Space saver or 'TwinTire'TM system tyres on SS rims?

[greg123]

Hi guys,

Seen some ACE narrow space saver tyres, in tests it actually outperformed the handling of the stock tyre and the space saver was 115 wide!

BUT all seem limited to 50mph and carry 'temp use' markings etc.

Anyone know of a space saver style tyre that's fully high speed rated? OR, I did see a few years ago wheel system that had 2 tyres rather than one, puncture resistant due to the twin tyres. Called TwinTire by Avon or Yokohama, I can't find any tyre info on it now.

But I thought if someone still makes tyres for them, mounting them singly on space saver wheels may be the way to go.

Essentially I'm looking for replacements for 195/65/15 and 205/55/16 on VW group vehicles, or a shade taller I guess I can live with. I'd like to go a lot narrower, but need a decent speed rating and compound. Also I don't think brakes etc will fit behind rims smaller than 15''.

Any thoughts appreciated, Greg.

[ConnClark]

These twin tire developments were research projects only. Unless you can afford to have custom rims and tires made forget about it.

[greg123]

Not so, my local tyre shop was selling them. They didn't get popular and no one bothered with them since, but they were not research projects. I have personally had my hands on one.

I also found that a motorcycle place was using a stock of them, obviously not twin per whell but single per wheel on motorcycle sidecar rims so they had decent quality tyres, not using motorcycle tyres for a non-banking application.

I have mailed Avon to see what happened to them.

It's really a shame that now we have good rims (space saver) and they do make tyres, but limited as infrequent use. If only we could get some proper rubber this would be a major step forward I think.

Greg.

Originally Posted by ConnClark

These twin tire developments were research projects only. Unless you can afford to have custom rims and tires made forget about it.

[greg123]

Got a mail back from Avon, when they were finished with the contract, they sent the moulds back to thecompany they got them off - JJD Concept

I guess that's how it got the concept tag as well, but that's the name of the company.
Haven't found the company to ask who does the tyres now.

[Peter7307]

Greg,
No space savers are fully rated. They are intended to save space and weight and that is all , hence the 50 mph limit for 50 miles or similar.

The “Twin tyre” was never accepted by main stream car makers and certainly not my other tyre makers apart from a small number in Europe.
The twin tyre was in fact one rim not two rims bolted together and getting the second tyre fitted was a real pain which is why most car makers walked away from it.
Apart from requiring a new rim it also was necessary to buy the licence to use it which was yet another cost car makers wanted to avoid.
The final problem was different pressures on the same rim causing some very suspect handling issues in some cars.
I would think one of the two “twin tyres” would be greatly overloaded on a standard car.

Cheers

[tasdrouille]

On big rigs, a single wide tire has less rolling resistance than double tires. You shouldn't use spares as an everyday tire, but if you want to give it a shot you could try the spares from some 4wd subarus and minivans. They are narrow, but they are the same circumference as the regular tire they're replacing.

[greg123]

I agree re space savers, that's why I was trying to find some properly rated ones.

Re using one of the twin and it being overloaded, why? Using the same philosophy, using a single transit wheel would be overloaded when LWB trannies used to use twins. Yet the later ones, same tyres, used singles. Providing you pick a suitable load rating, why not.

For example - a 1650kg mid size car speced with TwinTire would have more weight per tyre than a Citroen AX running just 4 of those tyres. Less weight per tyre and within the load rating is okay in my book.

Greg.

Originally Posted by Peter7307

Greg,
No space savers are fully rated. They are intended to save space and weight and that is all , hence the 50 mph limit for 50 miles or similar.

The “Twin tyre” was never accepted by main stream car makers and certainly not my other tyre makers apart from a small number in Europe.
The twin tyre was in fact one rim not two rims bolted together and getting the second tyre fitted was a real pain which is why most car makers walked away from it.
Apart from requiring a new rim it also was necessary to buy the licence to use it which was yet another cost car makers wanted to avoid.
The final problem was different pressures on the same rim causing some very suspect handling issues in some cars.
I would think one of the two “twin tyres” would be greatly overloaded on a standard car.

Cheers

[greg123]

Agreed, but that's for a reason. The 'wide' singles they fit are not much wider than one of the tyres that used to be fitted in twins. Total tyre with of the twin's that the HGV's used to have is greater than the newer singles, less width = less rolling resistance.

Agree about those space savers, they might be rated for temp use but in a AutoExpress test it actually OUTPERFORMED the stock 205 in handling tests! The wide tyre boys wouldn't like that! It was a 115 width I think. If only I could find some legally rated for high speed I'd be happy.

I just think it's crazy we now have access to mfr stock, strong, narrow steel rims capable of supporting the heaviest cars - but can't get any proper road tyres for them.

Greg.

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

On big rigs, a single wide tire has less rolling resistance than double tires. You shouldn't use spares as an everyday tire, but if you want to give it a shot you could try the spares from some 4wd subarus and minivans. They are narrow, but they are the same circumference as the regular tire they're replacing.

[TomO]

Originally Posted by greg123

Agree about those space savers, they might be rated for temp use but in a AutoExpress test it actually OUTPERFORMED the stock 205 in handling tests! The wide tyre boys wouldn't like that! It was a 115 width I think. If only I could find some legally rated for high speed I'd be happy.

Greg.

The thing I've noticed about the space saver spares; they can outperform the wider tires due in part to their compound. They are very soft and pliable. I'll have to check on my spares but I do believe that they are only a single radial ply on the tread as opposed to the double and even sometimes, triple ply of steel belts on other tires.

All the spares that I've personally ran, the tread only lasts for about 1000 miles and then it's gone.