Wish my car had a spare wheel...

darthed1981

TTBZ said:

darthed1981 said:
I ended up with the baby-SUV MG ZS EV.. 

My wife decided she wanted an MG ZS (non EV) and there was no convincing her otherwise. As expected it's a steaming piece of shit. Around 30k miles and it's already needed a new gearbox (luckily under warranty) and now the clutch is on its way out by the sounds of things - not covered under the warranty this time. Steering feels clunky and makes an odd noise sometimes now. Head unit screen coating is blistering and needs replacing. Poor fuel economy and feels underpowered for a 1.5. Garages don't seem to want to deal with MG as they're a hassle to get any parts for, have to get everything direct from a main dealer. I also don't feel like it has much more space inside than a decent sized hatchback, wish we'd just got a Golf or something reliable! Sorry, mini rant over hope you have better luck with yours!

They are very, very well specced for the money, but ultimately they are a Chinese brand and are built for a price, including the EVs, but of course the powertrain there is much, much simpler and HV EV batteries are an area where China leads the world.

I can say if you have a weird fault (like the gearbox or clutch or especially the head unit delaminating) talk to that main dealer, it may be an acknowledged fault with that model which MG cover the cost of fixing (you don't ask, you don't get).

BillDL

When I bought my last two cars 2nd hand they both had the large plastic insert with troughs for the tools inserted into the spare wheel cavity.  They had the compressor and container of expanding foam.  The first one had a cavity large enough for a full sized wheel and I managed to get a matching alloy.  The second car only had a cavity large enough for a space saver, which is a lot better than nothing, and I bought a steel rimmed one here along with a cover and a jack/spanner for a really good price:

https://www.thewheelshop.co.uk

From what I can see the spare wheels are most likely ones from scrapped cars that have barely or never used space saver wheels with tyres that's still well in date.  It has been used 3 times in the last 2 years, so it's more than paid for itself.  I hung onto the compressor and container of expanding foam just in case I ever end up with more than one flat tyre.

Sporky

Not having a spare tyre saves weight and improves fuel economy slightly.

These are both important to car makers.

Having a spare tyre is important to many car owners.

FIGHT!

TTony

Tannin said:

TTony said:

For years, the only real SUV was the Range Rover.   

Cough cough. 

The Range Rover, for all its virtues, came long, long after the Japanese had mastered the art.
 
Toyota have been building Land Cruisers since 1960 - i.e., a full decade before the first Range Rover, and Nissan started making Patrols in the early 1950s. 

For sure @Tannin ; - I was talking about the "luxury" SUVs, not the workhorses (we have a 19yo Subaru Forester; workhorse, not SUV!).

RaymondLin

Mine has a spare, but I think it’s a space saver one.  I’ve not looked under there in a while.

i really need to get the tyre on that swapped out though, it’s probably the original from factory.

BluesLover

When I got my current car, Mercedes B180, I bought a space saver spare wheel and jack and wheelbrace, only to find the only way it would fit in the well was by letting all the air out!
Crap design...

boogieman

ewal said:

Jono111 said:

You should only buy a spare wheel if you have a spare wheel compartment to put it and screw it down. This stops it flying about in an accident. 

It has compartment but I think it is currently occupied by some audio component... Well it says Harmon-Karden on it...

RAC man is away with wheel to get temporary valve fitted at Kwikfit. I'll then have to book it in to get pressure sensor valve fitted... Modern cars eh...

Our Audi Q5 has the same thing, it’s the subwoofer. So you get no chance of having a spare wheel even if you wanted one. 

robgilmo

Tannin said:

TTony said:

For years, the only real SUV was the Range Rover.   

Cough cough. 

The Range Rover, for all its virtues, came long, long after the Japanese had mastered the art.
 
Toyota have been building Land Cruisers since 1960 - i.e., a full decade before the first Range Rover, and Nissan started making Patrols in the early 1950s. 

Nobody takes a Range Rover into the outback, you need something tough and reliable: Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, maybe one or two others. Range Rovers are for swanning around in the leafy suburbs dropping the kids down to their ballet lessons.

