[Redex]

My 1998 Ford Explorer 4.0 litre V6 had 255/70/R16 with a space saver spare at 235/75/R15. Both size wheels fit in the spare wheel carrier under the car. The car was a Factory Ford Import RHD U.K. spec. In 1998 it cost about £20,000. Don't really see it as a cost cutting exercise. Doesn't save any space inside the car. Saves a few kgs in a car that weighs over 2,000kg empty, don't see any noticeable fuel efficiency gains. Manufacturing cost of the spare wheel is probably very similar to the full size wheel. Having an odd size spare also adds to production costs because it means 2 supply lines for the different sizes.

Don't understand the need for a space saver, none of the pro arguments hold water. Space can be designed in to the car from the drawing board. Even my wife's 2009 Mini Cooper D has a full size spare wheel in an under boot carrier.

Any perceived gain from having a space saver is completely lost when considering the increased risk of death or injury to the occupants and other road users. Spares savers are rarely used correctly. I see them at 120kph on the expressways. Many people drive on them for weeks, sometimes months before coming to us to get the tyres replaced..
Space savers are a bad idea, just like huge infotainment screens in the drivers line of sight causing constant distraction.
Now we have the prospect of driverless cars !!!! Most of the electronically controlled items in my house have thrown a tantrum and failed to work correctly, why are cars going to be any different. Nothing is perfect and never will be.
Common sense in the motor industry seems to have gone out of the window.

[streetfighter]

Originally Posted by Redex

Common sense in the motor industry seems to have gone out of the window.

Agree fully to this post, pure lack of common sense by car manufacturers to provide a space saver or small sized tyre as spare. While on a road trip and when the primary tyre is swapped with the space saver, where does one put the bigger tyre? ... throw some luggage out of the boot, or put the tyre on seat and leave some people out

[ike]

Originally Posted by MSAneesh

I dread it now, my boot is usually packed to full on long drives, and can't imagine keeping the dirty used wheel in the cabin (that too unsecured).

Probably transfer the luggage to the cabin and put the used wheel in the boot?

Originally Posted by debuda

Coming to costs, both tyres cost almost the same (the R17 tyre is just about Rs 2,000 cheaper). As far as the steel wheel is concerned, I would think that the cost difference between a 17" and a 18" of the same width would be marginal.

So that brings me back to the original doubt -- WHY?

2000 bucks saved thousands of times over is still a tidy amount. That is how bean counters think (Trust me, I'm one).

[amitayu]

Sorry but i see no Pros for the owners; its only Pros for the OEM.



In fact I find some of the Pros listed here as Cons:

You wouldn't have to bother about repairing the original if the spare was of same specs, right? Earlier old cars had 5 wheel rotation processes than ensured better longevitiy of all 5 tyres.

Fuel efficiency: logically doing away with the spare makes more sense right? But then we should do away with lot of oter things in the car, like passenger seats when you are diriving solo to office, and what not!! We carry a spare as exigency, right? Why would you shortchange yourself on that?

Ditto for storage, right?



This dice is heavily loaded towards the Cons.

[professortarzan]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

What's wrong with 16 inch wheels? With taller side walls, it looks more elegant than current crop of cars:

Again, does the current crop of 18 inch tyre/50 sidewall SUV tyres really look better than this?

Thank you for saying this out loud. I really don't understand (or rather like) the current trend of bigger wheels with lower profile tyres. In some cases I prefer one step lower but with thicker side walls. In our country, it makes zero sense whatsoever. I saw a BMW i7 today, one tyre was flat and another had a bulge on the side wall. Those ridiculously thin tyres (21 inchers?) cannot survive our roads.

Practicality aside, a bigger rim size doesn't automatically translate into a better looking car. People should not forget that there is a thing called 'proportion'.

[el lobo 6061]

Space Saver Tyres or No Stepney is good only when you are driving your car within city limits.

If you decide to venture out of city for touring; one puncture or tyre/sidewall cut in a remote area will be enough to bring you to senses why FULL SIZE SPARE is important.

Also you wont find replacement tyre in Tier-2/3 cities for larger rim size.

I have been using a BMW X1 F48 since Mar 2018 which came with space saver tyre.

Two incidents were enough to make me buy a alloy rim and full size tyre.
1. A puncture big enough on rear RHS that it cannot be repaired on Indore-Mumbai highway. In came space saver and you are limited to 80 Kmph. Just think driving a super slow car and extra time needed to reach home.

2. Tyre cut at Velavadar Blackbuck National Park on front right tyre. With FWD setup, had to change two tyres as space saver wont give enough traction on front wheel.

Thankfully BMW X1 F48 has just enough space to accommodate full size tyre with boot lid rising by 1.5 inch.

Don't mind losing few liters of boot space for peace of mind.

Whenever I buy a new car, full size spare is a must since my cars do touring.

[krishnakumar]

I have not understood how space savers actually save space, pardon my ignorance.

Doesn’t all wheels have to have the same diameter (including the tyre) so that the vehicle doesn’t become lopsided? Even if the space saver is an inch short on dia compared to the main wheel, wouldn’t it have a higher profile tyre and therefore the total dia comes to the same?

I understand weight saving, but how is it space saving? Or are we only talking about the tread of the tyre and therefore the vertical space saved (by not having a deeper well)? In that case, it is quite stupid that they couldn’t find a few more millimetres of depth to accommodate a full size tyre.

Spare wheels shouldn’t be called “Space Saver Tyres” then, it should be “I didn’t try hard enough tyres”.

[saisree]

The only Pro is see in having SST is, you bring back your original tire after a puncture and you are happy with four-wheel rotation. During the course of time, you have all the four wheels equally utilized and its easy for you to change.
Your SST sits deep inside the wheel well and lasts long for a lakh kilometer.