Spare wheel, who actually has one onboard?

toopy

toopy

Club Member
I've never had a spare wheel, and fortunately have never needed one, but seeing some original steel wheels for sale on ebay, got me thinking about it. I do have a scissor jack with handle and the screw thingy to secure a spare, not that I'd consider going anywhere near the sills with said jack!

So out of interest, who actually does have one in the car permanently or maybe you just have one for longer trips/shows etc?
 
Bobafett

Bobafett

Well-Known Forum User
Yep, original steel wheel as a spare and a set of nuts for the same on board. Essential for any European trip. Though do carry also a can of self heel foam, but tyre is scrap after using that, so beware.
 
P

Pete

Well-Known Forum User
Ah, I get to post my spare with (possibly) the original bridgestone tyre again.
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STEVE BURNS

STEVE BURNS

Club Member
Please dont think about using any original spare wheel with an age old tyre on it as it could delaminate when you try to use it

spare wheel.jpg
 
STEVE BURNS

STEVE BURNS

Club Member
Since the 1980s, tyres have had a date stamp added to the sidewalls so that you can see how old they are.

During the 80s it was a 3 digit code giving the week number and year of manufacture. So 218 would equal week 21 in 1988. When we got to the 90s and in order to differentiate, they added a triangle to the 3 digits, so 218 (followed by a triangle) would represent week 21 in 1998. It became much easier to remember from the year 2000 when a four digit code was used, so 2108 would represent week 21 in 2008, see below 0713 means the 7th week of 2013.
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An Auto Express investigation revealed that tyres can ‘go off’, just like a carton of eggs or a bottle of milk. And when we hit the test tracks to find out how much difference age made, we discovered a shocking gap in performance between old and new rubber.
  • Old tyres increase a car’s stopping distance by 23 per cent, an exclusive Auto Express investigation has revealed.
  • For the second instalment of our Tyre Wars campaign, we hit the track in a car with a set of nine-year-old rubber to see how it measured up to some comparable new tyres with the same tread depth.
  • With the set made in 2000, our test car took a huge 96 metres to come to a halt from 70mph – 23 per cent more than the 78 metres needed by the newer tyres. The extra distance equates to around four car lengths – more than enough to make a life-saving difference in a crash situation.
  • Even more shocking is that despite their miserable performance, all the rubber we used is totally road legal, as there is no limit on age at present.
  • We carried out the test as part of our Tyre Wars safety campaign – which aims to highlight the dangers of ageing rubber and urge the industry to stamp ‘best before’ dates on the sidewall of every tyre sold.
 
Farmer42

Farmer42

Club Member
I don't have one. I carry a can of tyre weld and a battery pump. I have never had any of the original steels and although I did have 5 alloys at one stage they were too wide to fit in the tyre well. Have been thinking about looking for a spare for a while cos I don't like the foam but not sure what size fits in the well.
 
Woody928

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Bobafett said:
Yep, original steel wheel as a spare and a set of nuts for the same on board. Essential for any European trip. Though do carry also a can of self heel foam, but tyre is scrap after using that, so beware.
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What he said :driving:
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
MaximG said:
No never and plenty of new cars don't even come with a spare.
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Your choice but you can end up with a lot of aggro and expense. Manufacturers don't provide one for three reasons - fuel economy (to get better figures), expense and boot space.

I can tell stories of damage to tyres which caused a LOT of hassle to my family not least when we were on holiday in Cornwall last year.

Related to this - make sure you can undo the wheel nuts. I ALWAYS undo mine after buying tyres and re-tighten them with the equipment I carry in my cars. I also carry a long 'breaker-bar'.

Z related - if you carry a standard spare will it fit over any upgraded brakes? And has been said do you have the correct wheel nuts?
 
Woody928

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Rob Gaskin said:
Z related - if you carry a standard spare will it fit over any upgraded brakes? And has been said do you have the correct wheel nuts?
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As a rather clever Chappy once said to me, in the event of a front puncture, fit my spare 14inch steel to the rear of my car a and move my rear to the front so that it clears my bigger brakes ;)

Also highly recommend to carry one of these, budges the wheel nut no matter how tight:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Extendab...386580?hash=item3f52296e54:g:JNoAAOSw~gRV06EU
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Woody928 said:
As a rather clever Chappy once said to me, in the event of a front puncture, fit my spare 14inch steel to the rear of my car a and move my rear to the front so that it clears my bigger brakes ;)
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Yes, which is what I would have to do with my Samuri.
 
Bobafett

Bobafett

Well-Known Forum User
Does anybody know if a modern Nissan spacesaver will work for our cars?

That would allow me to cram more spares and tools in the wheel well. I do just the same concept on other classics I own.
 
Ian

Ian

Club Member
Nope, because it wouldn't clear my brakes front or rear. I do intend to get 16" spare to carry for long road trips, might get a 16x6 if possible but need to research what wheels are available in the wright offset and what rubber is available.
 
Robbie J

Robbie J

Club Member
likewise, I need a 17inch wheel, any way of getting a space saver drilled to the right size? or somebody making some
 
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