A deflating experience

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tino

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It had to happen ... two months into the ownership experience and the wisdom of not having a spare is called into question. A loose screw (?) has punctured my front offside tyre. Driving home I could hear a clicking sound which was the head of the screw against the tarmac. The puncture is right on the shoulder so I wasn't going to waste a bottle of spray sealant to try and effect a repair just to be told I need a new tyre, or a major repair which means the tyre has to be sent away.

Every tyre place I rang said ... "185/50 R 16 .. that's an unusual tyre sir. Not many of those about ... you'll have to wait 'till Monday" :(

How I wish I bought that cheap steel spare wheel when I enquired a few weeks back, and kept it in the boot / garage for emergencies like this. Anyway, that's exactly what I am going to do first thing on Monday to keep me mobile until I have my tyre repaired properly. Should cost me about £60 all in (wheel and tyre) as opposed to the £75-£130 just for the tyre that I had been quoted. And I will be able to drive at normal speeds as opposed to restricting myself to 80 kph with those silly collapsible origami tyres.

PS Does anybody know if the A2 5-stud PCD (pitch circle diameter) the same as any other VW/Audi wheels? Just thinking it might be cheaper to buy a VW or A N Other wheel instead of an Audi one.





Tino
Dolphin Grey 1.4 SE
 
Just found out that the following wheels will fit on a 5 * 100 PCD:

Audi A2 A3 S3 TT, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Rover 75, Seat Ibiza Cordoba Leon Toledo, Skoda Fabia Octavia, Subaru Impreza Turbo Forester, Toyota Celica (4wd) Carina Avensis MR2, VW Golf4 Vento Bora Passat Beetle

Let's see who's cheapest on Monday .. what's the bet it's not Audi ...


Tino
Dolphin Grey 1.4 SE
 
indeed, as I have discovered on 2 occasions in the last year - if you get a puncture, and it can't be repaired, you are f**ked. Once the tyre's off, most garages won't refit a dead one. AND they will have removed the puncturing object just to make sure.

What I now do is get them to check stock before they do anything, and only allow them to remove the carcass if they have a replacement available.

Suffolk is more dangerous than you think...
 
Do you know if you can you purchase the spare wheel to go in the boot after you have the car?

Cheers

Craig
 
John
I guess you are right, but would a war make you happy? Does Dubya look happy? Maybe he should hire a personal assistant called Monica.

Craig
The owner's website has a link to a supplier of aftermarket wheels including the 16" A2 wheel. I see no advantage in having a space-saver wheel because it is almost as large as a proper spare. It is not as thin as most space-saver wheels. I'd suggest you buy a proper spare wheel instead. If you bought/found/stole a proper spare you would want to replace or modify the cover over the battery area, and buy a support bracket that goes over the battery and is a mount for a bolt with a large head that stops the spare wheel moving around in the boot. If you order a spare when you order a new car there is also a plastic disc that sits between the spare and the battery cover. Appears to be there to stop the battery cover getting marked by the spare tyre. See the owner's site-owner's gallery-UK owner's gallery-page 4 for a photo of the bracket over the battery.

Chivers ':)'
'02 A2 1.4TDi SE
 
Latest update:

I bought myself a 15" steel wheel for about £35 (you can get this from any Seat-Skoda-VAG dealer - Part No: P U8Z0 601 027 03 C), on which I plan to put a 175/60R15 tyre. You can use the bolts off the alloys for the steel wheel too (or so I was told). The overall diameter of this set-up is 0.4mm less than the original set-up which was 185/50R16 tyres on 16" alloys, so there should be no problem using this as a spare i.e. the ABS shouldn't get confused as the rolling circumference is the same. The 175/60 tyre should cost around £50.

This to me seems like a better albeit temporary solution to putting on the collapsible spare (which is rated to only 80kph) or using the spray foam and having to replace your tyre (again only recommended for minor repairs and limited to 80kph. I will however have to make boot or garage space available for my spare.

PS : I was warned that putting on a single different tyre (as opposed to two tyres on the same axle) was probably illegal, but then again, putting on a collapsible spare or space-saver amounts to the same thing so I don't think it's a problem ... especially as it's only a temporary measure until I get the 16" tyre fixed (about £20).



Tino
Dolphin Grey 1.4 SE
 
Tino

You should probably check with your insurer as a different size tyre is illegal even for short distances. By using the the Audi wheel you should still be covered and it does fit in the boot.

The proper space saver is probably cheaper direct from Vredenstein and they will probably be able to supply the wheel as well. I can provide the information from the tyre wall if anyone wants to try.

Ian

P.S. Try the steel wheel with the bolts to check that the ends of the bolts do not foul anything behind the hub when fitted as they will project further, steel wheel is thinner.
2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control.
 
I just mounted the M+S tires on my car and bought a seperate set of rims for them (which are damn expensive: 190 EUR each!).

Now I have 4 spare wheels: the summer tires in winter and the M+S tires in summer. One of them will reside under the boot floor. That's the advantage of the small wheels the 1.2 TDI uses: they perfectly fit there and I don't have to resort to a collapsible spare wheel.

There is even enough space left to keep the snow chains, battery booster cable and a tool box there. The toolbox is not for reparing the car (at least I hope it won't be necessary...), but it's handy to have it in the car because then it's always where I am.

The space now looks like this:

http://www.martin-bickel.de/photos/a2/reserverad2.jpg

Martin
 
quote:Originally posted by mw

Martin,
What does the phrase M+S mean in relation to tyres.
Mud and Snow?
Click to expand...

Exactly. According to my dictionary the german term 'Winterreifen' is translated to 'winter tire' and 'snow tires', but since M+S is printed on the side of those tires I thought everybody would understand that as well.

Martin
 
I'm sure there is a joke here about skids, but I just can't bring myself to say it...

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
Has anyone noticed how most thread start off with a serious topic, then by the end turn into humorous banter which has nothing to do with the original thread, but very often a lot to do with Tesco's?

MartinW
 
What's your favourite cheese? Apparently Tesco have a great selection. Perhaps a regular Tesco shopper could confirm the range available?

MartinW
 
TESCO CHEESE-ohf what a wonderful subject....
Is this their Value, standard or Finest range we're talking about?.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
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