vRS Spare Woes

[woofy]

So bascially no spare is legal in Australia unless its identical. Great work by the ADR for making sure this kind of crap doesn't happen.

[brad]

Mysticality, Re: rotating - all tyres should only ever be rotated front to back. Never one side of the car to the other. Tyres end up with some hysteresis due to the direction of rotation coupled with the normal loading, and when you reverse it, the molecules all have to realign again which causes the tyre sidewall undue stress. Not saying that your tyres will explode if you do, just saying its less than ideal

Further, all tyres, whether directional, assymmetrical, both or neither, can be rotated from front to back.

Hysterisis is fine providing you put the tyres that changed direction on the lazy axle. It allows them to "relax" back to a normal state rather than being "wrenched" back on the drive wheel.

[Diesel_vert]

Check the ADR?

So bascially no spare is legal in Australia unless its identical. Great work by the ADR for making sure this kind of crap doesn't happen.

Actually, the requirement has been legislated by the state governments. So far as I can tell, there is nothing in the ADR which requires the tyres and wheels to be of the same size for a given axle.

I should expect the situation to be the same in most jurisdictions worldwide.

It is one of the reasons why unmatched spares (whether they be full-size or space-savers) should be for temporary use only.

[Transporter]

I wouldn't even question that, because it's kind of hard to believe that the space saver would make your car illegal and your insurance invalid in the case of accident.

The bottom line is that, there are the speed limit and the max. distance that you can travel on it, and be fitted to the rear axle only.

[Diesel_vert]

I wouldn't even question that, because it's kind of hard to believe that the space saver would make your car illegal and your insurance invalid in the case of accident.

That's why the manufacturer says to limit your speed to 80 km/h, repair or replace the damaged tyre ASAP, and drive cautiously until then. Not that any of these recommendations are binding in any way, but it would be in the driver's best interests to follow them in full.

As I said before, if one's vehicle were to be involved in an accident, IMO it is probable that a reasonable insurance assessor will not reject a claim based on use of the vehicle's standard unmatched spare tyre - provided you were following the manufacturer's recommendations as best you could.

However, as the vehicle is technically not roadworthy, the option to reject the claim remains open nonetheless.

But don't fret if the supplied spare in your vehicle is unmatched - as long as one uses it as intended, one shouldn't get into any more trouble than is necessary.

[Transporter]

It's all clear to me and it doesn't need more explaining than what is written on that yellow label on the spare.
My first trip would be to the tyre shop to get the punctured tyre sorted out.

The car has ADR approval attached to it and it should be enough guarantee to everyone, no question asked. I'm sure that there are the lawyers between the motorists and it would be discovered earlier that the car with the space saver is not legal when the space saver is used.

[Diesel_vert]

It's all clear to me and it doesn't need more explaining than what is written on that yellow label on the spare.
My first trip would be to the tyre shop to get the punctured tyre sorted out.

Didn't mean to single you out, but it was just an interesting statement to bounce my reply off.

The car has ADR approval attached to it and it should be enough guarantee to everyone, no question asked. I'm sure that there are the lawyers between the motorists and it would be discovered earlier that the car with the space saver is not legal when the space saver is used.

In regards to the legalese, I think the key word here is "temporary".

The factory supplied unmatched spare is designed to be used on a "temporary" basis - obviously implying that it's not intended to be put into service for a significant length of time.

In fact, there's an interesting clause in ADR 23:

VEHICLE STANDARD (ADR 23/02 – PASSENGER CAR TYRES) 2007

3.5 This vehicle standard does not apply to any T-type temporary use spare tyres supplied with a vehicle.

As such, a "temporary" spare doesn't need to do any more than be suitable for road use and have the capacity to support the vehicle.

[Mysticality]

Then you can go around and try and define temporary.

As far as I'm concerned, the label on the tyre says it all. "As soon as possible"
As I haven't been able to afford the replacements yet, it is not yet possible for me to replace the Dunlop.

[Diesel_vert]

Then you can go around and try and define temporary.

As far as I'm concerned, the label on the tyre says it all. "As soon as possible"

My personal interpretation is that "temporary" (in the general sense) means any spare tyre that has the capacity to support a stricken vehicle that's on its way to get repaired.

As I haven't been able to afford the replacements yet, it is not yet possible for me to replace the Dunlop.

I'm just restating the regulations for the benefit of everyone.

In regards to your predicament, I don't really have anything more to add - other than to say that you should by now have more than enough information to make an informed decision.