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OMEGA commodore has no SPARE Wheel

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68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820779
Read that the Holden Commodore OMEGA at
around $40,000 doesn't come with a spare wheel....

so, spare wheels at wreckers will now get premium prices... lol

Maybe people will start to put their spare wheel on the bonnet
like land rovers..??
or on the back boot lid like ROVER V8 sedans

One problem...
How do You open the boot or the bonnet????

Must be very heavy with a wheel on it..??

or just drive with a flat tyre..!!

so, what good is roadside service if You don't have a spare???


LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

waveman1500 Also rides a Honda

1,346 posts · joined Dec 2009 ·

#820786
Lee, could you please stop crowding these boards with sensationalist stories from tabloid-level news media?! No offence, but it seems to occur on a daily basis and it's kind of unnecessary. Some of it does make me laugh though. 😂

The lack of spare wheels is hardly a new phenomenon, and usually in much more expensive cars than the Commodore. For evidence of this I'll even cite an article from 2 years ago about the Commodore spare wheel, which states that both Holden and Ford dropped the full-size spare in 2007 for a space-saver. http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2009/holden/holden-reinvents-the-spare-wheel-12967

Sporting European cars such as Alfa Romeos and BMWs especially have been supplied with nothing but a can of tyre sealant and an air compressor for decades on many models, which have no room to carry a spare wheel.

The Commodore body shell does have a full-sized spare wheel well in the boot, so anyone who wants to may carry one conveniently stowed. In the article which I linked to above, they say that the full-sized spare on a Commodore is a zero-cost option. It is important to note though, that many people don't require a spare wheel. Tyres and road conditions have greatly improved over the last few years. In fact, I have been driving for roughly six years and have never encountered a puncture or had to change a tyre. I can't even remember any of my friends or family having had a puncture during my lifetime either, except for one occasion when a relative managed to slash two tyre sidewalls open against a concrete curb, hence requiring a tow-truck anyway. Meanwhile the average motorist's inclination to work on their own car has dropped away dramatically. I know quite a lot of drivers, not all of them female, who would not know how to change a wheel if they got a puncture, and would instead choose to call for roadside assistance.

Add all of this up and the trusty spare tyre is no longer necessary for most drivers. Removing it from a new car gives a substantial saving in both weight and cost, which benefits the consumer. If the space normally consumed by the spare tyre is used to provide extra luggage space, then the benefits are even greater. Obviously, if you're going through the centre of Australia, then a full-sized spare tyre is a good idea, but for the average motorist it is merely an inconvenience.
1972 VW S-Bug - For Sale!
1968-onwards Beetle panels and glass for sale

Newt Wolfsburg Wizard

478 posts · joined Mar 2008 ·

#820788
Funny - I did most of my tyres in the first 6 years of driving (Bssssssssss - smokin...).

Having said that, I still do a tire every other year. Must be WA roads.

Newt
It is as it is - If you didnt enjoy today, you've missed the opportunity.

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820790
TELECOM vehicles here in the country carry two spare wheels on the rear...

its still very easy to pick up a nail in your tyre here...

and 30+kms to a tyre shop..

but I think many people would have no idea a space saver can only go on the rear... and would freak out when they saw it...

I've already had a puncture in our suzuki swift..
and had many in our Lancers...

Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

The_Bronze. Minister of Volkswagenism

1,922 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#820797


I had three punctures last year. One on the Ford (EB) and the other two on a mate Toyota Hatch (92').

I commute along the F3 about 50 minutes a day and for me a spare wheel is essential else I'd be late for work. I always allow myself at least 15 minutes Lee to get to work for traffic, an accident (which is common sadly) and of course it takes me 10 minutes to change a tire and was my hands.

Yes, I agree. The need to change tire these days is fairly redundant if you spend you life in the city, along the coast with a town / settlement 15 minutes away at the most but when I was living out at Dubbo if you didn't carry a spare you were a nutter and in all respects if you lived even further west then you were bordering on irresponsible since the distances and infrequent roaduse could spell disaster.

"Murphys Law states that the chances of you getting a flat is relative to the amount of mobile coverage you have and the need to be somewhere important".

On the other matter:

Lee, could you please stop crowding these boards with sensationalist stories from tabloid-level news media?! No offence, but it seems to occur on a daily basis and it's kind of unnecessary.

waveman1500 wrote:Lee, could you please stop crowding these boards with sensationalist stories from tabloid-level news media?! No offence, but it seems to occur on a daily basis and it's kind of unnecessary. Some of it does make me laugh though. :lol
No offence but Lee did clearly state in the title that it was "NOT VW" and what it related too in the title so if it doesn't interest you and not a topic of interest then skip over it.

It's a forum and this is the General Chat section with can have unrelated material such as Cricket, Politics, Commodores etc.

And is Lee persists to post unrelated articles then simply don't read anything he posts. There is plenty of room.

For me, I didn't know that the bigger family cars were not providing spare wheels and since I'm in the market (wife wants a newer car) then I'm not going to pay attention to if a spare is provided or not.

