[Closed] Car spare wheel, or lack of

Buy a space saver, I've only had one flat in my life but it was at 11.30 on a Sunday evening on a long drive back from Cornwall to East Anglia. Fortunately I have a spare and am well versed in changing wheels so I was going again in under 30 minutes.

I drove past a broken down car last week, when I was heading home a few hours later there was the RAC van next to it changing a tyre.

I’ve got breakdown cover anyway.

check what your breakdown cover says about not having a spare.

I had to change a tyre at 2am, pulled into a garage in way home to check the pressure in the spare and the valve snapped

called my breakdown cover they said without a viable spare the policy doesn’t cover getting me home.

I bought one for my car, I could have fitted a full size wheel in the well. I’ve got a repair/foam kit thing as well.

If you’ve got the space for it, I’d buy one. As with the other poster, I’d rather change the tyre and limp to a garage than wait hours for recovery. And things like this never happen on dry sunny warm days….

Not had a car with a spare wheel for the last 16 years. I have had 2 punctures in that time, both where the tyre was properly holed so the foam/inflation kit wouldn't work, both at night and both with long waits for the AA/RAC. One was on a motorway (oh how I laughed..)

Both times a space saver would have been useful but certainly with the one on a motorway, even with the car on the hard shoulder, I wouldn't have felt safe jacking the car up and changing the wheel: steep twisty bit of the M3 near Winchester, offside rear tyre with big nail through it, unlit bit of the road, raining, lots of lorries thundering past...great place to be crouching down with my back to the traffic (even with my hi viz on) mucking about with bolts and a jack.

Spacesavers are useful but they are really only to get you a short (slow) distance to where you can get a proper tyre sorted. Still wondering about getting one but I would also need a jack too, however these people seem to be worth a look: https://www.thewheelshop.co.uk/product-category/space-saver-wheels/

Both times a space saver would have been useful but certainly with the one on a motorway, even with the car on the hard shoulder, I wouldn’t have felt safe jacking the car up and changing the wheel

This is in my thoughts as well. Changing a tyre on the motorway, where I do many of my miles, really does not appeal...

Changing a tyre on the motorway certainly does not appeal, but neither did waiting for 6 hours a few months ago in the freezing cold for a tyre fitter to come and sell us a hugely overpriced tyre as the side of the road.

We have spare wheels now (which is a bit of a pain in a Tesla, but I’d rather do that than wait forever again.

I understand the thinking about not having a spare wheel - how often do you get a puncture?

However, I will always have a spare, either a full size, or space saver. I like the assurance that if I get a puncture, then I can sort it out. In 25 years of driving I can only recall 3 occasions when I needed to stop and change - and two were in winter months, one was 200 yards until the Frankley services on the M5, were I fitted a space saver and went to the nearest tyre place for a new tyre.

There's no guarantee a repair kit is going to work, and what do you do then? Calling out the AA/RAC/Green Flag seems a bit extreme just for a puncture.....Simple, I'll carry a spare.

Also, as far as I understand if you use the foam in a tyre then even when you get to the garage it can't be repaired.  Use the space saver and you can take the tyre to the garage and get it repaired (this was info. given to us by our garage after using the space saver to get to our garage after a puncture)

Personally i now always carry a spare

Would you go out on a big ride without a spare tube etc...? and just rely on tubeless sealant to fix a puncture and get you home?

Now if you decide to only carry a repair foam kit in the car and it fails to fix the puncture (think how often tubeless sealant can fail to seal a deflated tyre) your then left stranded by the side of the road

Even worse you could also have other family in the car with you and you could be stuck at the side of the road for hours with a very unhappy partner and children (Imagine this as your on your way to a holiday destination)

Now you have to wait hours for a mobile tyre mechanic to come and replace the tyre

Even if your lucky and the sealant does indeed fix the puncture, you may still need to get the tyre replaced as some sealants cant be cleaned out (Holts tyreweld can be removed and the tyre can be repaired properly)

At least if you have a spare once fitted you can find a garage at your next convenience and see if the punctured tyre can be repaired rather than being replaced

This has never happened to me at all and Im never reminded of it by the wife whenever we make a long journey!

