Alloy Wheels do you buy in pairs of 4 or 5 ??

[jango]

Hi Team-Bhpians..


Just wanted to find out what majority of Bhpian's do while picking up their set of alloys

1) Do you buy the whole set of 5 ( including the one for spare wheel ) OR

2) Just 4 of them.


For my BOLERO i had picked up all 5 coz the spare tyre was visible when mounted at the rear of the jeep...so moved in style...but what abt those who use alloys on there car ??


Jango !!

[hydrashok]

I planned for 5, and bought a set of 4. Blew the budget for 5 on 4 Kept my spare wheel stock. If you go for tubeless, you won't need the spare tyre thaaaat much anyway.

One big reason I didn't get the 5th wheel + tyre (I would have stretched the budget if I needed to) is that it (wider section -- from 165 to 205) wouldn't fit in my boot. It was either keep my ICE or Spare Tyre. Obviously, the ICE won

[chanapli]

Well, No doubt my heart was with set of 5.

But funding was limitted for one more tubeless and Alloy. so went for 4, put the original cover for the spare.

[sreenivass]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

I planned for 5, and bought a set of 4. Blew the budget for 5 on 4 Kept my spare wheel stock. If you go for tubeless, you won't need the spare tyre thaaaat much anyway.

One big reason I didn't get the 5th wheel + tyre (I would have stretched the budget if I needed to) is that it (wider section -- from 165 to 205) wouldn't fit in my boot. It was either keep my ICE or Spare Tyre. Obviously, the ICE won

I insisted and bought 5 for my Petra. The dealer was saying 5th one is not necessary, in fact was discouraging. Despite a delay of one or two months I got 5th alloy. Reason: looks and the car runs on 4 alloys even in the case of puncture or damage to one of the wheels.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by sreenivass

I insisted and bought 5 for my Petra. The dealer was saying 5th one is not necessary, in fact was discouraging. Despite a delay of one or two months I got 5th alloy. Reason: looks and the car runs on 4 alloys even in the case of puncture or damage to one of the wheels.

Ya, true. If you buy 4, and something major happens to one of the wheels and it needs replacement, you'd be in major trouble if you cannot locate an alloy of the same design.

Since I drive my car myself 99.99% (my Dad uses it only once in a blue moon, and nowadays I drive him when he wants transportation, rather than give the car to him), and considering how I use my car, I felt I didn't need the risk-cushion. It would be different for others, though.

[manveet]

Another important factor to consider is whether you are upsizing the Rim-size or not.

In case one is upsizing from say a 13" to a 15" wheel, the cost of the additional tire gets added to the alloy wheel. Therefore, it is avoidable to skip the 5th wheel altogether due to the following reasons:

• Puncture chances are highly reduced as you'll be moving to tubeless anyways (in most likelihood)
• Even in case of a puncture (talking tubeless here), one usually gets enough time to get it fixed thus eliminating the use of the spare

In my opinion, the best way forward is to buy 4 alloys and keep the 5th wheel as-is. In case your luck runs out and you just HAVE to move to the 5th wheel - use it till the next puncture shop. In India one finds it at regular intervals and nowadays almost every chap can fix a tubeless.

Exception:
- In case you travel a lot on the highway, buy a 5th cheap tire along with an upsized steel rim.
- Like mentioned by someone already, in case the 5th wheel shows on the car, you NEED to buy a 5th alloy. But for godsake keep it the same design as the other 4 or you'll end up in the W&W thread .. (like the Zen that has an alloy on the boot .. that too a different pattern !! )

[chanapli]

Originally Posted by manveet

nowadays almost every chap can fix a tubeless.

Not sure!. I spotted only two puncture shops who can touch tubeless in a busy stretch of 12 Kms on Hosur road - electronic city - Bangalore

My advise, carry the repair kit ( Rs350 - JC Road) and instruct any repair fellow how to do it.

[rks]

I would always carry a spare wheel. Even with tubeless tyres a valve leak or hitting some stone/pavement/pothole can case sudden deflation of the tyre, and damage to the alloy can occur. The spare wheel need not be an alloy, though. You can use it in an emergency till the regular wheel/tyre is fixed.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

I planned for 5, and bought a set of 4. Blew the budget for 5 on 4 Kept my spare wheel stock. If you go for tubeless, you won't need the spare tyre thaaaat much anyway

Exactly what happened to me. I planned for 5 but got hooked on to more expensive ones so stuck to 4. In any case, if you can tolerate the spare wheel with OE rims for a day or so till you get the puncture repaired, it is in reality not needed and you can gulp down beers with the money saved

[jango]

@ mobike true to some extend, but imagine if you are person who beleives in rotating the tyres every 5K. In such a situation since the spare tyre is on OEM you will have to remove it and put it onto the alloy every time !! now that can be a pain !!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by jango

@ mobike true to some extend, but imagine if you are person who beleives in rotating the tyres every 5K. In such a situation since the spare tyre is on OEM you will have to remove it and put it onto the alloy every time !! now that can be a pain !!

i dont agree with you. It can be done in 10-15 minutes flat in most of the tyre shops having those automated machines and trust me there are quite a few around, atleast in the vicinity of the place where i live in my city.

[rjstyles69]

@jango, here is what I did. Initially when I changed the wheels on my alto, bght a set of 5. Its been good 2 years and touchwood still today never used the spare one. Its still lying in the boot unused, should have listened to my dealer then and stuck to buying 4.Could have saved some dabbu and beer.
As for my Baleno, I picked up only for and saved on that extra dabbu for the 5th one. The only advantage is that, with the 5th one you can rotate your tyres once in a while.

[jango]

@rjstyles i was talking abt the advantage part of it....i guess that the only one..... I guess most people go for the set of 4 these days !!

[rks]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

@jango, here is what I did. Initially when I changed the wheels on my alto, bght a set of 5. Its been good 2 years and touchwood still today never used the spare one. [...] The only advantage is that, with the 5th one you can rotate your tyres once in a while.

If you have a brand new spare tyre, you should use it along with others when you rotate tyres. If the tyre remains unused, the rubber will become brittle and eventually render the tyre unsafe.

I think for those who would like to save money and not buy a fifth alloy, the best plan would be to use the stock rim with a used second-hand tyre as spare. You can then use this tyre/wheel only in an emergency (do not include this spare tyre in the rotation scheme). Throw out the spare tyre along with the others after the regular tyres get worn out. Then get a new set of 4 tyres, and another used one as spare ....

[rks]

Originally Posted by rks

If you have a brand new spare tyre, you should use it along with others when you rotate tyres. If the tyre remains unused, the rubber will become brittle and eventually render the tyre unsafe.

See the following link on the dangers of using aged tyres:

Aged Tyres