It may save space, but it takes up quite a bit in its own right. My previous XKR was propane-converted, and the extra tank fitted in place of the spacesaver spare wheel, with the trunk floor in the higher position. I kept the spacesaver wheel in the trunk - which uses a lot of space and is significant when travelling abroad on holiday, with loads of luggage (and a dog and tent!). I also have a pump and a couple of bottles of emergency tyre sealant.

I understand that as long as I have one or the other, I am road legal.

Whilst I intend keeping the spacesaver with me for normal driving, I am considering leaving it behind when trunk space is at a premium (ie, to provide extra space under the floor, or within the trunk once this car has been propane-modified), but I am a little nervous of doing this. I have once or twice wrecked tyres, and on one occasion there was a huge rip in the sidewall so it would not have taken a temporary repair; on another occasion I went over a pothole and wrecked two tyres, so was stuffed anyway. On the other hand, big punctures are relatively rare.

Do you have an angle on this? Appreciate your thoughts!

 

Interesting.
It made me consider my own situation so I checked the RAC website; they carry a universal spare wheel to deal with such situations. As they say on the BBC, 'Other Recovery Services are available'!
See here:
https://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown-cover

 

There is no legal requirement in the UK to carry a spare wheel (or emergency tyre sealant kit).

That being said, I wouldn't leave home without a correctly inflated, serviceable spare.

Graham

 

Moderator - Could this thread be moved to the correct forum, please? Either X100 (my vehicle), or Off-Topic. Thanks!

 

Moved to XK8/XKR. Left a 2 week expiring re-direct for those in X300 forum who are following it.

Graham

 

Don't forget the size of the brakes in this evaluation. Us lowly XK8 owners get a comparatively skinny steel wheel as a spare (woohoo!). I believe (on the basis of seeing just one pictures) that you Brembo owners get a full size Hydra spare. I assume the skinny steel wheel does not have the back space to accommodate the big calipers.

On the other hand, if you were able to locate a skinny steel wheel and a suitable spacer, maybe you could save enough trunk space to make it worth it.

Best of luck.

 

FWIW I think you'd be mad to ditch the space saver in favour of pump & sealant.
I've just bought a new Land Rover Discovery Sport (very nice BTW) but like so many modern cars it has no spare wheel of any size - just pump & sealant. While I was at my local KwikFit (tyre store) the manager confided that they get a couple of tow-ins a day with punctures that the sealant doesn't seal (essentially anything lateral to the main tread and more than a few mm wide) - a boon for them a PITA for the driver. Maybe the universal RAC spare wheel works but maybe not. I would dearly love to get a spare for my Disco but they don't make them.
The XKR & Eunos have spacesavers and I wouldn't go any distance without them.
Just dreading the day the Disco gets a flat

 

+1

Have had 2 punctures with my 20" wheels where a sealant wouldn't have worked.

I have even gone so far to change the tire just now from my space saver which was 17 years old, but you can argue if that was really needed.

@Fmertz,
There is a Jaguar space saver for the Brembo kits, its actually aluminum in red. here is one on Ebay:
*RARE* 'R' PERFORMANCE SPACE SAVER WHEEL AND TYRE - Jaguar XKR 1997-2006 | eBay

 

I bought the wife a new toyota few years ago. 4 weeks after getting it ,I got a call from her saying she had a flat, no problem i thought. I looked at the wheel and she had kerbed it, ripping a 10mm hole in the sidewall. I thought OK I'll change it, it was then that I discovered that instead of the space saver that she had in her previous toyota, same model, there was no spare, no jack, no brace, just a compressor and a bottle of joke leak sealer. Luckily there was free AA cover so I gave them a call. Speaking to the technician who arrived, apparently ,unrepairable tyre damage on cars with no spare is their biggest reason to be called out on new cars. Next day I was on the phone to the salesman who sold me the car and asked why it was not made clear to me that the car had no spare when the previous one did only to be told 'well thats progress for you, but you can buy the spacesaver and toolkit for £350' F*** off was the reply, got the kit off ebay for £120 and I will never ever buy a new car without the proper spare and if they want to charge me for it I will walk away. If you want to take the risk then thats entirely up to you but Ive been stung with the repair kits, never again.

 

You know something, guys? Sometimes I come up with the stupidest of ideas.

Thanks for putting me straight. Love my spacesaver!

LOVE IT

 

LOL. My firstborn returned home with her mother's DD one evening telling the same story.

She'd actually hit a granite stone on a corner and destroyed both the wheel and the tyre (although, amazingly, not the entire suspension).

A can of expanding foam would have been really useful if I'd had to turn out on a dark, wet night.

 

Guess I'm lucky, in 50 years of driving I've never had a flat tire. I'm very picky about tire pressure and check the tires every time I clean my cars which is weekly.

 

Now you've done it. Sure way to jinx yourself.

 

Just throw it in the back seat. Certainly won't be anyone sitting there.

 

Will do.

Dog won't be too pleased, though.

 

........ only if it hits him.

Graham

 

Am sure the dog would be happier on a rack then in the boot ;-)

 

So where would I put the wife?

 

Waiting.......waiting.......do let us know when. The countdown has begun!

 

LOL