Other sections in this guide
- Overview
- Car tyre wear and tear
- Car tyre safety
- Check your spare tyre
Servicing and maintenance Check your spare tyre
Make sure your spare tyre doesn't go flat
Pirtek's device lets you check the air in your spare
The only thing worse that getting a puncture is, going to fit the spare and discovering that has also gone flat.
It is crucial therefore that when you check the rest of your tyres (hopefully around every two weeks), you also check the spare - for condition and pressure.
The spare is usually located under the boot floor, either inside the car or hanging in a cradle, outside the car. If hanging in a cradle, the tyre is usually exposed, allowing relatively straightforward access for a visual inspection and pressure checks. If it is inside the car, you may have to empty the boot and lift a cover to gain access, which may seem like a hassle but is worth it to prevent yourself ending up on a hard shoulder, with two tyres needing attention.
If your car has a temporary spare (usually much narrower, with very little tread, designed to get you home if you have a blowout), it will usually need to be inflated to a much higher pressure than the standard tyres require. Check your owner's handbook for details of pressures required in all the tyres.
Difficult access
We tried Pirtek’s Air in Your Spare (£15 from independent spares retailers), which is essentially a hose extension to the car tyre valve.
It's a flexible hose which fits onto the valve of your spare tyre, and which you can then route up into the main boot area. Velcro straps on the hose are handy for attaching it to the boot side wall.
It makes it very easy to keep an eye on your spare tyre, as it allows you to check tyre pressure and top up your spare without lifting the boot floor
The pressure indicator on the end of the flexible hose shows when the pressure falls too low in the spare tyre. It can't tell you if you've overfilled the tyre, and it doesn't tell you the condition of the tyre, but at least it offers an 'at-a-glance' warning for when you need to top it up.
No spare wheel?
More and more cars are sold without a spare and instead are supplied with an emergency repair kit (sometimes called pump and goo). This consists of a compressor - powered from the car's cigarette lighter - plus a bottle of sealant (usually liquid latex).
When you have a puncture, it has instructions on how to pump the sealant into the tyre. When inside the tyre, the latex will seal the hole (specified by the car manufacturer - usually maximum around 3mm) and allow you to drive to a place where a replacement tyre can be fitted.
A tyre repair kit will get you out of trouble for most punctures, but it is no good for a serious blowout (say with a large hole or considerable sidewall damage). Even if it does work, you have to limit your maximum speed and distance, to the amount specified by the manufacturer.
Winter tyres
If you decide to buy winter tyres, we recommend you buy a winter spare too. Driving with three winter tyres and one summer tyre (even one of the best summer tyres), will severely upset your car's handling. If your car uses an emergency repair kit, this should also work with winter tyres.
