I have been carrying a flat spare for 3 years... lol
but I also carry a high pressure tyre compressor..
I finally pumped it up to go to Valla...
and now have it and My tools out of My boot and the front is about 50mms higher...
LEE
waveman1500 ·
I wouldn't think of going without a spare, mostly because bugs handle much better with some weight in the front! I wouldn't really want to have to use my spare, since the tyre on it is at least 25 years old, but it holds air fine and has tread on it so presumably it could do the job.
68AutoBug ·
waveman1500 wrote:I wouldn't think of going without a spare, mostly because bugs handle much better with some weight in the front! I wouldn't really want to have to use my spare, since the tyre on it is at least 25 years old, but it holds air fine and has tread on it so presumably it could do the job.
I have heard of people replacing the spare wheel with a bag of cement... years ago..lol
be very careful of old tyres...
someone gave Me a wheel with a michelin tyre with great tread
I put on the front... going down the highway at 100KMH
it blew out in a big way... and threw the car off the highway..
the wheel with tyre wouldn't fit into the spare wheel well as there was steel sticking out everywhere...
I threw it away...
I was surprised that there are many cars that don't come with a spare at all these days.. most are expensive..
no room to put a spare.. and a space saver would be just dangerous... many have run flat tyres..
LEE
PS: I wouldn't leave town without a spare...
waveman1500 ·
I agree with you there Lee, old tyres are not to be trusted. With 14x6" rims on the car though, the spare tyre is only ever going to be a temporary solution to limp home on. I have spare 14x6" rims at home with tyres on but they don't fit into the spare wheel well.
modulus ·
2 X fully-inflated light truck tyres on spare wheels in the treasure chest, also a foot-operated pump and valve tools (there's lots of space in a DOKA).... If you rely on an air compressor, you introduce several new potential points of failure into the system: battery, charging system, air compressor, air hose, valve etc.
One alternative approach is to carry a can of tyre sealant (once upon a time, there was a product called "Zzzzsssshhh" or similar) which isn't especially reliable but you can fit a can, even in a Beetle.
hth
jsheppard64 ·
all the talk about spare reminds me
.... i should find that jack and put it back in the car
waveman1500 ·
modulus wrote:2 X fully-inflated light truck tyres on spare wheels in the treasure chest, also a foot-operated pump and valve tools (there's lots of space in a DOKA).... If you rely on an air compressor, you introduce several new potential points of failure into the system: battery, charging system, air compressor, air hose, valve etc.
One alternative approach is to carry a can of tyre sealant (once upon a time, there was a product called "Zzzzsssshhh" or similar) which isn't especially reliable but you can fit a can, even in a Beetle.
hth
That tyre sealant stuff is all they give you in a lot of new European cars, like the new Mini for example. It comes from the factory with a can of tyre sealant in the boot instead of a spare wheel. At least it's a better solution than using run-flat tyres like most BMWs and then having a terribly bumpy ride all the time due to the run-flats. At the end of the day if you were really in trouble you could drive slowly with the flat tyre still on there.
donn ·
No spare in the buggy, but where the hell would I put it, do carry a compressor and a tyre/puncture repair kit though, at least when I go outa town.
empi ·
Put yr tools back in and add some more!!
vlad01 ·
I have the original Czechoslovakian spare in mine. Still looks mint. Though I would not use it and besides, when i go to 130mm X 5 pattern it will be useless.
bajachris88 ·
Do the offroad boys often carry spare tyres? or just puncture repair kits?
Canni. ·
I have the original West German spare tyre in the bug ...I will be replacing it once I plan to do interstate trips...I'd never risk using it but yeah its good to have the weight in there!
The type 3 is missing its jack which does remind me it needs replacing... I had a tyre blowout on the fwy a few months ago due to my tyres having cracked sidewalls so it now has all new tyres 🙂
barls ·
not sure if i have a jack in the car atm, i run the space saver spare.
must put the compressor in as well when i check.
pete wood ·
me no spare, except when I go camping or very serious offroad... ie, hardly ever.
I carry a 5yo 'tyre in a can' and have never had a puncture.
