General Spare wheel bolts vs alloys?

[SteakAndAle]

I pick up a 15" space saver wheel for our Panda 4x4. I couldn't find a "Panda" one at a reasonable price, so I picked up one that was originally for a Fiat Marea - in theory the same thing i.e. 15" wheel, 125/80 R15 tire, 4x98 bolt pattern, M12 bolts etc. ??

I test fitted it tonight and had trouble: the bolts seem to barely reach the threads on the disc, and the wheel still has play when they are fitted.

The bolts in question are for the alloy wheels. They have quite a deep countersink and not much thread. The bolt holes on the space saver wheel aren't countersunk and hence not much thread protrudes.

Alloy wheel bolts look (roughly) like this: https://i.imgur.com/IUEVse8.jpg

Do I need some different wheel bolts for the spare, or should I just give up and get a spare wheel that's specifically for a Panda?

Cheers

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

The ‘real’ Panda steel spare uses the same bolts as the allows, which fit perfectly. So I suspect the Meraa wheel isn’t suitable on the Panda. One dimension you don’t mention is the ET offset - and that may be where the difference is.

 

[AndyRKett]

The ‘real’ Panda steel spare uses the same bolts as the allows, which fit perfectly. So I suspect the Meraa wheel isn’t suitable on the Panda. One dimension you don’t mention is the ET offset - and that may be where the difference is.

From what you’re saying the metal of the spare alloy is thicker where the bolt passes through than the oem wheels on the panda. The choice is you get longer bolts and put them in the boot specifically and only for use with the spare wheel or you just use the original space saver wheel with the original wheel bolts which would be compatible. The Marea wheel will be a lot heavier if it’s thicker so more weight to lug about, also if it doesn’t match the other oem wheels then there is little benefit to having a spare alloy. Personally I’d give up on the marea wheel and stick with the space saver, a space saver is perfectly good and far better than most cars these days that if you’re lucky have a tyre inflator and bottle of glue in the boot.

 

[SteakAndAle]

Cheers guys. "ET offset" is news to me - I just assume that same diameter + bolt pattern + tire size was all I needed to worry about!

Andy - it's not about having an alloy spare, the Marea space saver is the usual steel job. I just noticed a bloke was selling a near-new one very cheaply near me, so figure I'd give it a go!

Not the end of the world, I can always get the "real thing". Will have to keep an eye on ebay as currently the cheapest I've seen is ~£80

 

[gar074]

Why buy another wheel? Just get a set of longer bolts, and keep them in the boot with the space saver you've already bought.

 

[R1NGA]

Cheers guys. "ET offset" is news to me - I just assume that same diameter + bolt pattern + tire size was all I needed to worry about!(

ET measurement won't impact the wheel seating face and the securing bolts. Clearly the wheel should be properly secure once the wheel bolts are torqued up, but the issue should be pretty obvious to the eye once it's all mounted up.

ET - it's the offset measurement for the rim/tyre section in relation to the mounting face. Simplistically, looking from behind the car, it's how far the tyre sticks out relative to the body. Think of it as like having a spacer (or not) built into the wheel and you'll get the idea.

Too big an offset and the tyre sits too close to the body/shock and risks rubbing, or worse, and too little an offset has the wheel poking out from the body.