Winter Tyres - do I need a spare?

I'm ready to fit my winter tyres, got a spare set of second hand alloys. I'm doing this all on a very tight budget, so do I need five winter tyres rather than four, (I have a good spare tyre)?

The wheel thing

We have ordered, but have yet to take delivery a new KIA Picanto. I note it comes with a tyre inflation kit rather than a spare wheel. I'm a little concerned as we may do several long journeys. Do you...

Spare wheel

I have the Grande Punto from new back in 2009 and it did not come with a spare wheel only this can of sealant which I've never been too happy about. The wheels are 195/55 R16. Can you recommend anywhere...

Are runflat tyres for my 3 Series BMW readily available in France?

A friend of mine has a 1 Series BMW with runflat tyres and I have a 3 Series with them. He was recently stuck in France due to the lack of availability of these tyres following a puncture. He called the...

Why is our BMW Compact's space saver wheel a different diameter to its 16-inch wheels?

In Honest John in August a reader mentioned that his Astra space saver spare wheel was two inches smaller in diameter than the road wheels. My BMW Compact has 16-inch wheels, while the space saver has...

Is there a product that can protect spare wheels, like that on my Discovery 4, from theft?

The spare wheel of my Discovery 4 was stolen recently. I'm not sure exactly when because I had not regularly checked that it was still there. The cost of a replacement wheel and tyre together with a new...

Could I use winter tyres all year round on my BMW X3 M Sport?

Unfortunately my BMW X3 M Sport came with 234/45 R19 (front) and 255/40 R19 (rear) tyres as standard. It was an ex BMW registered car (1500 miles on clock) loaded with extras and seemed tempting at the...

Full size spares

In May I shredded a tyre while in France. I was glad to be driving a Mondeo with a full-size spare. I was able to replace the tyre with an identical Michelin the same day. What would have happened if I...

Will using the 'spacesaver' spare wheel on my Astra whilst towing a caravan affect safety?

A full-size matching road wheel (I paid extra as I tow a caravan) does not fit in the well of the boot of my fantastic new Astra SRi 2.0 CTDI. The ‘spacesaver’ is two inches smaller in diameter and the...

I'm not happy with my 2009 BMW 525 - what could I replace it with?

I owned a 2002 BMW 525 Touring for a number of years and was very happy with it. Thinking it was time to replace it, I bought a 2009 BMW 525. I have been very disappointed with this car as the satnav accepts...