Changing a flat tire is something most of us as drivers have done at least once in our lives. Usually it’s just putting on the spare tire and continuing our journey. Unfortunately, for years, cars have chosen to be an annoying kit anti-leakage. Fortunately, some come with a spare wheel. But not one like the one you’ll find in a 90s car, but the one known as “cookie wheel”.
As you probably already know, these wheels are nothing like the rest of the vehicle, so you will need to pay special attention when driving a pit. A biscuit wheel is a peculiar looking thin metal rim worn today by some modern vehicles as a spare wheel (and many others that see the Spanish fleet to be over 13 years old). It will also be compact or temporary spare wheel, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are an emergency solution and not a spare wheel to use.
At what speed and how far can I travel with it?
Due to their size and shape, they save space in the car and are also lighter than the standard spare wheel – the same goal that motivated the rise of cars. kit anti-leakage). Of course, this convenience comes with compromises. The most important and most dangerous is of course refers to the driving behavior and safety that your car offers. Because the rubber is so narrow, the contact patch with the asphalt is smaller, which doesn’t help much, neither for the steering, nor for stability, nor for the braking distance.
What is the maximum speed allowed to drive with a cookie wheel?
This affects the handling of the vehicle and you could end up in potentially dangerous situations. Especially when braking or accelerating hard, because you will have unequal forces that can cause the car with the spare wheel to go to the side, so it is easy end up in a ditch or incoming traffic if the road is a two-way street. Therefore, when using a waffle wheel, it is driven slowly and smoothly. And when we say slow, we mean no more than 80 km/h.
While you can drive on the freeway open to traffic, it’s safer to stay clear of it, or in the right lane at the pace of slower trucks. In addition, you should keep in mind that systems such as Electronic Stability Control (ESP) and Traction Control (TC), as well as Anti-lock Braking (ABS) will not work well with the replacement. So obviously you should drive as little as possible while having that type of tire on your car, but everyone else understands what that means.
What is the maximum distance I can travel on a cookie wheel?
You may be lost in the middle of nowhere and the next workshop is 100 miles away. But this is one of those very extreme situations that should not be taken as a reference. As a general rule, you are not allowed to drive more than 115 km with a cookie wheel. And yet it is necessary to handle it with care, as there are some experts who recommend not to drive more than 80 kilometers due to the condition of the rubber. Think about it, that wheel may have been unused for over 10 years. The connection no longer offers the same resistance and contact.
A cookie wheel is not made like normal wheels. They are less durable and cannot withstand the abuse of driving just like a normal tire would. The rubber they are made of is of inferior quality and much thinner than a normal tire. This also means throwing them away if they leak or get damaged, such as cannot be repaired. That is why they are also called temporary … However, if you are lucky enough that you do not need it in the life of your car, you do not need to change it.
But rubber will deteriorate over time and even when not in use the cracker wheels will eventually need to be replaced. This is true whether you have a full size wheel or a reduced wheel size. Except you can consider a tire change on the first one in the rest of the corners. If you want to step on it safely, it is recommended replace the waffle wheel after 10 years, because although it looks “as new” (it isn’t).
Ultimately, you should know that both regular and biscuit spare wheels have their pros and cons, and whether to use one or the other will depend on the car you have and your driving habits. In general, larger and heavier vehicles still have a normal spare wheel, while passenger cars already opt for the biscuit (although it is already a Rare avis). Naturally, a standard wheel is preferred, but in most cases that wouldn’t be practical because it takes up more space in the trunk of the car (and is better than the kit anti-leakage).
