RAC to carry universal spare wheel

The RAC believes call outs to cars with punctures but no spare wheel will reach 250,000 a year by 2015, so has decided to roll out its own universal spare wheel as a hassle-reducing solution.

The universal spare wheel, which has already been successfully trialled, should become standard equipment for all RAC breakdown patrols by early February 2014.

On Bing: see pictures of universal spare wheels

Spare wheel solution from the RAC

The RAC has taken this step as increasingly few modern cars are sold with a factory-fitted spare wheel as standard.

In the quest to improve fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions, carmakers are being forced to reduce weight, and taking the spare wheel out of a car is an easy way to this.

Instead you’ll find a temporary tyre repair and inflation kit – but according to the RAC these only work on punctures up to 4mm in size and “can be daunting to use at the side of the road”.

As a result the RAC has already seen a 33% rise in “puncture no spare” breakdowns from 2012 to 2013, the number rising from 71,000 in 2012 to 94,000 in 2013; a staggering 120,000 such call outs are expected this year before the 250,000 figure is reached in 2015.

When attending such a breakdown, the current RAC procedure is to first try and fix the puncture. If this is not possible they then aim to collect and fit a new tyre or tow the stranded RAC member to the nearest garage – a time consuming process.

The new universal spare is designed to solve this problem, as it can immediately be used by the motorist to continue their journey.

The RAC patrol will also liaise with the nearest tyre partner to find out if there is a suitable replacement in stock. Or the member can arrange a mobile tyre fitting service to visit them at their convenience.

We’ve checked and have been told there is no charge for the loan of the universal spare, as it is simply collected by the RAC from the tyre fitters once the replacement tyre is fitted.

The universal spare is not a total solution. However, it has been carefully specified by the RAC and built by specialist manufacture Dynomec as a multi-fit lightweight 17-inch alloy for five-stud hubs – which the rescue service says should be suitable for 70% of new vehicles sold with no spare wheel.

As is usually the case with temporary spares, the RAC universal wheel comes with a 50mph maximum speed rating. Patrols will be given vehicle-specific instructions about how it should be fitted, which in some case may mean swapping wheels around on the car. A four stud-version will shortly be undergoing trial.

The universal spare service is, we’re told, available to any member in need of a temporary replacement wheel at the roadside, regardless of whether the car concerned should have its own spare wheel available.

Head of RAC technical operations, Phil Ryan:

“We understand why motor manufacturers need to reduce the weight of their vehicles in order to make them more fuel efficient and to meet EU carbon dioxide emissions targets and removal of the spare wheel helps them to achieve this.

“But drivers should not suffer as a result, and in order to minimise the disruption and inconvenience that punctures can cause, the universal spare wheel provides additional options for patrols to deal with breakdowns more quickly and effectively.”

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On Bing: see pictures of universal spare wheels

Spare wheel solution from the RAC

By motoringresearch.com