so I wouldn't think 4" pcd space savers are a thing.

Effectively that's what I have anyway, as my current spare is a standard Minor wheel with s 145/14 80 on it, and the 4 road wheels are 175/70 14's. Not a perfect match in terms of rolling circumference, but it'll get me home or to the nearest garage at reduced speed.

[alanworland]

I have bigger wheels/tyres on my minor and have also got the same size as a spare. I accommodated it in the usual place but raised the shelf as required.
Works well but obviously lose a bit of boot space although it's never been a major problem.

Alan

[mike1864]

For years I kept the spare stowed with its outer face pointing upwards. That was how it came. Then it occurred to me that keeping it the other way up gave me a concave "dish" in which to keep a bag full of spares (hoses etc). A useful addition to the underfloor storage space.

I've also slowly learned not to extract the spare by lifting it up and out with my fingers under the back edge of the tyre. This invariably results in the front edge of the bumper slicing the skin off my knuckles. Anyone else experienced this?