Spare wheel 195 or 215?

[Bica]

I am sure this has been posted before - have tried a search but had no luck.

The heading says it all really. I have got hold of a spare wheel to replace the skinny, but it needs a tyre. (think it will run better with one )

The Freda is a 4WD with the standard 195/70R15 front and 215/65R15 rear.

Not wanting to carry 2 spares which size tyre is likely to cause the least problems

[scanner]

I can't see as it makes much difference it will be wrong on one axle of the other but not really by enough to make much difference if you only use it as a spare for as short a time as possible.

Both are right and both are wrong 50% of the time.

But anything is better than a space saver.

[francophile1947]

Shouldn't think it'll matter for a short time. You can bet you'll get a puncture in the wrong one anyway
Either must be better than the skinny, but get the original repaired a.s.a.p. - driving with different sized wheels on the same axle can cause interesting handling

[Shane]

We have 215's all round, it came that way on day one and we have stuck by them. The
handling is fine, ours is also a 4 wheel drive.

[Harry]

I think you'll find that for some odd reason it is more often the rear tyre that punctures.

Certainly the case in my own experience.

[paul9]

get a 195/70R15,if you have a 215/65R15 and need to put it on the front you may notice it,and could affect the steering having 2 odd tyres,if you need to put the 195/70R15 on the back you shouldn't really feel any difference.

[Rhod]

Harry wrote

I think you'll find that for some odd reason it is more often the rear tyre that punctures

Or possibly not so odd.
It's often reckoned that rear wheel punctures are far more common than front wheel ones on a bike & the logic goes that you tend to see the debris & steer the front end around it, while you have less control over the rear, which rolls over it, unseen. It 's probably not quite as applicable in a 4 wheeled vehicle, but the principle might still be valid?

Rhod

[trevd01]

It is, I seem to recall, illegal to uses different size tyres on the same axle. There must some kind of exemption for 'get you home' space savers, ( I know a 50 mph limit is recommended, but is it the law?).

We have 4wd: Same size tyres, same size spare (all 215s), a set up that has been questioned in the past as not suitable for a 4wd. But the Bongo community now know that the different size combo is to give 'safer handing' on both 2wd and 4wd, i.e. understeer, so same size all round with a proper spare is probably the best solution.

It has long been my theory that the only spare Mazda could supply with the different size front and rear tyres was a spacesaver. What do other odd-tyre-size cars do? I think many provide a can of inflator/sealant gunk.

[Peg leg Pete]

When we had to have the spacesaver fit for a sunday evening trip home, R.A.C. man said not to exceed 40 M.P.H. longest 53 miles I have ever travelled

[Bica]

Thanks for all your replys (I see the first 2 were from the local area - obviously the replys got here first as they didn't have so far to travel )

Before I posted this I was thinking of a 195 because of the steering problem if I put 215 on the front, now I am thinking 215 and when I need to have new tyres, put 215 all round.

Or perhaps I could get a 205 that would never be the correct size but ''not by so much'' if you see what I mean.

[Matt&JoyBongling]

I can't advise on wheel sizes, but I have been using UltraSeal for the last 4 or 5 years - it seals most punctures immediately so that there is little loss of air, if any and one can drive on as normal - you wouldn't notice that there had been a puncture and don't have to change wheels etc. The only punctures that I have known of in this time was on a wheel that did not have the stuff in (it was a new tyre and I had not added it) and while travelling on a motorway in France last year - we had an inch long slash in the tyre (not known what caused it) - the UltraSeal stuff did a good job of slowing the air loss down so we did not have a blow-out and were able to pull off onto a quiet road to change the tyre.

Apart from stopping air loss due to punctures, it also stops / reduces air loss through every day use - I used to have to top up my tyres every few months - I rarely have to do so now.

My brother works for the company and showed me his trade show demonstration where he stabs a tyre with a screwdriver - there was a tiny hiss as the screwdriver was removed and a very small spot of sealant as it filled the hole - the tyre remained fully inflated even though we stabbed it several times.

NB. UltraSeal is a preventative measure - it seals punctures as they happen so you don't have air loss. It is not the same as the stuff that you put into your tyre to seal holes and reinflate the tyre. I think that you can buy it mail order or get it put in your tyres by your local rep.