Vauxhall Corsa 2015 - Full Tyre or Space Saver for Spare?

[rossj81]

Advice please... My wife got a puncture the other day and discovered there's no spare in the boot. TyreWeld rubbish lasted a whole 1.6 miles before the tyre was as flat as before, so I want to get a proper spare.

- Full or skinny tyre? Obviously full handles better, but is it worth carrying the extra weight in the boot for months, only to use it for two days while I'm waiting for the replacement tyre?

- If skinny, what size do I need? Will any 16" work, or do I need to get a specific width/height? Also, what's a good make? I've found RoadHero, K.O.M and no-name stuff so far.

- If full, do I need to get alloys like the proper wheels or can I get a steel rim? I believe the wheel nuts are different - does this mean I just need different nuts for the spare or are the bolts different too?

Make: Vauxhall
Model: Corsa SRi Ecoflex 5 door
Engine: 1398 cc / Petrol / 66 kW
Year: 2015
Tyres: 195/55R16 87H

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

If it was me, I'd just get a spacesaver & jack off eBay for about £40 or something.

 

[Stivino]

I had a spacesaver but, I bought a full size matching wheel from eBay.
It’s your call.

 

[Mottie]

Get a full size one - if the wheel well is deep enough! We had a space saver in our Evoque that got us out of trouble twice when the supplied goo wouldn’t have worked. The only inconvenience we had was when we got a puncture while on holiday in the Peak District with our dog. The dog crate just about fitted in the boot but when we put the punctured wheel in the wheel well, it was a good few inches higher than the boot floor. That in turn meant that we couldn’t shut the tailgate with the full size wheel in the well. We had to jiggle things about and put the crate on the rear seat and the luggage in the boot. Our current car, an A3, has an adjustable boot floor so we could have a full size spare if we wanted but a space saver is fine for us.

I understand Porsche 911’s have a bag for the punctured wheel to be put into as it won’t fit into the space that the spare came out of so has to go on the passenger seat or worse, the passengers lap!

 

[SFK]

Full size recommendation from me too

This person died when tyre on their lap (to transport it) had blowout and impacted their chest.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.scotsman.com/news/freak-tyre-explosion-was-gunshot-1726725?amp

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Full matching size is obviously better, but how often do you get a puncture? I have a spacesaver in my wheel well, which has never ever been used. Under my caravan, likewise, I carry a full size spare that has also never been used. How lucky do you feel?

I often see unused spacesavers being almost given away for free, which suggests people have replaced them with full size ones, or that they have simply decided to do without a spare and rely entirely on the breakdown services.

 

[SFK]

but how often do you get a puncture

True - not very often.
But when I have used it it has been great that I did not have to worry about the rest of the journy/holiday trip being on a spacesaver, until I find a garage that has my type and spec of tyres in stock.
Espcially thankfull the time I had a flat in france on way to the ferry home with the boot full of booze.

But I am okay in that current car has a full size spare wheel hole. Many cars no longer have this.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

But I am okay in that current car has a full size spare wheel hole. Many cars no longer have this.

As do I - I fill the space on top of the spacesaver with other spare parts and 'just in case' essentials.

 

[cdbe]

I'm happy ish with a space saver. We have a VW Touran and the spare wheel well is occupied by the two rear seats so the space saver sits in the boot (a bit of a pain but I'd rather have it than not). I also carry the can of foam and used it the other week (tyre was soft and wouldn't pump up, we were in a rush and I couldn't be arsed with the spare). It got us back 60miles. My tyre place absolutely refused to repair it (despite being a Holt's product which promises not to damage the tyre, just wash it out etc). Not a lot I could do to argue with them but in the end when they took it off the nail was in the edge so they couldn't have repaired it anyway - but lesson learned for me.

 

[Mottie]

but how often do you get a puncture?

True - not very often.
But when I have used it it has been great that I did not have to worry about the rest of the journy/holiday trip being on a spacesaver, until I find a garage that has my type and spec of tyres in stock.

Same here. I got an irreparable puncture on our way out on the last night of our Peak District holiday. The annoying thing was, I had literally spent over £600 on 4 brand new tyres the day before we came away. I phoned around on the morning of our departure to try to find a tyre shop with the same make of tyre - I didn’t want one odd make - but nobody had my tyres in stock so with my space saver I could at least make it home and order a matching replacement.

 

[TimboTwo]

I got a puncture 140 miles from home on the M5. Very glad for the spacesaver.
Not so good when you pothole two tyres at once!
Fortunately a good friend lived not too far away who has the same model of car (Ford Edge) who lent me his.
Note: do not fit 2 spacesavers on the same side of the car. It screws up the electronics on the traction control system and keeps going into limp mode.

 

[Smufter]

If the wheel well is deep enough, a full sized spare no question. Additional weight over a spacesaver??? Negligible and wouldn't make one iota difference to the fuel consumption or handling.
I'd go with a steel wheel if the stud pattern matches but you may well pick up a bargain on ebay for an alloy to match the ones you have.
I've driven a car on a space saver before. Not an experience I'd like to repeat. Not too bad if you are on an A road pootling along at 40mph. But try doing that if you've got some motorway or dual carriageway to cover.
You'll either be treated as if you've had a lobotomy or end up with an articulated lorry driving right up your Aristotle. Not nice.

 

[Mottie]

I've driven a car on a space saver before. Not an experience I'd like to repeat. Not too bad if you are on an A road pootling along at 40mph. But try doing that if you've got some motorway or dual carriageway to cover.

I did that with a space saver on our Evoque. Wasn’t a problem. I stuck mainly to the recommended speed of 50mph and it did bloody wonders for my fuel consumption!

 

[rossj81]

you may well pick up a bargain on ebay for an alloy to match the ones you have.

Thanks for the suggestion. I found a full wheel with minimal scratches on the rim and brand new rubber for £90 delivered. I don't know why I didn't think of eBay - I buy other stuff on there all the time.

 

[Smufter]

Thanks for the suggestion. I found a full wheel with minimal scratches on the rim and brand new rubber for £90 delivered. I don't know why I didn't think of eBay - I buy other stuff on there all the time.

Well done! I did this with my daughter recently. She purchased a Peugeot 108 and it had a dent on the inside of one of the alloy wheels that was deemed "dangerous" by the MOT tester. We found an almost new alloy wheel with a brand new tyre on it on the bay for the princely sum of £70.00. Put that on the car, and put the dented one in the wheel well as an emergency spare (the 108 she bought was a "Top" model so didn't come with a spare, only a puncture kit. But the wheel well was deep enough to take a full sized alloy!!) On inspection, the dent in the alloy wheel wasn't anywhere near as bad as we expected, so we had no qualms in using it as a spare.