Polo riding on 3 R16 wheels and 1 R14 wheel

speedsix · Post by **speedsix** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:54 am

As some of you know I got 4 new 16" alloys (with tyres) a few months ago for the Polo to replace the original 14" alloys and its tyres.

I just thought of this now.....if I had a puncture or flat tyre on the road and had the VW assistance come out to change the tyre, can the Polo ride on the one spare R14 wheel while the rest are on the new R16 wheels? Or should I buy another R16 wheel?

AKs_SlickPolo · Post by **AKs_SlickPolo** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:05 pm

You can use the 14in wheel. Just dont go hard cornering and avoid exceeding 40mph!

mc_iver_9n · Post by **mc_iver_9n** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:34 pm

Is this the same with 17''s? or worse

NornIron · Post by **NornIron** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:03 pm

The diameter of the rim is irrelevant, it's the circumference of the tyre which matters. As an example, Mrs NornIrons 9n has 16" alloy wheels, running 205/50 tyres:
Circumference = 1920mm

The steel spare is a standard 14" wheel with a 185/65 tyre:
Circumference = 1873mm

Based on the difference of 2.5%, there is no safety issue with driving using the spare, albeit sensibly, as the handling could be affected.