Until 18 months ago I'd never needed a spare in 30 years of driving.
Since then I've need it twice - both times foam/slime would not have fixed it.
I'm nervous enough about having a spare that needs inflating, let alone not having one at all!

Calling out the AA/RAC/Green Flag seems a bit extreme just for a puncture….

Outside wheel on a fast A road and I'd call them out even if I had a spare. Just not worth the risk without a large transit acting as a safety barrier....

When I punctured it was on a dual carriageway which I wasn't keen to stop on (even though it was relatively quiet) so I drove slowly to the nearest exit. This meant that the tyre was destroyed where it might have been a repairable puncture if I'd stopped immediately, but I thought it worth the expense.

I should also add that it's worth having some rubber gloves in the boot and an extendable wrench, most supplied wrenches won't provide enough torque and the gloves save getting very dirty hands.

Run Flats will get you home without any drama in most puncture situations.

On the debit side they give a poorer ride, cost more, there's less choice and nobody will repair them. And the only puncture I've had in the last 20 years was when I hit a lump of rock that took out a chunk of sidewall so a Run Flat wouldn't have helped.

I’ve had my share of punctures over the years and put a spare on maybe 5 or 6 times.

My current cars don’t have space for a spare but I would definitely get one if there was somewhere to put it (other than just taking up space in the boot).

Most new cars don’t come with a spare and haven’t for quite a while as far as I can remember. So lots of people are driving around without one and the breakdown services are pretty used to it by now. I’d guess that the number of drivers who even know how to change a tyre may be a minority by now.

We’ve had a couple of punctures in the last five years. One I managed to fix with the slime enough to get it to a tyre place and the other needed a call out. Ok, it was a bit of a pain having to wait an hour for the breakdown truck then a bit longer while he took the car to his garage and put on a tyre. But hardly a big deal really.

Given a choice I’d prefer to have a spare tyre and a decent jack, but not enough to bother to actually add these to either of our current cars. I’ll just add changing tyres to that list of jobs that I no longer do myself. Along with changing brake pads, oil etc.

The tyre will be a write off in almost all flats where you’re moving, so putting the foam in isn’t an issue, as the sidewall will be knackered anyway. I have the space saver and used it 3 times in the last 5 years unfortunately, twice on the m4 as well, just find a good place to park up and change, even on the grass or whatever, as above, the tyres goosed anyway so trundle along the hard shoulder for that bit that’s easier to swap the wheel.

Oh yeah, always check the space saver us at pressure routinely, I’ve seen folk trying to fit a flat space saver to their car!

Highway code rule 277

• exit your vehicle by the side furthest from traffic, if it is safe and possible to do so, and ensure passengers do the same
• If you can’t
  • get your vehicle to the left lane or a place of relative safety (see Rule 275), and
  • exit your vehicle safely to get well away from it and moving traffic,

  you should

  • stay in your vehicle
  • keep your seatbelts and hazard warning lights on
  • call 999 immediately and ask for the police. Alternatively, press your SOS button if your vehicle has one and ask for the police.
• put on high-visibility clothing if you have it and it is within easy reach
• get behind a safety barrier where there is one, but be aware of any unseen hazards such as sudden drops, uneven ground or debris
• DO NOT stand in a place where your vehicle could be forced into you if moving traffic collides with it
• DO NOT return to your vehicle even if it’s raining, cold or dark
• remain alert and aware of vehicles or debris coming towards you
• keep passengers away from the carriageway and children under control
• DO NOT attempt repairs on your vehicle
• DO NOT place a warning triangle on the carriageway
• animals MUST be kept in the vehicle or, in an emergency, under control on the verge.

Get out and stay away, phone from the emergency phones, and wait for help. Even if you can do a repair, it's not worth the risk.

As for spares or space savers. Fine if you have space but I wouldn't want one unsecured in the boot.

Yes, I am very cautious.

