UKC

Just bought a vauxhall astra which comes with one of those annoying space-saver spare wheels. Was thinking of trying to get hold of a full sized spare so that I don't get stuck driving all the way back from Scotland at 80km/h...

The markings on the tires currently on the car say 195/65 R15. So am I right in thinking as long as I get an R15 wheel and fit the same sized tyre that will work? Or are there any other pitfalls?

In reply to bigbobbyking:

make sure the bolt holes are in the correct place,go to a scrappy
with car...

In reply to bigbobbyking:
The full size wheel won't fit where the space saver does - obviously - so whereabouts in the car are you storing it?

In reply to 999thAndy:

Bizarrely, not always true...

For some reason, a couple of cars I've owned, had full size wheel wells, but space savers and an "organiser tray".

Just make sure the wheel nut spacing is correct.

Oh, and frustratingly, I ordered a "full size spare wheel" as an option with my current company car, specifically to avoid the "drive at 50 mph" thing you get with space savers/tubes of gloop which often come with new cars these days. Guess what. The standard "full size spare wheel" which comes with an Octavia is a smaller wheel/bigger profile tyre (same total diameter/width) which should only be driven at 50mph... WTF?!

In reply to 999thAndy:

My last car had a "space saver" wheel. This lived in a round hole in the base of the boot. On top of the wheel was a big chunk of polystyrene that held the jack and wheel brace, and the whole thing was screwed in place with a big bolt.

When I had to use the spare, the grown up wheel fit perfectly in the void left by the space saver and the chunk of polystyrene. Wrapped in an old blanket, the jack and brace sat quite nicely inside the wheel.

At some point some point people got confused between "space saver" and "price saver".

To the OP: Do it. Driving along a motorway with the cruise control set at 50mph is a wretched, wretched experience. If in doubt about sizes and nut fits, go to a decent scrappie.

In reply to bigbobbyking:

Thanks for the replies. Yes there is what looks like a full-sized bay in the boot, with some polestyrene to fill up the extra space... Going to a good scrappy in person would seem to be the best thing - any recommendations for a good scrappy in SW London/Surrey?

In reply to bigbobbyking:

I think the main thing with a "space" saver is to save weight and money. My focus has space for a full size wheel under the boot floor.

Things you should to check:
- Get the same size (195/65 R15). You can get away with mixing different wheel sizes provided the outside diameter is the same, but better to just get the same size.
- Get the correct pattern of holes. Different makes of car have different numbers of bolts and/or different spacing. Astra could be 4x100, 5x110, 5x105 or 5x115 depending on age.
- Get the correct bore. That is the right size of hole in the middle. At least two different sizes on astras.
- Get the correct offset. That is how far out from the hub the wheel sits.
- Alloys and steel rims usually have different types of wheel-bolts/nuts. make sure your spare is compatible with your wheel-nuts or carry spares of them too.

If you buy a 15 inch wheels off an astra of the same age, that'll probably cover the first four points.

Most of the time you could get away without checking all of these, but the same could be said of a space saver. If you want to drive on it like it's a normal wheel, make sure it behaves like a normal wheel...

In reply to bigbobbyking:
When sourcing a full size spare for my old car I went to a scrappers and pulled one off exactly the same vehicle as mine, bar for the massive dent in the front of the scrapped one, it was even the same colour.
You may have similar luck.

In reply to bigbobbyking:

mytyres.co.uk will sell you a fully fitted wheel (albeit with extra costs if you are only getting the one). Obviously more expensive than getting the wheel from a scrappy, but their website will tell you what sort you need...

In reply to wintertree:


Correct.

In reply to bigbobbyking:

On your standard wheels there is probably a mark that tells you the wheel size, rim width and offset.

I don't know what form this will takes on a Vx but a typical BMW steel wheel has something like 61/2Jx15 ET47. This means that the wheel diameter is 15", the rim width is 6.5" and the offset is 47mm.

You don't want to get the rim width wrong because it will make the handling dangerous if it is different from the others. This is the same reason for the 50mph on the costsaver wheel. Likewise the offset needs to be right to ensure the vehicle handles symmetrically and does not have irregular steering and braking forces.