VWs cars generally don't weigh enough to have issues as long as you keep your tyres in reasonable condition. Specially on 4wd/truck tyres.
DubCrazy ·
no spare in the Baja one old can of tyre seal and thats it.
none of my Bajas have had spares and touch wood never had an issue that the tyre seal can't fix to get me home.
steff......................
sander288 ·
I never used to have a spare driving around in my bug, and then in 2008 I thought I might buy one at Valla, just to be safe, within 3 months or so (maybe more) I had a Michelin blow out on the back right in a big way, whilst going back to Armidale from Coffs on Waterfall way, lucky I had the spare, but the old VW jack that is a topic for another thread...
It was ok jacking it up and taking off the wheel but didn't have enough lift to let me put a fully inflated wheel back on! a car stopped and lent me their jack though so made it home.
Funny story, I broke down in the middle of waterfall way just near ebor heading back to Coffs, another car stopped to help me and asked if my radiator needed more water! I told him it had fallen off up the road and I couldn't find it, believe it or not he went back for a look and came up the same answer, its then that I told him it was aircooled 🙅👍
pete wood ·
lol 😂
takes me back to that movie 'Doc Hollywood' where the mechanic opens the front of the 356 and says, "where's the dang engine?!"
Michael J Fox looks worried and the mechanic winks and says, "gotcha!" 😂
Smiley ·
bajachris88 wrote:Do the offroad boys often carry spare tyres? or just puncture repair kits?
Buggy's usually don't unless it's on a roof rack or mounted on the rear cage. There's just no room to put them anywhere.
If you've seen Andrew's Towdster it has the spare mounted on the low flat bonnet at the front. That's cause there is no tank under there the bonnet is low enough.
In my Baja I carry Stock steelie with a stockish sized tyre on it. It's god know's how many years old, has gotten me home on a few occasions. I also keep a bottle of Slime tyre sealant under the bonnet and a compressor in the car.
One time when I was leaving work I got about a km down the road and my old Baja had a flat front tyre (turned out to be a nail) I though, "that's fine I have a spare" The spare was flat. That's ok, I have the compressor. I put the compressor on the valve and the rubber just fell to pieces in my hand. The only thing I could think that had happened is that I must have spilled fuel on the valve while filled the car and the rubber deteriorated.
Thankfully a friend in a 4WD from work stopped and gave me a hand. He drove over the spare and the punctured wheel to break the beads and we swapped the valve from the punctured tyre into the spare, compressor away! and happy days.
Smiley 😎
donn ·
Yeah, same happened to me with a boat trailer, towed it for 3 years and the one b4 that for 2 1/2 years without a flat, bought a spare at a garage sale and 2 weeks later had a tyre failure, put the spare on and alls well till 5k up the road the other one went, no spare, musta been time for new tyres anyway.
Midlife crisis ·
No spare in the BAJA but I keep a puncture repair kit and compressor all the time
Marc
1303Steve ·
Hi
In the sons bug we have some sort of skinny pumped up style space saver, I found it at the side of the road, I had a centre fitted to it that is 4x130 & 5x130 & 5x100. I've already leant it to another VW driver to get him home.
On my yellow bug and in my new one I will use Porsche space saver, its the pump up type, you can vary the OD via the pressure which is ideal for cars running odd size wheels front and back.
Steve
guru ·
I use a phone. Takes no room and RACQ will tow it if they cant fix it. All part of the subscription.
