Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Darius on 30 August 2019, 19:57:59

Title: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 30 August 2019, 19:57:59
There I was on the Bank Holiday Monday evening, nursing a well earned drink with t'missus and minding my own business, when the doorbell rang.  A bloke with a Vectra says he has blown his front tyre and the spare is flat - can I help him.

So I dig out my pump but the tyre isn't seated properly on the rim and the useless pump shoves out so little air at each stroke that it won't pump up.  I fetch a can of what-ever-it-is-that-inflates-a-punctured-tyre and the label says it won't work because the tyre is off the rim.

"Any chance I could borrow the spare from your Omega?  It should fit and I swear on my mother's grave I'll bring it back tomorrow - promise".  He looked me straight in the eye and shook my hand.

It was late on a Bank Holiday and I felt for him.  He looked honest, we talked about how it was nice to do favours to people in need and he waved a jovial goodbye as he drove off.

Yep.  You guessed it.  That's the last I saw of it.

Thieving b*stard!

So, if anyone in the Bristol area has a spare they don't want I will gladly take it off their hands and even offer a small renumeration as long as it's a 205 65 R17 tyre.  Otherwise it's about £30-40 on fleabay by the time I've coughed up the postage.

I'm still bemused about how people can do things like that.  And whether I am just a fool ...
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 30 August 2019, 21:19:34
I am in Midsomer Norton, near you, and I have spare Omega wheels, but no 17". For a spare, does size matter?
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 31 August 2019, 09:03:52
a 205 65 R17 tyre. 

not an omega size surely  :-\

205/45/17 or
205/50/17 =195/65r15 =225/55r16 for similar rolling radius as a spare
my spare is 195/65r15

what size wheels and tyres do you have fitted  :-\
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Enceladus on 31 August 2019, 10:44:07
Aren't the standard spare wheels always 195/65/15 94V on 7J steel rims?
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 31 August 2019, 11:43:36
Aren't the standard spare wheels always 195/65/15 94V on 7J steel rims?
that's what I thought
205 wide would be a tight squeeze in saloon
I assume the estate spare can be wider  :-\

"205 65 R17 tyre" would be over 22mm ride height gain 7% speedo error over standard
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: amba on 31 August 2019, 12:12:24
Just checked mine and its 205/55/16 ..Pity you are a fair way away as have a spare "spare" which has a un used Michelin tyre fitted...yours FOC if you cant source elsewhere :y
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Alnico Blue on 31 August 2019, 13:55:24
Rob G comes to mind  . . .he used to break omegas . . .but not sure he's still about on here . think he's  or was  . . . . near Southmead area of Bristol   :-\ :-\
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 31 August 2019, 15:58:10
So a man with a Vectra borrowed Darius's Omega spare wheel (steel presumed) to get him home. He clearly presumed that an Omega spare would fit his Vectra, and presumably it did. My Vectra has horrible 17" wheels, giving me a harsh ride. I have lots of 15" and 16" Omega wheels, some steel, some alloy. Will they fit on my Vectra, or is the offset or something else wrong?
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 31 August 2019, 16:48:36
While I sympathise with the OP,s story about having his wheel nicked, I think its a bit cheeky to pop up on here and ask for one for free, or as near free as possible. Or is it just me ?
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 31 August 2019, 17:05:15
Don't encourage stupidity.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 31 August 2019, 17:05:38
So a man with a Vectra borrowed Darius's Omega spare wheel (steel presumed) to get him home. He clearly presumed that an Omega spare would fit his Vectra, and presumably it did. My Vectra has horrible 17" wheels, giving me a harsh ride. I have lots of 15" and 16" Omega wheels, some steel, some alloy. Will they fit on my Vectra, or is the offset or something else wrong?
check what you have tyre size Terry
the 195/65/15 steel spares example would be ok
what you got ?

before you give any away  ;D

While I sympathise with the OP,s story about having his wheel nicked, I think its a bit cheeky to pop up on here and ask for one for free, or as near free as possible. Or is it just me ?
I doubt the OP will have any joy with the size he wants anyway even off ebay for £40  :D
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 31 August 2019, 17:33:58
So a man with a Vectra borrowed Darius's Omega spare wheel (steel presumed) to get him home. He clearly presumed that an Omega spare would fit his Vectra, and presumably it did. My Vectra has horrible 17" wheels, giving me a harsh ride. I have lots of 15" and 16" Omega wheels, some steel, some alloy. Will they fit on my Vectra, or is the offset or something else wrong?
check what you have tyre size Terry
the 195/65/15 steel spares example would be ok
what you got ?