The old cruisers arnt, in my view an SUV, 'sports utility vehicle' , nothing about them was 'sports' , utility vehicles yes, and they were good at what they did.
The correct term would be luxury utility vehicles, the Range Rover was designed to bridge the gap between the series vehicles land rover had available and something more luxurious (note, working heater, sound proofing, no leaking roofs , handling, better engine , faster) that people could actually drive without getting to their destination a shaking mess.
The Range Rover did exactly that, coil springs, powerful (kind of) engines, power steering, rain proof , etc etc but with the wheel base being 100'' it was perfect for difficult off road driving, the early Range Rovers were not even luxury vehicles however they were way more comfortable than the series vehicles available at the time. Their true nature was to be a better off road vehicle than the series and they were just that, in every respect.
Then came the Defender , the RangeRover was evolving and the Defender filled the gap that the Range Rover was leaving behind, 
In my view Land Rover should have stopped there, the early utility focused Range Rover was in my view the best vehicle they ever produced as it did everything, but , no , the Defender came along as a replacement to the series vehicles instead and actually used the Range Rover as a base to work from, so , where did that leave the Range Rover?
Behold, the luxury SUV was born, however once again there was a gap in the line up, nobody wanted to take a nice , shiny luxury and expensive Range Rover out into the sticks, the Range Rover was focused away from utility work and the Discovery was born to once again bridge the gap, still on springs , this time sporting the TDI engines, better gear box, still the same transfer box but more akin to a large car yet still with the off road capability, it was the posh defender and the Range Rover was painted pink and driven by blonde birds from Essex.

Nowadays Land Rover has gone tits up, having worked as a Land Rover tech I have seen some messes, engins failing at +/-60k (Evoque 2.0 ingenium diesel), lifting the entire body off to do simple repair work, the latest? The latest is the Range L405, if you own one of these contact Land Rover immediatly, the front hub knuckle corrodes and forces itself to snap causing the front wheel to basically let go from the rest of the vehicle, if this happens when on a motorway the results would be catastrophic.
Land Rover havent made a utility vehicle in years, what they produce now is nothing more than unreliable, sometimes dangerous vehicles that are getting written off because of nothing more than unreliable crap design resulting in expensive vehicles being uneconomical to repair, I wouldnt take on one if it was gifted to me. 

topdog91

boogieman said:

Our Audi Q5 has the same thing, it’s the subwoofer. So you get no chance of having a spare wheel even if you wanted one. 

Whilst I'm all for great sound in cars, this does kind of sum up modern motoring. At least you can pump to00nz whilst stranded at the side of the M1. Live Laugh Love etc

I'll soldier on as long as I can with my mid-2000s fleet which for me is the sweet spot between price and performance.

Kittyfrisk

BillDL said:

When I bought my last two cars 2nd hand they both had the large plastic insert with troughs for the tools inserted into the spare wheel cavity.  They had the compressor and container of expanding foam.  The first one had a cavity large enough for a full sized wheel and I managed to get a matching alloy.  The second car only had a cavity large enough for a space saver, which is a lot better than nothing, and I bought a steel rimmed one here along with a cover and a jack/spanner for a really good price:

https://www.thewheelshop.co.uk

From what I can see the spare wheels are most likely ones from scrapped cars that have barely or never used space saver wheels with tyres that's still well in date.  It has been used 3 times in the last 2 years, so it's more than paid for itself.  I hung onto the compressor and container of expanding foam just in case I ever end up with more than one flat tyre.

Pretty much exactly what I did. The photo I posted has the expanding foam just visible at the bottom right, the electric pump is underneath the Michelin two barrel footpump, my tool of choice for adjusting pressures.
I also chose an alloy spare as if I had got a steel wheel, then I'd have needed to buy & carry another set of bolts too, as the seats of steel wheel bolts are different to the alloys  

Sporky

I'm trying to work out when I last had a puncture.

I think it was 12 years ago. I had a Yeti. 

ewal

topdog91 said:

boogieman said:

Our Audi Q5 has the same thing, it’s the subwoofer. So you get no chance of having a spare wheel even if you wanted one. 

Whilst I'm all for great sound in cars, this does kind of sum up modern motoring. At least you can pump to00nz whilst stranded at the side of the M1. Live Laugh Love etc

I'll soldier on as long as I can with my mid-2000s fleet which for me is the sweet spot between price and performance.