I’ve had 3 punctures in 6 months - all screws and nails - the joys of living on a building site down a gravel track. Last month I was driving down the south end of Mull - 50 miles from home - there was a ‘clunk’ as driving along and shortly after the tyre pressure alarm went off. I was on a singletrack road, so drove to the end of the road a further mile or two and by then, the tyre was dead-flat. I have a decent inflator but the hole was too big to re-inflate the tyre - I didn’t even bother with the foam sealant. Fortunately, the only garage on the south of the island was 4 miles away, but there was barely any phone signal. It still took 3 hours from stopping, get recovered back to the garage, the tyre repaired and back on the way home. Next day I ordered a space-saver tyre kit. I found another nail in a tyre, so then had all the tyres replaced with chunkier, more puncture resistant 4x4 tyres. Driving in the Highlands and Islands in winter and driving on remote roads, you’d be crazy not to have a spare - you just need someone coming the other way to ‘push’ you onto the verge and slice your tyre and you’re stuffed.

I feel strange driving a car without one, but then I like to be self-sufficient for minor issues. I always have a spare bulb kit, fuses and some cable ties in the boot for example. I do have breakdown cover too but if I can fix something in 10 minutes rather than wait a few hours for a recovery truck I will.

I understand the thinking about not having a spare wheel – how often do you get a puncture?

I've had my car 8 years and am averaging a puncture a year, usually just a nail that goes down slowly so easy to pump it up and get to a local garage for a repair/replacement. The joys of living near a main road that's used by two scrap metal yards, the local docks and various builder's merchants accessed by it. I've fitted the spare wheel twice in all that time though. One was in the car park at Cwm Rhaeadr and the other was a few weeks ago when I found a flat tyre after the car had sat for a few days. The car didn't come with a spare tyre originally but I negotiated it as an add-on when I bought it new as there was the option to have one. It's a full size one as I have the standard size alloys but it's a steel rim and has the yellow 50mph/80kmh warning on it as they use the same one for higher spec models with larger rims.

Run Flats will get you home without any drama in most puncture situations.

On the debit side they give a poorer ride, cost more, there’s less choice and nobody will repair them.

I’ve had a couple of runflats repaired when I’ve had a nail through the tyre.

OP, does your car have run flats fitted?
If not be overly worried about a space saver if it has, that said if you have tbe room to stash it in tbe car, and it’s not in the way you might as well..

I’ve had a couple of runflats repaired when I’ve had a nail through the tyre

By whom, as a matter of interest? I don't have personal experience of trying but according to their websites Kwik Fit and National won't, ATS say they might.

I always have a spare bulb kit, fuses and some cable ties in the boot for example

I carry all that too but tbh I wouldn't replace a headlight bulb at the roadside. It's accessible via the wheel arch if you're double-jointed but I had to take the wheel off last time to get it. My lh brake and side light is doable but the rh ones need a panel taking off which would entail emptying the boot.

What cars come fitted with is a real mixture. Most Vauxhall Mokkas have an inflation kit, but when I’ve gone hunting for a kit to get air into a flat tyre to get a car into the workshop, all I could find were cars with spare tyres! There are cars that have space for a spacesaver, Jack, wrench, and inflation kit, but those are often at the higher end. In the fifteen years I had my Octavia, I only needed to use the spare wheel once, my EcoSport doesn’t really have room to carry a spacesaver, let alone a jack, brace, etc. I could get them under the boot board, but I’d need to sacrifice space for other things I carry, like a hi-viz coat, jump-leads, etc. I do carry spare bulbs, but trying to get at the headlights and sidelights is very tricky - not as bad as the Puma was, though! When it goes in for a service, I’m going to ask if there’s an easy way to get at the bulbs, I want to fit whiter headlight bulbs and LED sidelights, and I’ve got some indicator bulbs that have an irridescent coating, like oil on water, but flash orange. I’ve had to replace indicator bulbs because the coating was flaking off, but these fancy ones have been on two cars and lasted since 2003!

As for motorways and dual carriageways, I’ve driven enough miles on them over the last few years to be very wary about trying to fix a flat, and especially now there are increasing stretches of so-called ‘smart’  motorways, where you have to drive a significant distance before you can find a safety section.

