How many wheels would you change?

[Y2008]

One thing that really pisses me off is wheels being sold in sets of four. I think to myself why not just change four and keep the spare as it is. But yet i just cant convince myself of it. If i change wheels id change the whole set of 5. Does anyone feel the same about it as I do? Do you think it is worth the extra $$ for a wheel that would be sitting in the boot most of its life?

[tinto]

No, it's not worth it.
Do Polos come with a full size spare?
My mkv golf came with a space saver, and it weighs a TON.

[Blitzen]

One of the reasons I bought my Polo GTI...It comes with a full size 16in mag spare...
I wouldn't bother changing all 5 wheels though.

[hkogti]

Really?

I never check out mine...

AS i got the 17" now, that 16" full space is no use to me..

should sell it on ebay as well...

Get extra cash plus weight saving...

[Grant]

What is the point of having the extra mag? If you do need to use it, you're just going swap it back once your tyre is repaired to keep the tread wear even. Not worth the extra $ in my opinion.

[Chuck]

im soon to go to a 17 aftermarket rim...will be keeping the full size 16 spare in the boot tho - it will have the same rolling diameter so if i get a falt i can at least get my ass home

[VW GTI]

AS i got the 17" now, that 16" full space is no use to me..

The rolling diameter is almost the same - so it would be very helpful should you damage your tyres in any way.

[pixl]

What is the point of having the extra mag?

If you're on a highway, at least you can still drive it safely. Doughnuts are only rated to 80km/h and I'm pretty certain braking would be severly impacted -- but most importantly, they're ugly as hell.

Also, in my case. I've swapped the spare rim over from a previoulsy curbed one. While I'm fixing it, I can still drive my car.

Tyres do have a shelf life. I'm not sure what that is, but when I find out, I'll be changing the spare whenever that date expires. Other than that, unless you want to rotate all 5 tyres all the way around every 5000km or so, you may get an extra 20% more wear out of them. But that sounds like more effort than it's worth.

[Grant]

Doughnuts are only rated to 80km/h and I'm pretty certain braking would be severly impacted -- but most importantly, they're ugly as hell.

Yes, but our GTI's come with a full size spare. I drove around for a week with one R16/45/205 as one of my 17's was having its gutter rash repaired. No problems at all.

[gregozedobe]

Tyres do have a shelf life. I'm not sure what that is, but when I find out, I'll be changing the spare whenever that date expires.

I've read tyres should be replaced within 6 years of the date of manufacture, regardless of the amount tread remaining. Most tyres should be marked with the year and week of manufacture on the sidewall.

[mikepologti]

call me anal, but i think id get the 5th wheel as a spare. sure id probably rarly if ever use it (hopefully, fingers crossed), but i cant help but think , that it would be just my luck the day i do enquire to get a 5th wheel after buying 4, the company probably wouldnt make that rim any more.piece of mind to have all 5 matching i guess.

[Bubu]

Make sure you check that the 5th wheel fits inside the cavity of the standard 16 inch wheels. Otherwise there is no point getting the 5th and having it sit at home or have it loose in the boot.

[DeanB]

I haven't changed the wheels on my GTI ... yet.

However, when I had my Swift GTi I bought 5 alloys for it. Used the logic of the time that if I ever bashed a kerb/pot hole (I did) and scuffed one I could put the "spare" on and drive around while getting it fixed without the car handling/looking any different. Also the 5th alloy was handy when the Mrs clipped one of those silent policeman things and tore the sidewall out of the car and buckled a rim

If it will fit in the wheel well and you have the cash it's not a bad option.

[Spec83]

I damaged a wheel on my old excel beyond repair but couldn't get another as they stopped making the style = whole new set of rims...

If you can, just by the wheel and keep it in the box in your garage for later use and retain the 16" as the permenant spare in your car

[kelvniii]

mine doesn't come with spare tyre, it just came with a repair kit,

but wat if you haveing trouble on highway?
eg. you have a flat tyre and you can't use your repair kit to repair it?
then you are OWNED!

so for safety reason i wanna have a spare at the boot... but somehow i don't...