It's really stupid. I'd really like to carry a spare wheel after this morning's experience. I wonder if I'd notice if I removed the sub-woofer? I don't really the need for pumping out the bass in my car...

robgilmo

ewal said:

topdog91 said:

boogieman said:

Our Audi Q5 has the same thing, it’s the subwoofer. So you get no chance of having a spare wheel even if you wanted one. 

Whilst I'm all for great sound in cars, this does kind of sum up modern motoring. At least you can pump to00nz whilst stranded at the side of the M1. Live Laugh Love etc

I'll soldier on as long as I can with my mid-2000s fleet which for me is the sweet spot between price and performance.

It's really stupid. I'd really like to carry a spare wheel after this morning's experience. I wonder if I'd notice if I removed the sub-woofer? I don't really the need for pumping out the bass in my car...

Can you not strap one down in the boot with ratchet straps?

ewal

Hmm maybe. I need to get a tyre replaced on a relative's car - might ask the Kwikfit guy if they have any suggestions.

robgilmo

ewal said:

Hmm maybe. I need to get a tyre replaced on a relative's car - might ask the Kwikfit guy if they have any suggestions.

There are options , none ideal I'm afraid, expandable space saver for instance, I think it depends on the front brake callipers as to wether or not they actually fit? there seems to be a lot of differing opinions. 
I would probably just buy a full alloy wheel from a scrappy, replace the tyre if needs be and ratchet strap it, then find a cover for it, if it actually fitted in the boot that is.

GuyR

No spare wheel is one of the more illogical aspects of modern motoring. 

Apart from the inconvenience and danger caused by long periods stranded waiting for the rescue service, when you could have fixed the problem yourself in 10 minutes, the use of tyre sealant foam renders a perfectly sound tyre irreparable. 

ICBM

Tannin said:

I flat refuse to consider any car that doesn't have a proper full-size spare. It is simply unacceptable. 

I can live with the small 'space saver' spare you get with most modern cars, but I would never want a car without that and just the foam kit, which as GuyR said renders any chance that the puncture was repairable a non-starter.

When I had a big car with enough space under the boot I replaced the cheap steel full-size spare with a nice matching alloy and high quality tyre I got second hand so I could use it as a permanent swap if necessary, but the change to modern tyres which are almost all directional made that a liability rather than an asset if the puncture is on the wrong side of the car.

robgilmo

GuyR said:

No spare wheel is one of the more illogical aspects of modern motoring. 

Apart from the inconvenience and danger caused by long periods stranded waiting for the rescue service, when you could have fixed the problem yourself in 10 minutes, the use of tyre sealant foam renders a perfectly sound tyre irreparable. 

The problem is a lot of people cant change a tyre, also modern wheels need torqued up and nobody I know of carries a torque wrench with them in the boot of their car..

GuyR

robgilmo said:

GuyR said:

No spare wheel is one of the more illogical aspects of modern motoring. 

Apart from the inconvenience and danger caused by long periods stranded waiting for the rescue service, when you could have fixed the problem yourself in 10 minutes, the use of tyre sealant foam renders a perfectly sound tyre irreparable. 

The problem is a lot of people cant change a tyre, 

Respectfully, the problem is that people with the most basic ability to change a tyre are not provided with the means by the manufacturer. 

robgilmo

GuyR said:

robgilmo said:

GuyR said:

No spare wheel is one of the more illogical aspects of modern motoring. 

Apart from the inconvenience and danger caused by long periods stranded waiting for the rescue service, when you could have fixed the problem yourself in 10 minutes, the use of tyre sealant foam renders a perfectly sound tyre irreparable. 

The problem is a lot of people cant change a tyre, 

Respectfully, the problem is that people with the most basic ability to change a tyre are not provided with the means by the manufacturer. 

Like a trolley jack, axle stand, big hammer if its stuck and a torque wrench to tighten the wheel nuts? Thats to do it properly, car manufacturers dont want you to be jacking up your car with a scissor jack then man handling a heavy 20 inch wheel off a car jacked on a scissor jack then tightening up the replacement with a wheel brace, all at the side of a busy road.
There are actually a lot of people out there who dont want to do this, or are unable to, so what can car manufacturers do? The wheel wont change itself so they are trying to make it so you dont have to, they arnt quite there yet though and I agree, the option should be there for those that can.