advertisement


No spare wheel

Mentioned a few times now - things along the lines "tyres are good now", implying that some fairy dust is now ued to resist punctures.

Steel radials used to be the norm - now, they ought to be more resistant than fabric, but things like rubber hardness are linked to grip/friction, so I doubt that that has changed much for road tyres.

Anyone want to suggest why current tyres should be or are more resistant to punctures?

Profile? Better roads? Better driving/drivers?

I am unconvinced. Having been driving for 45 years, I do not see any likely change in puncture rates; uncommon then, uncommon now, as big a PITA then as now.
I don't know, but punctures used to be a regular occurrence. I remember helping my dad with a few as a kid in the 70s and several when I started driving. Some cars were worse than others, I remember my mum had a Skoda Estelle for a b out 3 years, it had more punctures than soft Mick. Always on the rear. I was a student and driving it in the holidays, one day it had 2 punctures, I kid you not. One in the morning, fitted the spare, bought a new tyre, another one, other side, that afternoon. Both were decent brands with reasonable tread but low enough to not be worth repairing, Firestone I remember for some reason was a bit cheaper than most but better than the awful Stomils and so on coming out of Poland, and that's what it used. But that car had 2 or 3 punctures a year.
These days, as above it's one per 90k miles, which fits with my observation of every 5-10 years and 15k miles a year.
 
anyone recommend an accurate tyre pressure gauge?

my tyre blower has one but it is woefully inaccurate compared to the car measurements, but the car cannot dial cannot be seen whilst pumping the tyres up....
 
I don't want another tyre inflater. I have two one with a gauge and the pork one without
 
anyone recommend an accurate tyre pressure gauge?

my tyre blower has one but it is woefully inaccurate compared to the car measurements, but the car cannot dial cannot be seen whilst pumping the tyres up....


The advice that I had years ago was to use the same gauge each time. Whether ultra accurate or not, at least that way it is more consistent.
 
The state of the roads these days I’d not want to be without a spare wheel. So many people suffering from potholes around here lately.
 
The advice that I had years ago was to use the same gauge each time. Whether ultra accurate or not, at least that way it is more consistent.


I believe the car gauge - and the tyre pressure warning system. But I cannot see it whilst I put air in the tyre
 
My Fabia estate didn't have a spare wheel when I got it in Sept. '09. I complained, as I'd expected one, and had to buy one ( metal rimmed) c/w Michelin for £40 . Still got it, unused; prob. useless now.
 
Does anyone know the reason for the lunatic wholesale move to not providing a spare in current cars?

In the overall scheme of things I cannot beleive that it is cost - on the scale of car manufacture, providing one would cost peanuts.

Run-flats are OK, but only if the puncture is very modest - hit something that puts even a small slice in the tyre and you are going nowhere.

My Megane came with a can of puncture repair fluid and a battery-operated pump, but it also has a spare wheel well in the boot, originally filled with a foam insert. I fitted a spare PDQ after buying it - the fact that no spare was normal was news to me then and it amazed me.

This has got to be one of the looniest moves in car design/provision/whatever, ever, especially for lone lady drivers - provided with a long-handled wheel nut spanner, or even a standard one and a length of steel pipe, and some very basic education, any lady can change any car wheel, if they have a spare. Maybe the asumption is that ALL ladies who habitually drive alone have some kind of rescue cover?
I don’t get it either, I’ve had cars with run-flats and I detest them.

I recently went (used) car shopping for an economical daily driver and a spare wheel was one of the requirements, I do a lot of miles and have had two sudden tyre failures in 18 months, not fixable with a can of tyre weld. I ended up with a Volvo C30 D5, the spare wheel does eat a lot of boot space but I’d rather have it there.

PS, a lady police officer changed one of my tyres for me, I’m disabled and was stranded on a sketchy bit of road… there’s no reason why a man would be any more competent, with the possible exception of body weight to put on a wheel-brace when loosening a stubborn wheel nut.
 
Me. Side of the road, but I pulled off to a quiet entry to an office block.

I’ve also had to wait on the motorway for recovery after hitting a pothole at 60-odd and trashing tyre.
Yep, one of my incidents was a pothole on the A14 near Market Harborough, I managed to limp off at the next junction but the tyre was literally shredded, I think being a fat bloke in the driver’s seat saved the day (it was the nearside rear tyre that failed and although it was twitchy, it was controllable at low speed).
 
Does the car that came without a spare even have a place to put one?

My car came without a spare, but it's a top model in a range of econo-hatch cars, and the lowest model still has a spare. So I was able to buy the kit of parts to install a full factory spare, with a place to put the jack and tools, in a space where there had previously only been a subwoofer:

64VJFbr.jpg
 
Sorry to hear that.

I guess my thinking is that punctures are fairly rare, spare wheels are heavy, and 80% of the population are incapable of safely changing one.

Probably only half of the remaining 20% would do so in preference to calling out the AA/RAC!
You're lucky we've had 11 punctures in the last 2 years :oops:

Workmen leaving screws lying around when carrying out work and brats lobbing them onto the road around here account for them.
 
No spare, and no room for one, so have three types of 'ready repair' just in case, plus an inflator.
It thats a non starter, it's time to call up a flat bed.
Utterly detest run flats, and as they are all but non repairable (especially if driven on while flat) it's a decision I have taken.
I understand not everyone would.
The chances of finding a 275/35/19 on a sunday night anywhere around where you have a flat, standard or run flat are precisely zero.
 


advertisement


Back
Top