There are three solutions to the question of spare
wheels available these days.
Below is a brief general description of the alternatives.
We strongly recommend you read the relevant section
of your vehicle owners manual for specific instructions on the fitting
and use of spare wheels.
It is best to do this before
you need to change your wheel in the dark, by the side of a busy
road, on a rainy December night when you're already late.
Full Size Spare. This is the
traditional idea of a spare wheel. The vehicle manufacturer will
design a storage space, often in or under the boot space, to accommodate
an extra wheel. This is still the most common solution. With or
near the wheel you should also find the jack and toolkit for fitting
the wheel.
Temporary Space Saver or Mini-spare.
This is an ultra thin wheel unlike the other wheels on the vehicle.
Again a space will be provided to store the wheel, jack and tool
kit. One advantage of the space saver is that it requires less
storage space than a full size wheel. The disadvantage is that
it is not designed to perform to the same standard as your
other tyres. These space savers should only be used to drive SLOWLY
to safety were your damaged tyre should then be attended to before
you use the vehicle further.
Run-Flat Fitment With No
Spare . Some manufacturers now design their vehicles with
run-flat tyres and do not provide a spare wheel. The run-flat
tyre is designed with a tyre wall strong enough to support the
weight of the vehicle even when the tyre pressure is down to zero.
In this state the tyre will offer safe handling for the driver
in some cases up to 80 km/hr for a limited distance (See your tyre
manufacturers technical information for accurate data on your specific
tyres). However it would be prudent not to drive under these conditions
up to the limit of the tyre manufacturers stated performance.
