A few things you should know before hitting the road with your space saver spare
When buying a new car just be wary that it may be fitted with a space saver tyre. These tyres are generally fitted in smaller new vehicles to, as the name suggests, save space. While this is all good and well to fit an extra picnic basket or bag of shopping in the boot, are these really the best tyres to carry as a spare?
What’s the difference between space saver tyres and regular spare?
A space saver tyre is designed as the name suggests to save some space in the boot of your car, where a regular spare is much larger. The temporary spare will be a lot smaller in diameter and will usually be sporting a nice yellow rim.
So what’s the performance difference between a regular spare and temporary spare?
According to the RACQ a temporary or space saver tyre will significantly alter the emergency braking, steering and cornering of the vehicle. Due to their different size and abilities they can only be used for a certain distance and speed. Usually a temporary spare can only be used up to a maximum of 80 km/h for up to 2 hours. These tyres are not designed to be used for extended periods of time and should only be used to get the vehicle to the nearest workshop or tyre dealer.
A temporary spare tyre can be expensive to replace if used until it’s unroadworthy which is usually around 450km.
Does the car have ABS braking?
For those cars that have ABS braking fitted, attaching the temporary spare tyre will disable the ABS braking, this is because the smaller size of the tyre may cause the ABS to kick in unnecessarily, hence it’s disconnected. The driver must make sure the ABS braking is reconnected when a replacement tyre has been fitted.
Will the use of a temporary spare affect my insurance?
As long as the temporary spare is used within the vehicle manufacturers guidelines then it shouldn’t exclude your claim the insurer will determine whether the temporary tyre was used within specifications (Speed, distance, etc.)
If you require any more information or need a replacement tyre, spare or temporary spare don’t hesitate to give our team at Darra Tyres a call on 3375 3566. We have the industry experts and experience to get your vehicle safely back on the road. Don’t compromise on safety and give us a call now or you can enquire online and one of our sales team will be in touch very shortly.
Cheer,
Kevin Wood