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View Poll Results: Should SUV's show off their spare
Yes 154 68.75%
No 56 25.00%
Confused 14 6.25%
Voters: 224. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 15th April 2011, 12:24   #46
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Rear door mounted wheels increase length of the vehicle unnecessarily and also puts additional load on the hinges. I remember when Gypsy was the only one with a tyre on the rear door and most people used to keep it inside due to the hinges not being able to take the weight and rattle. So a lot of cons there as well as the difficulty of putting the wheel there when you actually need to change a punctured one. Nothing on the PRO side for this design unless the SUV design does not allow a wheel to be tucked in under (too short a wheelbase as in Mahindra Jeeps).
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Old 15th April 2011, 12:34   #47
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

im of the opinion that the spare should be under the car ala scorpio rather than on the gate ala bolero

apart from aesthetics - the tail gate gets too heavy and doesnt work properly
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Old 15th April 2011, 17:11   #48
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Voted for confused. Well not exactly confused though.
The question here is about show off/looks of a SUV and how spare wheel helps in it. For some SUV's without the spare wheel on tailgate the looks are menacing (Fortuner) for others spare wheel on tailgate adds certain character (Safari). So I will look it as a complete package. Not considering the practicality and other aspects as the question is about looks.
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Old 15th April 2011, 18:19   #49
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

With wheels on the rear, I wonder
1) how easy/convenient is it mounting a functioal tyre on it? With the size of the tyre, isn't it not possible for 1 person to load the tyre?

2) does it affect handling with a considerable load at the fag end of the car?

3) doesn't it affect the door and opening/closing?

Agreed having a mean tyre mounted on the rear does look good on some SUVs; Fortuner, Endeavour etc., but how convenient is it?
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Old 16th April 2011, 20:10   #50
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by libranof1987 View Post
With wheels on the rear, I wonder
1) how easy/convenient is it mounting a functioal tyre on it? With the size of the tyre, isn't it not possible for 1 person to load the tyre?

2) does it affect handling with a considerable load at the fag end of the car?

3) doesn't it affect the door and opening/closing?

Agreed having a mean tyre mounted on the rear does look good on some SUVs; Fortuner, Endeavour etc., but how convenient is it?
Fortuner ? with wheel on the rear door ? i wonder how they do that .. I haven't seen any ill date.
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Old 16th April 2011, 21:37   #51
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

A friend was telling me that it was legislation that forced Manufacturers to tuck the spare under the vehicle. Its connected with manufacturers having to raise the bonnet height for pedestrian safety purposes and plus avoid huge grills that could hurt pedestrians in the event of a collision. The main reason why the ROLLS ROYCE GHOST has a subdued grill. Manufacturers of trucks have to get side bars and rear bumpers fabricated to help avoid hatchbacks squeezing under them
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Old 16th April 2011, 22:00   #52
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

A true blue SUV has to have the Spare wheel on the rear door. It is a big time statement. It makes the whole concept more apt. The exception to the rule is the Scorpio & T-Fort & yes the X-Trail. But then that is just my humble opinion.




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Old 16th April 2011, 22:50   #53
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

I differ. True SUVs have 2 wheels with one on the gate, and one on the roof. Forget the shirt. go bare.

(& I don't have an SUV)
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Old 16th April 2011, 22:55   #54
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheARUN View Post
A friend was telling me that it was legislation that forced Manufacturers to tuck the spare under the vehicle. Its connected with manufacturers having to raise the bonnet height for pedestrian safety purposes and plus avoid huge grills that could hurt pedestrians in the event of a collision. The main reason why the ROLLS ROYCE GHOST has a subdued grill. Manufacturers of trucks have to get side bars and rear bumpers fabricated to help avoid hatchbacks squeezing under them
This is slightly confusing ! Why would the manufacturers tuck the spare wheel under the car just because they need to raise the bonnet height? I am not able to make out a relation here ! Rolls Royce again is a sedan and not a SUV. And you ended up giving the example of trucks even !! How do we connect all these examples? if you could explain a bit more, it will be good.

Last edited by swiftnfurious : 16th April 2011 at 22:58.
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Old 17th April 2011, 08:26   #55
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The Explanation

Automobile manufacturers were on their own pursuit in going faster, higher and getting stronger, when the Governments all over the world started interfering with them and brought in various regulations.
  • Bonnet height in cars was low, it was at the knee level of pedestrians. When a car hit a pedestrian, it ended up busting the pedestrians knee. Hence the Governments got in. They came up with a height for all car bonnets - fronts. Now when cars collide with pedestrians, the pedestrian is hit higher and falls on the bonnet of the car and rolls down, causing less injury. For the same reason car bonnets are made light, to absorb pedestrian impact and be nice to pedestrians who have the misfortune of coming into contact with it
  • The ROLLS ROYCE grill for a pedestrian is like a weapon, scything through skin and the spirit of esctasy was like a sword, punching into pedestrians on impact. Now ROLLS is forced to have a smoother pedestrian friendly grill and the spirit of esctacy is made in such a way that it disintergrates on impact
  • Remember the trucks of yesteryears, they did not come with bars in the side and bars at the back. Look at trucks nowadays, with bars in the sides and at the back - all because the Government wants to stop cars and two wheelers from going under trucks in collisons
Hope that explains
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Old 17th April 2011, 20:57   #56
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by sumathindra View Post
Yes thought the original intent was to save space, it has become more of a decorative intent now.
SUVs themselves have become a decorative item now, so....... Does an SUV look better wearing its spare on the tail gate? You bet!

Put the two of them together, and it's easy to understand the result of this thread's poll. I don't think anyone will deny that a good number of SUVs are sold primarily because of their looks & the image they bring. I have voted yes too. Love my SUVs with a naked wheel at the back.

Speaking of the Scorpio, there is a green Scorpio in Mumbai (done up by Rio Designs) with a rear-mounted spare. Believe me, it looks H-O-T!!
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Old 18th April 2011, 07:05   #57
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

in earlier days - 70's and 80's there were a number of jeeps with their spares mounted on the side of the vehicle rather than the rear.
the original intent was space saving as mentioned earlier.

yes it does look nice having the wheel mounted externally but it comes with its attendant set of pain points too.
in general the Bolero and Gypsy hinges and rear mountings are very strong and dont rattle even with prolonged use. but theft of the spare wheel is one of the points that lead people to put the spare wheels away out of sight inside the vehicle.
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Old 18th April 2011, 08:53   #58
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Me too voted Yes. SUV are real showoff vehicles, i recently visited Patiala, I found most of SUV had oversize tyres and alloy.

I always love my SUVs with a naked wheel on my Safari.

Real SUV's show off their spare wheel-j5j10-337.jpg
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Old 18th April 2011, 10:06   #59
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
...theft of the spare wheel...
Theft is a big issue - look at how this Sumo tries to fool potential thieves in Darjeeling, by covering the tyre with a tube section to make it look worn out.
Real SUV's show off their spare wheel-darj-0k80.jpg
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Old 18th April 2011, 10:43   #60
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Re: Real SUV's show off their spare wheel

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Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
Theft is a big issue - look at how this Sumo tries to fool potential thieves in Darjeeling, by covering the tyre with a tube section to make it look worn out.
Attachment 532693
Thats a good idea
But think of this in 20+ lakh SUV
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