Regards,

Bronze.
Bronze.

Rathmines, Lake Macquarie, NSW.

twoguns simply aircooled

4,275 posts · joined Nov 2002 ·

#820806
geez... ive been driving my splitty for 12 yrs with out a spare! i carried a can for a short while in the begining, but have seemed to have lost that.
Simply Cruzin'...

t_tuffnut Wolfsburg Wizard

425 posts · joined Jun 2009 ·

#820809
Back in 08 I blew 2 tyres at the same time. I was driving the ridge way - which all Central coast residents know is a little rough, but a quick way to get from one side of the coast to the other quickly. It had been raining heaps and some of the edge of the road had broken off. Must have hit a sharp bit and I burst both tyres on the passenger side.

A spare was pretty useless in this circumstance! Thankfully my brother was able to take one of the tyres for replacement while I fitted the spare and I was able to limp to work.
1966 Bug

1973 L Bug

cam070 Custom Title Time!

1,332 posts · joined Jul 2009 ·

#820810
I for one would take a spare any day of the week. We got a roofing nail that destroyed a tyre just the other week. I didn't know until afterwards that a space saver can only be used on the rear until well afterwards. The biggest problem was getting new tyres approved by fleet systems and the idiots at jax who said they had a set approved only to be told after waiting for an hour that fleet wouldn't pay for them.

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#820828
We did seem to have this topic a few weeks back when some other car made the papers for not being equipped with a standard spare.

Like Waveman said the amounts of flats these days is far less but no one has control over how much debris is on the road which is the main cause.

As mentioned alot of Euro cars dont come with a spare.
Mums Peugeot 206 Cabriolet doesnt because the hydraulic motor for the roof takes up the boot floor.
It was $38,000 new and all they gave you was 2 cans of spare in a can with no option of a spare.

The spare tyre in my 2000 Laser has never even been bolted onto the car, neither has the spare in my bug which came out of a 1993 honda Civic and in the 16 years dads had his 626 it hasnt had a flat either but I do know plenty of people that have had more than a few flats, its just luck of the draw

But one of my VW mates here in our club works for the NRMA roadside and he gets called to alot of flats in a day usually because people cant get the wheel nuts off because the tyre shops use their big f**k off rattle guns.

waveman1500 Also rides a Honda

1,346 posts · joined Dec 2009 ·

#820866
Joel wrote:But one of my VW mates here in our club works for the NRMA roadside and he gets called to alot of flats in a day usually because people cant get the wheel nuts off because the tyre shops use their big f**k off rattle guns.
This is an excellent point. For this reason exactly I always carry a 600mm breaker bar in my car with the socket for my wheel bolts, as well as my spare tyre. No use having the spare if you can't get the flat tyre off!
1972 VW S-Bug - For Sale!
1968-onwards Beetle panels and glass for sale

nbturbo Veteran Volks Folk

2,171 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#820906
Bought a new Mustang in the US on the Penrose buying trip late in 09-it has 19" wheels and a spare wheel well that will never get anything near a 19" wheel in it.It came with a liquid filled aluminium cylinder and a small air compessor thats all sits in a neat frame and uses the original spare wheel centre bolt to hold it in.I guess it's all OK untill you shred a tyre.

h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 ·

#820916
68AutoBug wrote:TELECOM vehicles

Lee
huh? wot the.. who's that? 🤪
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The_Bronze. Minister of Volkswagenism

1,922 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#820949
h wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:TELECOM vehicles

Lee
huh? wot the.. who's that? 🤪
There a service provider that don't provide service and they won't even answer the phone so you cant even have a whinge.
Bronze.

Rathmines, Lake Macquarie, NSW.

donn Wolfsburg Elder

3,515 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#820952
Do what I do, ballance the spare on the passenger seat, tried laying it down but not enough room. 🤪
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!

HappyDaze Superannuated

2,887 posts · joined Jun 2009 ·

#820955
nbturbo wrote:Bought a new Mustang in the US on the Penrose buying trip late in 09-it has 19" wheels and a spare wheel well that will never get anything near a 19" wheel in it.It came with a liquid filled aluminium cylinder and a small air compessor thats all sits in a neat frame and uses the original spare wheel centre bolt to hold it in.I guess it's all OK untill you shred a tyre.
Those liquid filled aluminium cylinders (you do mean the ones fullof beer, don't you?) are great when you shred a tyre. If you drink enough of them, nothing much matters.😂

How's the Mustang going, Gary?
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#820962
This guys got it nailed.




11CAB If ya got it....Baja it

4,674 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820970
And here's Smiley's spare.......

65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
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76 Baja Kombi Twincab

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820974
helbus wrote:That's it. I've had enough. I'm gonna get this sorted. I will lobby all motorbike manufacturers to design their vehicles to carry a spare wheel.

