spacesaver steel wheels

[markweatherill]

Perhaps motorcycle tyres would be the best option?

[Frank Lee]

Liability? Seriously?

Motorcycle tires have worse r.r. than car tires. The touring bike guys like to run car tires on their bikes.

[War_Wagon]

Sadly people get sued around here all the time.

[Frank Lee]

I'd like to sit in court and listen to shysters argue about wheels...

Is there a warning about using the WHEELS anywhere on 'em?

[fjasper]

It might (I say "might" because I don't actually know) be worth it to look the wheels over closely and see if there is anything stamped on them. The combination is limited to 50 miles or whatever, but that might only be because of the tire. I think wheels usually have some sort of service information stamped or cast into them, and you might be able to get some info on the specific wheel that way.

I've been thinking about the same thing for my allroad, because the spare wheel is a nice-looking 16x6 alloy wheel (instead of the 17x7.5 "twinspoke" monsters that are stock) that I know for sure will fit over the brakes, have the correct centerbore, etc. There are stickers on the assembly limiting speed and distance, but I'll have to pull it out to check to see if the wheel itself has the same markings as a regular wheel.

As far as motorcycle tires are concerned, part of the trouble is that they're terribly expensive (and don't last long). I'm lucky to get 9,000 miles out of a $300 set on the BMW touring bike.

[War_Wagon]

Since they were never intended to be a serviceable item, I guess it would depend wheel to wheel if they actually had a warning about the wheel itself on them. Taking something that says "Not for highway use" apart, peeling the sticker off it, and then using it on the highway gives me a bad feeling. My point is it would be a case of C.Y.A. if you were going to try it. Where I live, if you get into an accident with only 2 snow tires on your car instead of a full set of 4, you can be found at fault just for that. Yet ironically, if you are driving in the snow with a matched set of just all season tires, you have a better chance of not being to blame. Things like that make me paranoid about trying ideas like this out, even though in actuality you would probably be fine. I drove an old Accord for close to a year with a space saver spare (tire and wheel) on the back and never had a problem, the tread didn't even wear down that bad.

[zonker]

a narrow space saver wheel (not tire) is STURDY.

a space saver steel wheel is plenty strong - i'd even venture to say as sturdy as a oem regular sized steel wheel.

i'd even bet that the steel spare wheel is even stronger than many of the aftermarket alloy wheels one can buy.

it's the tires you need to pay heed to. Finding a correct tire for that narrow a rim is going to be the real concern. Pay close attention to load ratings. Make sure the tires can support your car's GVW (gross vehicle weight). GVW is the factory spec that includes both curb weight plus maximum designed payload.

If the tires are rated for 950 lbs per tire, then multiply that figure by 4 (3800 lbs) and that will be the number that has to exceed the GVW rating listed on your cars ID plate/sticker.

Assuming you're getting a 4" width steel space saver rim in 15", your tire choices are limited to tires that are between 145 and 175mm in width, and an aspect ratio of 65 or greater.

For my Mustang, my future tire/wheel of choice is a 165/80-15 and a set of 86-88 RX7 alloy spare wheels.

[rmay635703]

My 1300lb C-car has had space saver rims on it for 12000 miles or so and the last 20 years.

They seem to last quite well. But my car isn't 8000lbs either.

[SuzukiSteve]

I been running this set up for 6months/15,000 miles. Nissan Altima spare rims fit my suzuki siwft/geo metro lug pattern. They are DOT stamped and dont look like donut wheels. I have nice 155/80R15 BF Goodrich tires. rated to 55psi andlike 140mph. The rims are 4" wide so technicaly im one size (1cm) too wide, dont notice and dont care. They do rub the fender well a little in tight turns but its acceptable.

As far as mpg gains. My car is rated 32city 38highway. With good amounts of hypermiling i manage ~44mpg (mostly city) before correcting for tire size. Thats ~50mpg. Did not aba them, and my driving route changed at the same time as the tires so im not sure of the gains from them. but i suspect they get me ~5mpg.

I love how they look too! And I just covered the rims with $3 walmart pizza pans.

My boss Glenn did a write up of it over on GMF. Pictures Included!
15" Wheels and VW Tires

[justjohn]

Sorry for the aside, but not sure I understood the explanation for why wider tires are more efficient.

Anyone care to explain?