deegs said:

Just so. Found tyre flat this am, trip to garage (100yds) away but as v fast puncture, out comes the spare- but wait! The bolts are too long and it doesn't, er, actually turn! Fun and games ensued.

Possibly worth checking in case you haven't already.

Click to expand...

Wish I had checked!
I did the same last night when tyre wall burst. Tried to use the bolts for the alloys. Bent them when I tried to pull away. :bang:
Got towed home at 1.30am.

So, are these bolts standard parts? Will my local garage be able to supply some?

(When I bought it I checked the spare kit, which has all those nice moulded slots for the wrench etc, so you can see if there's anything missing. I realise now it was designed for steel wheels.)

Can anyone help me with accurate dimensions for the bolts needed with the spare wheel? I need a set to keep in the boot, as I have alloys.
Thanks.

I used the standard wheel bolts...

My spare would not attach with the bolts used for alloys. I ditched the spare in the end. Passed MOT fine.

To quote the MOT \ Laws - If you have a spare wheel it needs to be road worthy and do the job intended just like the other 4 on the car. Does not say it has to fit the car or what size it has to be.

If you have no spare then it's missed of the MOT and will not fail. Hence people take them out if they replaced it and forgot to fix it.

Lotus do not have a spare wheel but Tyre weld (All to save weight)

The spare also has a caution (Do not drive over 60mph I think) it's a get you to the garage wheel only.

As for the bolts, if you have after market wheels on then they may be to long.

For most of Europe you need (High Vis Jacket - Warning triangle - Spare bullbs and a Spare tyre)

Max speed is 40mph on a space saver...

My Mazda has tyre foam and a compressor too, no spare wheel.

I tried using that foam once - never again. In my experience it doesn't work and I was advised that it can make a good tyre unrepairable.

Hmmm, this is a well timed thread, I've just fitted some new wheels to my B and now realise I've made a bit of a blunder. I sleeved a short length of pipe over my wheel socket, although I didn't do them up as tight as I could have. On the last wheel, my socket split!!

I've just bought a new one from evilbay, so I'll undo them all again tonight and do them up just using the socket and no extension

Not only Barchetta's that suffer from this. I had a shredded tyre on the Mundano on the Dublin M50 which is a suicidally dangerous place at the best of times. Naturally it was a dark and dirty night.

Could I get the wheel off..could I hell. 2 cops appeared and presented me with the biggest wheelbrace I've ever seen..Nope. No luck.

AA appeared (By now the cops were demanding that the car was moved asap) and the AA man couldn't shift it either with a power spanner.

In the end it got total lifted back to the Ford dealer who incidentally fitted the last set of tyres..There we met Gregor the Bosnian. Six foot three, shaven head and holding an air wrench. Gregor was the man the service manager invited to get the wheel off as he'd fitted them last time. Looking at the gauge he'd torqued the nuts to 260lbs against the standard of 70..no wonder we couldn''t shift them. Thats the setting for a 45 ton artic trailer.

New tyre new bolts and fitted by somebody else. His comment.. 'Don't bother with Gregor..large *****, small brain'

A Balkan guy! I could confirm lasts sentence. well, if you drive through Bosnia and at end of drive you have to screw up again all bolts. because they undo themselves by vibrations of bad roads. That's why he torqued them that much. If you see sign "damaged asphalt (pavement)" it's actually gravel road with traces of asphalt.

this is one of the best roads:

Looks like the main Dublin - Cork road, except ours doesn't have a tank trap and machinegun post beside it.