Our last car came with a compressor and some goo. It sat in a large bit of polystyrene in the spare wheel well. I bought a used spare from eBay. It came with a jack and brace. It all fitted nicely in the spare wheel well. Taking the polystyrene out even left enough room for the compressor and goo so I have both options.

I've changed a flat on the Hard shoulder of the M6, just as I started a Highways Patrol car came up and sat behind me and they lent a hand fixing it - couldn't get the actual wheel off once all the nuts were off, it had seized a bit. They had a crowbar for exactly this issue and loosened it off.

When I was much younger one of my distant cousins was killed changing a spare tyre - struck by a passing car mid change. Can't recall when / where, was about 40 years ago.

I specced a spare as an option when I ordered my Skoda Superb almost 4 years ago. So naturally have never had a puncture in it. Still glad it is there. Woudn't like to get back to the car after a day or two hillwalking in the highlands and find a flat and no phone signal.

Incidentally my wife's Mazda 2 had a repair kit. Also had an unusual tyre size that none of the local tyre places stocked. So if the puncture wasn't plugged by the repair kit the car was off the road for a day or two until a tyre was ordered. Not a good idea IMO but the car was only used locally so liveable with just.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned worms. I have a worm kit in both of our cars. Even in the wife's that had a spare. My boot is full of fuel tank as the tank space is taken up by batteries. So no spare for me unless I carry it in the boot but on a long drive the car is more likely to be full of stuff so even less likely to have space for a spare.

I did 4k miles on a worm repaired tyre to the point I had forgotten about it and replaced when worn. Saves a tyre from being written off with goo and is safer (IMO) than a space saver.

I've a touran and no space for a spare wheel (even a space saver) without losing boot space.

I bought a tyre repair kit from eBay that has saved us once from a nail through the tyre. Basically a big version of an mtb tubeless anchovy and insertion device (not the foam/slime thing)

Worth getting one of these kits as they're ionly a few quid, don't kill the tyre, and are easy to use.

They will only save you in certain situations though. If I could have a spare / space saver then I would.

@MarkyG82 ha - snap

Actual had this tonight, flat whilst driving, no spare. It was dark, pissing down and the boot had 40 odd spades, shovels and mattocks in it. The foam was a life saver, just managed to get the pump and slime out without having to empty the boot, taking the valve core out and putting the slime in was a lot quicker and easier than swapping the wheel. Tyre was already goosed as I'd probably driven with the sidewall compressed, busy A road and I knew there was layby coming up that was seperate from the road.

Second time in in 10 odd years I've had a flat that needed the slime, worked well in both cases. Did wonder this time though as it was over 8 years old.

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned worms. I have a worm kit in both of our cars. Even in the wife’s that had a spare.

Yep, tyre worms, pair of pliers and a foot pump. Don't even need to take the wheel off. Gets you going quickly, to the tyre place for proper repair or replacement.
Had 3 punctures this year and despite having a spare I chose the worm option.

No spare. No space saver. No tire inflation kit. Though I did add some tire worms and a can of foamy whatever to the under-boot space.

IRL I’d just tap the ‘call for assistance’ prompt on the screen and see what happens. Maybe I end up spending a night somewhere different as tyres are summoned to fix my problem.

Fewer tyre problems in the past few years than before. Though very annoyed that I replaced all 4 tyres sometime in the last year and about 2 months into maybe 100 miles of wear noticed a screw stuck in one. Bah!

Edit. Not sure how viable a space saver would be with >2T/4 mass on it. And pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to wrestle the 19R 245/45 wheel and tyre off of any corner of my car without the assistance of someone with actual muscles and strength.

If they’re run flat tyres, you can usually drive off the motorway to fix it.

This has been my experience anyway.

My old 3 series has a full sized spare wheel. But my Z4M, M3, Mini, I3 have all just come with a repair kit. None of the first 3 had RFTs. The repair kit was used for the mini and worked fine, but left an imbalance in the wheel - predictable.

I have had about 4 punctures in my 32 years of driving.

The first three were over 15 years ago when a spare tyre was standards.

