A better spare wheel

[ian]

I'd hate to get a flat in the middle of know where and have to rely on the emergency spare supplied with the car, I have 225/45/17 like most here , but what is the smallest rim i can use as a spare like 195/65/15 is the same diameter and circumference but will it foul the disc brakes, and has others changed their spare wheel to some thing else ?

[Russ59]

It will depend on what car you have as to whether a 15" rim will fit straight on. If the space saver bothers you that much you could probably use a 15" rim with a 60 series tyre but depending on the offset of the wheel and the circumference of your rotors you will more than likely need to use a spacer to allow clearance for the front calipers. The space saving spare is designed mainly as an emergency fix to get you to the nearest servo or tyre place to have the damaged tyre repaired or replaced. Personally I'd rather use the one that came with the car and just take it easy on it until I can get the damaged one seen to, if you look after the tyres you have and keep correct pressures and regular rotations etc.... they shouldn't give you too much grief, unless you're very unlucky

[Maverick]

I'd hate to get a flat in the middle of know where and have to rely on the emergency spare supplied with the car, I have 225/45/17 like most here , but what is the smallest rim i can use as a spare like 195/65/15 is the same diameter and circumference but will it foul the disc brakes, and has others changed their spare wheel to some thing else ?

Why don't you just fit a full size spare?

[Russ59]

At a guess I'd say in the hope of keeping the spare as low in the bootwell as possible, problem being that the boot panel still won't sit flat anyway, even with a 15" rim

[jb747]

I carry a full sized spare (R32 18") when I take the car more than 100 kms or so from home. Within that distance a phone call to son and he can deliver a wheel and tyre, but outside that it would just be trip ruining to end up on that useless 'get you home' spare. The 32 has a higher floor than the other cars (presumably because of the 4wd). I put the wheel in face down, and don't install the normal floor. Bits and pieces fit inside the wheel, and around it, and luggage just sits on top. Works well enough.

Just been looking at the new Cayenne. The cavity that carries the 'spare' isn't big enough to hold a real wheel. Now that's a bit of an issue.

[Maverick]

At a guess I'd say in the hope of keeping the spare as low in the bootwell as possible, problem being that the boot panel still won't sit flat anyway, even with a 15" rim

A full size spare is an option on some markets, the parts are available through spare parts that raise the surrounding floor (and give storage) so the boot panel sits flat.

[Russ59]

A full size spare is an option on some markets, the parts are available through spare parts that raise the surrounding floor (and give storage) so the boot panel sits flat.

I had read about that somewhere, probably wouldn't be too difficult to DIY if your handy. Guess it depends on what sort of driving you're doing, I do more shorter trips at the moment (100 - 200 k's round trip) but maybe in the future a full size spare might be an option if I start to go on long distance trips

[ian]

Just a question i can get a GTI 17'' spare fairly cheap and i'll just buy some hight density foam and cut it to suite the higher wheel, just asking if the GTI wheel would be ok ? for a 2008/2009 gt sports diesel.