Joel ·
Its pretty common for new euro cars not to have a spare
mums new pug doesnt, just 2 cans of spare in a can
mates 405 is the same
I dont often carry my spare unless im leaving town, I can only do 80km/h max on it anyway
touch woood i generally have a good run with never geting flats
my last 2 tyres replaced had 5 nails between them and i noticed swapping my rad the other week my front has a tyre screw. been in so long the heads worn off 😂
havent put air in since i put the rims on 6 months ago 🤪
h ·
Joel wrote:Its pretty common for new euro cars not to have a spare
mums new pug doesnt, just 2 cans of spare in a can
mates 405 is the same
I dont often carry my spare unless im leaving town, I can only do 80km/h max on it anyway
touch woood i generally have a good run with never geting flats
my last 2 tyres replaced had 5 nails between them and i noticed swapping my rad the other week my front has a tyre screw. been in so long the heads worn off 😂
havent put air in since i put the rims on 6 months ago 🤪
it will prolly be hard to carry that spare mate as u gave it to me 😂
Joel ·
Well funnily enough i have plenty of spare spares
Ive noticed over the years alot of standard bugs that have been in accidents the spare doeesnt fit in the wheel well anymore
My ex's 68 beetle, the spare only fit in the wheel well if you let the air out first 😂
Most vw people look crosseyed when they see my spare
I have one of those ultra ultra ultra rare prototype superbeetles, 1 of only 2 in existance that have a spare in the uprigth position like a standard bug
I beleive the other one is in the Netherlands with an Alfa romeo engine up its tuckus
h ·
😂
polak ·
i always carried a spare, shitty or good, not for in case of a flat, as i never had tools or a jack, just that early bugs and some others were designed to have the spare wheel in there to absorb impact incase of a head on smash.... if u ever get a chance, compare damage between a bug with a spare and without.... hard i know, as you cant say they were in a controlled environment... but still.... the difference is noticeable.
68AutoBug ·
What stud pattern is that space saver Joel??
4 x 130 ??
some tyres are wider and larger OD than others...
I had a firestone spare which would only fit in Flat..
but Now I have another brand of tyre pumped up and it fits easily.. both same size tyres...
LEE
Bizarre ·
I have always been told a fully pumped spare is part of the crash impact protection
Having had a small(ish) one in a Super I can believe it
The tyre took a fair amount of the impact
Running Porsche I was worried that you could only carry the inflatable spare as it wouldnt fit
I have since fount that they do fit - so I do now (again) carry a fully pumped spare
matt ·
at the moment i have my caravan spare in the bug, dont know why, just havent taken it out and i am normally less than 5km away from home, and have no use for a spare in the manx as there isnt enough weight to flatten the tyre if there is no air in them 😀.
matt
DylanTheDubber ·
68AutoBug wrote:
waveman1500 wrote:I wouldn't think of going without a spare, mostly because bugs handle much better with some weight in the front! I wouldn't really want to have to use my spare, since the tyre on it is at least 25 years old, but it holds air fine and has tread on it so presumably it could do the job.
68AutoBug wrote:I have heard of people replacing the spare wheel with a bag of cement... years ago..lol
be very careful of old tyres...
someone gave Me a wheel with a michelin tyre with great tread
I put on the front... going down the highway at 100KMH
it blew out in a big way... and threw the car off the highway..
the wheel with tyre wouldn't fit into the spare wheel well as there was steel sticking out everywhere...
I threw it away...
I was surprised that there are many cars that don't come with a spare at all these days.. most are expensive..
no room to put a spare.. and a space saver would be just dangerous... many have run flat tyres..
Yes!! when we bourght our 1972 super lady bug painted bug there was 3 sand bags in the front along with the spare. we drove 10km south and thorght what are these people on about lets dump these sand bags os we took em out and left em on the side of the road and imediatly a very signifigent change and was alot less arero dynamic. i said DAD!! lets go back and get em haha.
waveman1500 ·
Bizarre wrote:I have always been told a fully pumped spare is part of the crash impact protection
Having had a small(ish) one in a Super I can believe it
The tyre took a fair amount of the impact
Yeah, I had a pretty big crash in my 1500 and the spare tyre is definitely a structural/impact-absorbing part of the car. In my case the spare tyre transferred the load from one side of the car to the other and pushed the whole spare tyre well area out of shape, I had to use a crowbar to lever the spare out of there.
Joel ·
68AutoBug wrote:What stud pattern is that space saver Joel??
4 x 130 ??
Nope its a 4x100 pizza cutter from a new Suzuki swift
zayus ·
I carry a spare, but it's useless.
The spare is 5x105.
The wheels on the ground are 5x130.
Have been carrying a can of goop for 14 years, luckily I have never had to try it out!
Like everyone, I carry the spare tyre to absorb some of the impact in frontal collision, and to provide some weight in the front end.
However, I have decided, it's time to get a useful spare - 5x130.