My current car (2008 Honda Jazz) did not come with a spare, but it came with a jack, even though there was space for a spare under the boot floor. The 1st time I had a puncture, found tyre deflated in the morning, so jacked wheel up and got a lift with tyre to tyre depot to get it replaced. Thought about getting a spare wheel, but never got around to it. Five years later got a puncture whilst parked, tried inflation kit, and only kept tyre up for about 1 mile. Tyre depots had closed,, called RAC, they came after a wait. The guy tried plugging it, but did not work. So he fitted a universal space saver wheel he had, and then followed me the 100 miles back to where I was staying to retrieve it. Next day was a bank holiday so I had to get a a mobile tyre fitter out to replace so I could drive back up North. I had learnt my lesson and immediately purchased a full size spare on a steel wheel.

Will be wary of having a car in the future with just an inflation kit and no option for a spare wheel. But I think my next car in a few years time might be electric, and they tend not to have space for any sort of spare.

The one puncture I've had in recent years was travelling somewhere for work, deceptive pothole on a B-road a few miles from arriving that cut the sidewall and it went straight down. Limped to a pub carpark that I could see, and no way the gunk and compressor would have dealt with it. Had a couple of hours wait for recovery, then a few more hours wait for a suitable tyre to make it to the garage and get fitted, and by then the day was a write off. A spacesaver would at least have got me there a little late, and let me deal with it at my leisure.

I keep a spacesaver (with jack, wheelbrace, etc) now. The car (e-golf) has space for one if you keep the boot floor in the high position, and very easy to source the bits secondhand, VW group use the same ones in almost everything. Enough room left over for all the other emergency gubbins too.

I don't have an issue with manufacturers not providing spare wheels as they used to - saves a fair chunk of weight for emissions testing etc and the fact that the majority of buyers just don't care so saves them some money.

What I do have an issue with is manufacturers not providing space for a spare wheel at all and going for some weird underfloor storage solutions which seems to be a new trend. A case in point is the new Ford Puma. Instead of making space for a spare wheel, they decided to make a waterproof storage container under the bootfloor to suit the "lifestyle" image of the Puma. It's madness!

Honarable mention to lazy garages that re-attach wheels with air tools rather than doing it properly and tightening them up by hand, so you have zero chance of getting the wheel off on a freezing cold rainy night with numb fingers on the side of an A road.

Always good to have a scaffold pipe as well to loosen off those slightly annoying nuts ;o)

Failing that...

not all tyres can be plugged…

Id get a spare wheel from somewhere. The only time I had to change a wheel roadside was when the carcass had decided to come apart. Good luck Sliming that.

Having been stuck in the middle of a forest with a shredded tyre, miles away from a public road and with nobody around, and no phone signal, I’d never go anywhere without a spare. Same reason I always carry a jump starter pack in case of flat battery.

Puncture with a spare tire, fixed and on your way in 15 min.
Puncture without a spare waiting an hour in best case scenario for someone to come and fix.

This has got me thinking. I've always worried about having to stop to change a tyre in a dangerous place, and logically run-flats would be a good solution for that. Apparently Mercedes MO Extended spec for tyres is a lesser grade of run-flat in which you can't drive as far as actual run-flats but they are much more comfortable. Might have a look at those.

I've used tubeless repair kits 3 times to repair nail/ screws in rear tyre

Touch wood, worked every time

My car originally came with run flats and no spare. I’ve considered buying a space saver and it would fit in the boot but I think the wheel/tyre that I’ve had to take off wouldn’t go in, especially if I have any luggage in there (BMW Z4). If I owned a more normal car then I’d certainly get a space saver.

Nearly every time I’ve had a car puncture, it’s been pretty catastrophic. Tyre goop wouldn’t have helped me. If there’s space for a spare wheel, I’d definitely have one.

Do modern cars that have no spare even have conventional jacking points? You’d need to find a suitable jack from presumably another model in the range that does come with a spare? Years ago I always used to carry a trolly jack as the cills were too rotten to risk using the jacking points!

