It�s easy to overlook your spare tyre, but if one of your tyres is damaged or punctured by road debris, you may need it to get home or to you nearest tyre fitting centre. That�s why it�s vital to check your spare tyre just as often as the tyres on your wheels that are in day-to-day use. Spare tyres vary and can be full-size or temporary space saver tyres which are much thinner than a standard car tyre and are not intended for extended use. They are designed to get you home or to your nearest garage and usually cannot be used at speeds of more than 50mph. The maximum speed at which you can use the spare is usually printed on a sticker on the side of the wheel. However, if your spare tyre is lacking this sticker, try to keep your speed to a maximum of 30mph until you can reach help. Should you need a new spare tyre, at Kwik Fit we stock replacement spares including space saver tyres for all popular makes and models of vehicle. Simply contact your nearest Kwik Fit centre who will be able to order in a suitable replacement.
Where is my spare tyre? You should familiarise yourself with the location of the spare tyre, the tyre jack and also the locking wheel nut key, which are often located underneath the floor panel in your boot but can vary for car to car. Check your vehicle handbook for further details. You may find that you don�t have a spare tyre at all as many vehicle manufacturers are now opting to provide a tyre repair kit instead of a temporary replacement tyre. The tyre repair kit includes a foam sealant, which is inserted into the tyre through the tyre valve, and a compressor to re-inflate the tyre. The tyre sealant forms a bond with the rubber almost instantly providing a temporary puncture repair to allow you to drive to safety.Unfortunately we are not able to repair a tyre where a foam sealant has been applied. A puncture repair plug requires a clean, uncontaminated surface in order to make an effective, long-lasting seal which cannot be guaranteed if a foam sealant has been used to line the inside of the tyre.
Search for Tyres, MOT and Servicing with your vehicle registration. Tyre Search By Size Unsure where to find your tyre size? Exclusive Online Tyre Pricing We are committed to offering customers our most competitive tyre prices. Read about our exclusive online tyre pricing. Kwik Fit has over 600 centres across the UK and Northern Ireland, many of which are open 7 days a week for your convenience. We offer a series of FAQs to help you learn more about our services or your vehicle. 0800 75 76 77 Our Customer Service opening hours are 8:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Saturdays and 10:00am to 4:00pm Sundays. We endeavour to ensure we are displaying the correct tyres for your vehicle. However, we recommend all customers check the tyre size printed on the side wall of their tyres before proceeding with a tyre purchase as occasionally discrepancies do occur. By selecting the tyre sizes above and clicking 'Continue', you are indicating that you have checked your tyre sizes.
To continue with your booking, please select your appointment time from the list below. Select Your Appointment Time Sorry but we could not find your vehicle. Please enter your vehicle details below. Your tyre size can be found on the sidewall of your current tyre and is a sequence of numbers and letters. The most common tyre size in the UK is 205/55R16 but there are many variations so it’s important to check your existing tyre or to check your vehicle handbook to ensure the right tyre size has been installed. The first three digits. This displays the width of the tyre in millimetres. A tyre marked 225 will measure 225mm across the tread from sidewall to sidewall. The fourth and fifth digits of the tyre code that immediately follow the tyre width. The aspect ratio or profile height of the tyre sidewall is expressed as a percentage of the tyre width. So an aspect ratio of 55 for example means that the profile height of the tyre is 55% of its width. The next two digits represent the size of the wheel rim that the tyre can be fitted to.
It is also the diameter of the tyre from bead to bead. So a tyre marked 16 will fit on a 16-inch wheel rim. The speed rating of a tyre is represented by a letter of the alphabet at the end of the tyre size code and indicates the maximum speed capability of the tyre. Tyres receive a speed rating based on a series of tests which measure the tyres capability to handle a set speed for a prolonged period of time. Select your tyre speed rating to find out the maximum speed your tyres can maintain. If you are unsure what speed rating you need, be sure to check your vehicle handbook. Choosing a lower speed rating than that recommended by your vehicle manufacturer could potentially invalidate your insurance.Getting a puncture is one of those motoring problems that can strike without warning, any time of the day or night. Even if you’re confident enough to fit the spare wheel yourself, it can set your journey back and cause you quite a bit of extra hassle. But if you can’t fit your spare, it can be even more irritating, as you’ll have to wait for a mechanic to come out to your car and do it for you.
And if you're not a member of a breakdown service, you're looking at a big bill before you’ve even thought about how much the new tyre you’ll need is going to cost. So learning to change a wheel can save you time, and it can save you money. But before we tell you how to do it, here are a few precautions you should take. Keep your spare wheel ready to use. If you get a puncture, it’s deeply demoralising to find that your spare wheel is flat, or worse still, that its rubber is old and perished. So check your spare wheel’s pressure every time you check your other tyre pressures – you should do this every couple of months, at least. Also make sure you inspect your spare wheel each time, being sure to check that the rubber is looking in good condition (i.e. no cracking or crazing around the sidewall). Never change a wheel on the motorway. It only takes a split second for a dozing driver to wipe you out, so always use an emergency phone or your mobile to call for a recovery service that can move you to a safe place before you attempt any sort of work on your car.
This is just one of our motorway breakdown tips . Use a puncture repair kit if you have one. Some cars don’t come with a spare wheel, but instead they have a puncture repair kit and a compressor to help you pump the tyre up again. Usually, these are supplied with instructions, which you should follow if your vehicle is so-equipped.Changing a tyre involves raising your car quite precariously onto a jack. It’s safe if you're careful and sensible, referring to your car’s manual or to professional help wherever you need to. But if not, and if the jack falls over while the car is on it, it can result in damage to the car and injury to yourself. Still want to learn how to change a wheel? As you’re going to be jacking the car up, you’ll want to first make sure that it’s safe to do so without the car falling off the jack. Check to see that the car is on a patch of ground that’s relatively level, without any lumps or bumps that might upset the car when two of its wheels are lifted off the ground.
