S Max - Spacesaver To Fit 18" Titanium Alloys

[Nickytwister]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie with a recently purchased 2.0 TDci S Max with 18" Titanium alloys.

Great car but I hate the lack of spare wheel, like most of us.

Has anyone found an official or generic spare saver which will fit?

Got a slow puncture; the alloy rim needs re-finishing/lacquering; right now I can't take it off - nothing to hold that corner up!!

Any good advise (with a link??) to a shop/site which sell something useable would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Nick

[FOCA]

The 16" Mondeo/ Focus 5-stud spacesavers should fit ok

Also full size 16" Mondeo/ Focus 5-stud steel wheels (205-55-16, i think) - these can be found on e-bay with tyres for as little as £20,(may need painted) the spacesavers tend to be a bit more expensive

Update :- check the load rating is 98 /750 kgs for the S-Max

[Nickytwister]

Cheers fella - would this be ok with 18" wheels though? I though maybe a 17" wheel with a high profile tyre might do the job?

[FOCA]

All the tyres have similar circumferences, the 18" have the lowest profile, the spacesaver has a very high profile, the (std, Ford 5-stud) spacesaver is sold with the Mk3 Mondeo ST-TDCI, which has 18" wheels as standard

the size (18", 17", 16") refers to the size of the wheel, not the circumfrence of the tyre

The Focus STs front brakes are so big 16" wheels are very tight, apart from that, i am unaware of any issues (and probably best to put a "mismatched" wheel on the back anyway)

[Nickytwister]

You're a top man - thanks.

N

[137699]

NOTE! Space saver spares are NOT TO BE USED on the s-max.

There is NO S-max space-saver and the Focus/Mondeo ones are not load tested for a 2 tonne / 7 seater vehicle.

If you use it and it fails causing you to have an accident, you will not be covered by your insurance!

You have been warned!!!

The only solution is a 5th full-size wheel & tyre.

[FOCA]

Thats interesting - that would explain why they don't supply them (i thought it was to save money and get better economy/ performance figures)- i wonder how many people have retrofitted spacesaver wheels?

Do you mean a 5th full size 18" wheel/ tyre or a full size 16" spare?

I was never keen on spacesavers myself

Update :- checked the load rating the spacesaver of our titanium-x- it was 88 = 750kgs, so 4 could support 3 metric tonnes, which seems ok to me, worth checking the load rating though, i would favor a full- size spare that has better grip and is not speed restricted over a spacesaver,

The spacesaver weighs 11 kilos and the full size 16" wheel/ tyre 17.4kgs, for the exrtra 6.4kilos the full-size is worth carrying, in my opinion

[FOCA]

I checked and , the S-Max should have tyres with a load rating of 98 (750kgs) according to a post on this forum

Space-savers can have load ratings of 98 (750kgs) and 16" full size spares (205/55/16) too, regular Mondeo tyres often have a load rating of 91 (600kgs) which would not be suitable for the S-Max - but suitable tyres (load rating = 98) could be fitted on Mondeo/ focus 16" 5-stud full size or spacesaver wheels to be used on the S-Max

Another (lower cost) option would be to buy a Ford 16" or larger 5-stud Van tyre/ wheel with a suitable load/ speed rating

It goes without saying that the full-size spare should have a suitable speed- rating (as well as load rating) for the vehicle, and at least the minimum legal tread, and be in good condition, no bulges etc, and all the usual checks, a spare with a slow puncture can be a bit of a pain because its liable to be flat by the time you need it :)

[137699]

It's not so much the load rating of the tyre - it's the structure of the wheel rim. A van wheel would be ok as it's designed to handle load (if it fits & allows fitting of XL load tyre with right rolling circumference), but a Focus/Mondeo space-saver won't be -hence why they're not offered by Ford as space-savers for the Smax or Galaxy - believe you/me, if they were suitable they WOULD offer them as an after-sale accessory - they'd not miss that chance to extract more cash from owners!

I have seen the results when a wheel is not load tested for a heavy vehicle - it's not a pretty sight. A friend of mine had aftermarket alloys on his Navara - and one gave way on him - fortunately he was only doing about 40mph at the time and was able to guide the vehicle to a safe stop. He reckoned if it had happened on the motorway it could easily have resulted in fatalities. He had his 3 kids in the car at the time too.