I got a puncture en route to catch a ferry a few years back. Stuck the spare on and continued on my way. I'd have probably missed the ferry if I'd not had a spare - the knock on effects/hassle of that would have been a bit annoying right at the start of a holiday.

Depends where I was going, but I've got a space saver from an older car that fits the current. Had to change tyres once in Australia, between FallsCreek and Wallace Car Park, and once in Norway N of Jostelsbreen. Help would come, but wouldn't be quick

Pretty much all cars must have jack points else you couldn't put your winter tyres on

Do modern cars that have no spare even have conventional jacking points? You’d need to find a suitable jack from presumably another model in the range that does come with a spare?

You mean we don't all carry exhaust air bags ?

Without a jack how do you think cars get in the air. Also most jakcs that come with cars ae worryingly unstable

What I do have an issue with is manufacturers not providing space for a spare wheel at all and going for some weird underfloor storage solutions which seems to be a new trend. A case in point is the new Ford Puma. Instead of making space for a spare wheel, they decided to make a waterproof storage container under the bootfloor to suit the “lifestyle” image of the Puma.

Surely that underfloor storage space is pretty much intended for a spare wheel?

Do modern cars that have no spare even have conventional jacking points? You’d need to find a suitable jack from presumably another model in the range that does come with a spare?

Even if it doesn't come with a spare, most cars still have it as an option kit. When I ordered mine I repeatedly told them to add it, every time they change something on the order it disappeared. It didn't come with one.

Worse, with the inflation kit, the compressor can't be used without the gloop kit. What genius thought that was a good idea? Sat at the side of the road with a slow puncture and a half-flat tire, "I know, I'll use the compressor to get me to a garage!" Yeah, no.

On the upside, when I did have cause to call the breakdown services they were out, fixed and gone inside of 40 minutes.

I took the RFTs off my E91 (overly harsh), and picked up a tin of the repair. Unfortunately the first puncher I picked up in 15+ years was too big and the foamy goodness just pissed out. RAC were called and seeing as I was relatively close to home loaned me a universal spare.

Contrary to popular belief it was repaired just fine.

I've just changed cars recently and while not having a spare wasn't a complete deal breaker it was a big plus to have one.

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned worms.

Probably because you won't pass an MOT if the tester spots one. It's not a recognised repair and as such is illegal.

Major repairs (sidewalls and outside the permitted area) are allowable if carried out by a qualified repairer. HGV and agricultural fitters are your best bet but there aren't many major repairers around.

Probably because you won’t pass an MOT if the tester spots one. It’s not a recognised repair and as such is illegal

Yeah, the car ones are usually marked as off road use only. However it'll do in an emergency if you treat it the same as driving on a space saver.

How smug was aye with a bulging sidewall and a 300mile motorway journey to get home with a full sized spare. Atleast until I realised the garage had ****ed off with my locknut key.

Oh yeah on that note, who needs a locking nut these days? On my second car now with it swapped out for a normal bolt.

I'll be honest and admit I didn't know the worms aren't recognised. Is it a grey area as an MOT fail but fittable to get you home? Or is it black and white? I.E. Don't fit at all.

Also most jakcs that come with cars ae worryingly unstable

I designed the Y-jack that comes as OEM for a huge number of cars including VAG - I was working for a design company and the customer was Spanish. If only I’d negotiated a commission of 0.01p for each one - I’d be a millionaire!

My anxiety got the better of me so I've ordered one from https://www.thewheelshop.co.uk/, half the price it'd be if I'd ordered from the manufacturer direct and I can order a jack and wrench at the same time.
For the cost, I think it's the right thing to do.

On the back of this thread I actually checked the tyre pressure of my spare wheel the other day, don't think 20psi would have got me too far

don’t think 20psi would have got me too far

I suppose it depends on the and and tyre. Mine are only set at 29psi so 20 wouldn't be terrible, although if it is a space saver it might as they tend to be much higher. Had a slow puncture recently and the low pressure warning came on at about 20. It certainly wasn't noticeable when driving. I still drive with the compressor that came with the car even though I've bought a space saver spare so its easy to tweak the pressure. Still worth keeping an eye on it though.