Buy one from a manufacturer for a popular mid-size model and it’ll probably cost about £120. For smaller cars, anywhere from £100 upwards. A space saver for a big car will cost more than £200. That depends on the car and the size of wheel. Because of this you shouldn’t exceed 50mph and although the distance you drive on one isn’t strictly limited, it’s wiser to go no further than 50 miles at a time. Space savers are skinnier which means they have more weight on them and can run hotter. It’s important to understand that these are a temporary fix. How long can you drive on space savers for? There’s a really handy calculator here to help you work out rolling radius. This difference in sidewalls means a 205/55 R16 tyre can have the same rolling radius as a 125/80 R17 space saver. This is called aspect ratio and it’s shown as a percentage of the tread’s width – the second set of digits in the writing on the side of a tyre. You might have noticed that tyres have different heights of sidewall. Once you know your existing wheel/tyre’s rolling radius, the space saver’s should be within 3% of that. This is the distance from the centre of the hub to the ground. You work out what size of wheel you need by calculating the rolling radius of the existing wheel. Too big or too small and you won’t be able to drive safely when it’s fitted. Next thing you need to know is how big the space saver is. How do you know if the space saver is big enough? You don’t want to hand over a serious amount of cash and then find yourself stranded because you’ve bought the wrong kind of wheel. Once you’ve bought one, first thing we’d do is try to fit it. And you can’t drive with just two of the fasteners done up. That indicates the car has five wheel nuts and they’re 112mm apart.īuy a wheel with five holes and if your hub only has space for four lugs, you won’t be able to fit the wheel safely. This tells you how many lugs (bolts, more commonly called wheel nuts) your car has and how far apart they are in millimetres. In order to fit safely, the wheel needs to have the same number of holes as the hub.įirst thing to find out about your car is its Pitch Circle Diameter or PCD.

How many wheel nuts does your car have?Īny wheel has to sit on the car’s hub. On some of the better sites, if you input your car’s details, you’ll see a range of the spare wheels they sell that will fit your car.īut there are some important things to think about before you start splashing the cash. Your nearest franchised dealer should be able to arrange it for you.Īlternatively, go on the internet and search for them. A lot of car manufacturers will sell space savers. At the same time, it’s lighter and doesn’t take up as much room as a normal-sized spare wheel and tyre. It’s a simple way of getting you home or to a garage if you have a flat tyre. It lives in the boot and it’s only to be used in emergencies. Think of a wheel and tyre that’s smaller and skinnier than the regular wheels and tyres on your car. Why don’t cars have spare wheels? What is a space saver spare wheel? If you don’t want to read the whole piece, use the headings below to jump to the relevant section.įind out if your space saver is big enough? As we get so many questions about space savers, we thought it’d be a good idea to put together a complete guide to them. Owners will either find an inflation kit or a space saver spare wheel in the boot. Hardly any new cars come with a full-size spare wheel these days.

Space saver tyre price