You’ll also need to check that the ground is firm and will support the weight of the car when it’s lifted – if it’s on soft ground, for example mud or sand, the weight of the car could push the jack into the ground when you try to jack it up, causing the jack to get stuck underneath the car. If your car is fitted with locking wheel nuts, you’ll need to find your locking wheel nut key first. This will usually be located in the glove compartment, in one of the side pockets, or near to the spare wheel. It will look a little like a socket from a socket set, but on the end that slots over the nut or bolt, you’ll notice an unusual pattern that fits into your wheel nut. If you have your car’s user manual with you, this will be a great help. It will tell you where you can find your car’s jack and wheel brace, how to use them properly, and where to position the jack in order to lift the car without damaging it. It will also tell you where your spare wheel is located and how to remove it from that location.
The last thing you want is for your car to roll away while you’re trying to change a wheel, and there are two ways to make sure that doesn't happen, in addition to putting the handbrake on. First, select first or reverse gear, with the engine turned off. Or, if your car is an automatic, put it in ‘Park’ or ‘P’. This is because the handbrake only operates on two wheels – usually the rears – and if you put the car in gear with the engine off, it has the effect of locking the driven wheels – usually the fronts. Second, consider physically blocking your car to make sure it stays where it is. Note which wheel is diametrically opposite to the one you're replacing - so for example, if you’re replacing the front left wheel, you’re after the rear right. Then, find two rocks or bricks nearby, and place them in front of and behind that wheel, wedging them up against the tyre tread so that the wheel can’t move in either direction. If you can’t find any rocks or bricks to chock the wheels with, try to park the car near to a kerb, and turn the steering wheel so that the front wheels are pointing in to the kerb to stop the car rolling off should things go wrong.
It’s important to loosen the nuts or bolts that hold the wheel you want to change in place before you jack the car up. This is because they will be extremely tight, and once the wheel is in the air, it will probably just spin freely when you try to loosen them. Find your car’s wheel brace, connect it to one of the nuts/bolts, and turn. It’s likely that you will need to position the wheel brace in such a way that you can push its handle with your foot, or even stand on it, using your body weight to turn it. Once the nut/bolt starts to move, you should then be able to turn the wheel brace by hand to loosen it further. However, make sure you don’t remove the nuts completely just yet – you will need the wheel to stay loosely attached to the car until you’ve jacked it up. The jack for your car will usually be located in the boot, either in or mounted to one of the side panels, or beneath the boot floor. On some cars, you might find it under the bonnet. Once you’ve found it, remove it from the car.
Now is a good time to get your spare wheel out and place it on the ground next to the car, so that you don’t have to disturb the car when it’s up in the air. Most spare wheels these days are kept in a compartment below the boot floor. That being the case, if you pull at the edge of the carpet, or look for a handle, it should lift up. On some older cars you may have to turn a bolt in the boot floor, again located below the carpet which will release a spare wheel holder from beneath the car. Refer to your owner’s manual if you’re in any doubt. You’ll need to check your car’s manual for this part. It will tell you where you need to position the jack. Usually, this will be beneath the front or rear window, either just behind the front wheel arch, or just in front of the rear one, depending on whether it’s a front or rear wheel that needs to be changed. Following the instructions in the user manual, wind the jack up. You may need to connect the wheel brace to a nut on the jack itself, or the jack may have a built-in handle which you can use.
Keep winding until the wheel you want to change is clear of the ground – you don’t need to use the full extent of the jack’s travel. If the car feels like it’s going to slip at any point, or the jack starts to lean over, stop jacking and wind the jack back in the other direction. The time has now come to take the wheel off the hub it’s attached to. Using the wheel brace, unwind the wheel nuts/bolts until they come off completely. Then slide the wheel off the hub. Be careful with this, as it’ll be heavier than you think – it’s worth bracing yourself first so that you don’t hurt your back. If your car’s wheel is fastened on with nuts, this is a relatively easy, if awkward process. Slide the four or five holes in the wheel over the four or five threaded studs that the original wheel was mounted to. However, if your car’s wheel is fastened on with bolts, the process is even more awkward. You’ll need to ‘hang’ the wheel onto the hub without the aid of the threads, and keep it there with your hand – there should be a lip which will help you do this.
But you’ll also need to make sure you line up the holes with the bolt holes in the hub while you’re doing it. Because of this, if you have a friend or passenger with you, it’s useful to get them to help you by supporting the weight of the wheel while you line it up. Now you can screw your nuts/bolts back on. Don’t use the wheel brace just yet – just make sure the nuts/bolts are finger-tight. Reversing the procedure you used to raise the car in the air, wind the jack down until the car is once again resting on all four wheels. It’s important to use the wheel brace now to tighten up the wheel nuts/bolts. Do them up as tight as you can by hand, then use your foot to push the wheel brace even further round. Put your old wheel back in the car, and stow your wheel brace and jack. Don’t forget to remove the bricks or rocks from the wheel under which you placed them before you try to pull away. You should now be ready to get on the road again. Remember, though, that if your spare wheel is a space saver – you can usually tell if it is because it’ll be smaller and narrower than your other wheels – you won’t be able to go as fast as normal.