Spare Wheels: Where Have They Disappeared To?

A lot has changed in the last 20 years in regards your car’s spare wheel. It used to be standard practice for every new car to be fitted with five identical wheels, one of which was a spare. This has largely been replaced with a ‘space saver’ wheel or in plenty of new cars, just a breakdown repair kit. Here at Cox Motor Parts we have been taking a look at how things have changed, and what is still available.

9/10 Cars Are Now Sold Without A Full Size Spare Wheel

Last year statistics showed that nine out of ten new cars are now sold without a full size spare wheel, and a quarter of new cars are only equipped with a smaller space saving wheel, leaving the rest with just a breakdown repair kit. So why are manufacturers cutting spares?

Cost

A lot of the evidence points to cost. Fitting every new car with a space saver wheel reduces costs (an average of £150) and frees up space in new cars. In the current climate, fuel efficiency is increasingly important and reducing weight is one of the most straight forward ways to save fuel. Plenty of new cars go a step further by cutting the space saver wheel and just including a breakdown repair kit.

Lower CO2 Emissions

Further pressure has been put on car manufacturers to lower CO2 emissions by the European Union, and due to the way in which they calculate the pollution from each car, cutting weight has become increasingly important.

Clearly the positives of not having a full sized spare are the extra space in you boot and the slight difference it could make to your fuel efficiency and reduction of CO@ emissions, however there are other things you have to consider when sacrificing this for a space saver or a puncture repair kit.
Space saver wheels are, of course, smaller, which will obviously give your car a slight imbalance once fitted. They are also not made to be relied on as a replacement, they are merely a spare to get you to the nearest tyre retailer. In fact the average is only meant to be driven on as far as 50 miles and at speeds no more than 50mph.
A breakdown kit (made up of tyre sealant liquid and an air compressor) gives you more space and will further your fuel economy cause of the reduction in weight, it will also cut out the need for changing your wheel at the side of the road. However they are only suitable for a small puncture, and if you have a complete blow out, these may well prove useless.
In fact a survey from the AA last year showed that 44% of drivers who had tried to use a puncture repair kit said it had proved to be ineffective. The RAC announced that last year they were called out by nearly 120,000 people who had a flat tyre but no spare.
If you would much rather play it safe and make sure you have a spare in your car, then at Cox Motor Parts we can help. We specialise in genuine Honda parts, including Honda spare wheels. We want to make sure you have the most stress free puncture possible. Thats why we offer everything from a full size option for Honda Jazz spare wheels which comes with jack and wrench to space saving Honda Civic spare wheels.