Why do manufacturers persist with "space saver" spares? Why do they design hubs with bolts to go in rather than nuts to fit on to protruding bolts? My wife's Rover 75 had a flat so I switched it. The real tyre has a nail through it dead centre so I said make sure it's a repair job not a new one. She calls me from Kwik Fit and says where's the real wheel 'cos it's not in the boot? That's because it's in the space where the space saver came from....it's a great place to put it because there's loads of space to spare in there.
Just been out to switch it back. It's taken a good 20 mins of messing round in the wet and dark to do what should be a 5 minute job. Result is I get supremely hacked off with it and I'm just about to walk back in to the house when fortunately I remember I haven't tightened the bolts after letting it down off the jack. I'm damn sure I wouldn't have forgotten if I hadn't spent 10 minutes of frustration messing about in the dark trying to line up the holes for the bolts. It's an annoying task which happens at the most inconvenient times, I wonder how many times it's hurried through and safety is compromised through stupid, stupid design?
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NWS - (a) a spacesaver spare is much less nickworthy than a nice alloy wheel; (b) personally I am much happier with bolts than those awful coned nuts which have been known to be used the wrong way round, with nasty results. They also tend to disappear into undergrowth more easily. Probably get their threads battered more easily too.
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Probably been said many, many times here, but the point of a space saver is to force you to repair the puncture, not just sling it in the boot and forget about it until you get another puncture.
Although I agree that the space where the space saver goes is useless if you can't get the original wheel in there.
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spent 10 minutes of frustration messing about in the dark trying to line up the holes for the bolts. It's an annoying task which happens at the most inconvenient times, I wonder how many >> times it's hurried through and safety is compromised through stupid, stupid design?
Agreed. The best thing is to make a "pilot" out of a piece of doweling, stick it into the receiving hole, and slip one of the holes over that.
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It\'s cheaper to provide a space saver, or a full size steel replacement rather than alloy, also it\'s cheaper to use bolts rather than studs, i don\'t have a problem getting bolts in but have found they are prone to seizing in due to rust.
Studs can be greased, and as you say can locate the wheel for easy wheel changing. Is it a german thing?
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Space-savers are surely just another component of the relentless quest for reduced manufacturing costs on medium and lo-range vehicles. The inevitable casualty of this is build and appurtenance quality. Like the cheap and nasty wheel trims, one of which fell off 3 times, the last time for ever on my last UK trip, and for which I am still fighting ***** about for the unauthorisd charge they whacked on my Visa, the lousy creaky plastic dashes, the sharp-edge glove box doors which never close properly and which take your skin off, the cheap fabric seats, the fag-packet metal on the doors, the front and rear bumpers that look like they're made of recycled plastic buckets, the tatty little rattly buzz-box engines (oh how I missed my V-8 F-150 in UK) that run out of breath up hills and die when you really need the grunt to overtake something, the unpleasant synthetic smell when you get in, the fact they all look the same as each other do you can never find 'em in the carpark........
I'd tell you what make they were, I think the first one in November was a Vauxhall something, and in January my daughter ribbed me because I'd thought I had been driving round in a Fiesta for 3 days when it turned out it was a Fiat. It was horrible anyway.
....my ten centavos' worth
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Space-savers are surely just another component of the relentless quest for reduced manufacturing costs on medium and lo-range vehicles.
The Lotus Carlton has a space saver. I wouldn't call that a medium to lo-range vehicle.
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Don't find yourself out in the middle of nowhere with one of these things ...
I've heard horror stories of a 400km journey across the Karoo at 50mph ...
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Well all the more reason if it's that special it should have a proper spare wheel.
I was trying to think when this abomination first appeared. To the best of my recollection I first observed the space saver phenomenon on the Dodge Aries "K" series back around 1981. Willing to debate id anyone has better info?
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"on medium and lo-range vehicles."
- with certain notable exceptions.
I had a puncture when driving my pal's 911 turbo.
"Interesting" spare - not just space saver, but EXPANDED to shape by means of small compressor.
Boy at tyre shop insisted on demo of this trick twice to his cronies.
I do not like space-savers, but what else can you do on a car where the backtyres are 50% wider than the front?
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jud - if you can grease a nut, you should be able to grease a bolt? Or preferably Copperslip. And don't forget the coned section as well as the threads.
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Andrew
The manual specifically states "do not grease wheel bolts" this is to prevent brake pad/disc contamination, i do anyway (very lightly)otherwise its a hell of a job to get the bolts out. I never had this problem with my last two primeras
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glad to hear im not the only who struggles with seemingly simple technical tasks, join the aa mate you know it makes sense!
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