Then again. I can't be stuffed, just like I cant be stuffed carrying a spare in our bus for the last 10 years.
If You take a motorcycle to a tyre shop to have new tyres or a flat fixed...
the operator cannot take a wheel off a motor cycle unless He is a Mechanic...

so, many larger tyre centres now have a mechanic working there ..

In Scone... You have to take the wheels off Your self... lol

LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820976
The_Bronze. wrote:
h wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:TELECOM vehicles --- SORRY TELSTRA Now... Lee

Lee
huh? wot the.. who's that? 🤪
There a service provider that don't provide service and they won't even answer the phone so you cant even have a whinge.
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#820977
That piece of wood would take up MORE room that a spare.. lol

but they are plentiful around Scone etc.... lol

just watch out from brown snakes when getting the log...lol

LEE


SSSSSSSSSSSSS not air going down... lol [snake]
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

nbturbo Veteran Volks Folk

2,171 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#820985
Greg,It's been a bit of a headache-couldn't get any satisfaction with a certain "Conversion Expert" in Melbourne,so put wheels in motion to have the "Import Approval"taken from that crowd.To do this you need to deal with a Government Agent,who were really helpful,but time and motion aren't high on the list.Had the "Approval" transfered to Performax in QLD in early October,got the car to them end of October,and it was finished just B4 Xmas.They had to wait about a fortnight for the Compliance Plate,so it was ready to pick up Thursday B4 Xmas.Wade is going to Gympie this Friday to pick it up-but now I see that the floods are closing in on Gympie as well.Hope it goes OK.Performax actually completed the car in less time than the wanker in Melbourne ever botherd to return phone calls.

Smiley Veteran Volks Folk

2,125 posts · joined Oct 2008 ·

#821003
11CAB wrote:And here's Smiley's spare.......
You had to bring that up!! 😂😂

Lucky I carry an axe in the car.

I need to carry spare front hubs not wheels. 😀


Smiley 😎
If you said I was a Volkswagen man, you'd be right.

Craig S Wolfsburg Wizard

635 posts · joined May 2008 ·

#823737
waveman1500 wrote:
Joel wrote:But one of my VW mates here in our club works for the NRMA roadside and he gets called to alot of flats in a day usually because people cant get the wheel nuts off because the tyre shops use their big f**k off rattle guns.
This is an excellent point. For this reason exactly I always carry a 600mm breaker bar in my car with the socket for my wheel bolts, as well as my spare tyre. No use having the spare if you can't get the flat tyre off!
About 12 years ago we had the situation where we couldn't get the wheel nuts off our Commodore because the wheel brace that came with the car was made out of such soft metal that applying any force just resulted in me rounding the brace and not budging the nuts.

After that I always ensured we had an after market wheel braces in our cars, that would make a difference, but as Joel said above, there's not a chance we could shift the nuts with them. After reading this the other week I decided I should follow waveman's example, so I went along to the hardware store last week and bought a length of galvanised plumbing pipe so use as a breaker bar.

When my wife got home the other night we went outside, and got her to try and move the wheel nuts with the normal wheel brace. The result was of course predictable and she couldn't move them a bit. Replace wheel brace with a socket, t-bar and breaker bar, and hey presto, wheel nut loosens without a drama.

So now, I've just bought pipe, sockets and t-bar for all the cars so after a mere 12 years, the situation is now sorted.

So thanks to Joel and Waveman for getting me off my butt.

Cheers
Craig
1969 Beetle - June
1974 L Bug - Gwendolyn
2002 Bora V6 4Motion - Anita

vlad01 Compulsive Aussie Vee Dubber

4,270 posts · joined Jun 2010 ·

#823754
I had a puncture in bendigo, quarry hill cemetery road twice in one week on the same corner🙅

talk about shit luck.

First one was a nail, 2nd was a 3 ich long M10 bolt.

lol was even the same rear left wheel both times 👎

So in my case a spare didn't save me 😁

71 notchback,
Past owner of, 70 NB, 73 SB and 72 FB TLE

Lucky Phil Wolfsburg Wizard

480 posts · joined Aug 2010 ·

#823791
Those rattle guns are lethal in the wrong hands. Whenever I use a rattle gun to fit wheelnuts I ALWAYS turn it down low and finish tensioning by hand.
If I ever take a vehicle anywhere that will use one, I like to loosen the wheelnuts and retension them myself afterward.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

donn Wolfsburg Elder

3,515 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#823815
vlad01 wrote:I had a puncture in bendigo, quarry hill cemetery road twice in one week on the same corner🙅

talk about shit luck.

First one was a nail, 2nd was a 3 ich long M10 bolt.

lol was even the same rear left wheel both times 👎

So in my case a spare didn't save me 😁


Left hand corner? stay wide if you can, I was constantly cleaning the kerb and gutter area outside a place I worked as it seemed to attract items that could and did puncture tyres, got sick of helping people change a flat. 😬
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!

Imac Commited Dubber

67 posts · joined Dec 2009 ·

#823828
The jaguar XJ220 came with a can of finnieleak (spelling?) no spare. If it's good enough for them it's good enough for my buggy.