before you give any away  ;D

While I sympathise with the OP,s story about having his wheel nicked, I think its a bit cheeky to pop up on here and ask for one for free, or as near free as possible. Or is it just me ?
I doubt the OP will have any joy with the size he wants anyway even off ebay for £40  :D
That's good news. I have a set of steel wheels with winter tyres on. SWMBO liked them, but she's stopped driving.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: johnnydog on 01 September 2019, 09:36:42
I have found that most of the Omegas in my local breakers still have the steel spare in the boot - usually because it's not a common size of wheel and tyre.
Many were unused or had only been on a short while as a 'get me home'.
As because of this the last ones I bought (for a car to stand on because I had sold the alloys) were only £15 each.
Must be worth a visit to check...
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 01 September 2019, 09:43:07
If there are any Omegas in the scrappies......   :-X  :-\
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: biggriffin on 01 September 2019, 13:32:44
Got a pair of steels 205/65/16 sat here, but it's a bit of trip from brisool to hoof'land. :)
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 01 September 2019, 18:24:23
While I sympathise with the OP,s story about having his wheel nicked, I think its a bit cheeky to pop up on here and ask for one for free, or as near free as possible. Or is it just me ?
Mig

Ouch!  You may have missed that I offered to pay for it. 

I thought how many Omegas (and other cars) must go to the scrapyard, as my previous one did, with a spare wheel which had never been used and which was worthless to the scrapyard as no-one needs to buy a replacement spare wheel.

It's my bit of local recycling.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 01 September 2019, 18:35:39
195/65r15 on steel wheels are very popular 5x110 PCD
fit astra,vectra(as you know  :() zafira A & B,and many other vauxhall and saabs
so why say "worthless to the scrapyard as no-one needs to buy a replacement spare wheel"
most breakers yards remove all good tyres and alloys ,sell tyres and alloys separate
 


you still not said what size you actually need  ::)
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 01 September 2019, 18:40:41
All

Thank you for your many answers. 

You will have discovered by now that I am a bit of a twit not least because I mistyped the size I think my spare should be  ::)  The wheels are of course R16 and not R17.  I have no idea what the other parameters should be.  In my defence may I say that I don't have the spare to hand to check.  :'(

I still have four wheels on the car where I can read the tyres and they all say 225 55 R16.

I was therefore guessing that my long gone spare was (is - it's just it and I are no longer living together) 205 65 R16.
 
my spare is 195/65r15
what size wheels and tyres do you have fitted  :-\

... which suggests I need 195/65/15.
It's a CDX DTI with 225 55 R16  on alloys.

Aren't the standard spare wheels always 195/65/15 94V on 7J steel rims?

... which suggests I need 195/65/15.

Just checked mine and its 205/55/16

... which suggests I need 205/55/16.

Mrs Google wasn't much help trying to figure it out. 

Which do I need - 195/65/15 or 205/55/16?  I figure I am best to go for the 195/65/15 as it will be narrower for the well, and it is only a "get you home" tyre.  195*65% = 127 whereas 225*55% is 124 which is quite reasonable.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Nick W on 01 September 2019, 19:09:38
Mrs Google wasn't much help trying to figure it out. 

Which do I need - 195/65/15 or 205/55/16?  I figure I am best to go for the 195/65/15 as it will be narrower for the well, and it is only a "get you home" tyre.  195*65% = 127 whereas 225*55% is 124 which is quite reasonable.


A quick lesson:


205/55 R 16:


205 is the nominal width of the tread in mm. Nominal because it varies a bit between brands.


55 is the aspect ratio - the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the tread width.


R is the speed rating, but it's not the whole story as there will be a W,H or V marked elsewhere that goes with it. You must not fit a lower speed rated tyre than the car is capable of.


16 is the diameter of the wheel in inches.


7J 15 relates to the wheel(an Omega one is more likely to be 6J 15), which means 7inches wide and 15 inch diameter. You might also see something like 38ET quoted; that is the offset, and it's where the mounting face of the wheel compared to one edge(I can't remember which, but it's probably the inner as that has to clear the suspension). You can fit a very wide range of tyre widths and sizes to this width wheel.


You are not supposed to mix tyre sizes on the same axle(it's illegal), but a spacesaver spare does just that by juggling tyre width/aspect ratio/diameter to give what is basically the same overall diameter(rolling radius). It is still considered a spacesaver for temporary use even if it's a normal tyre size or wheel and will have a sticker that says so. Which makes a 195/65 15" tyre on a steel wheel, that was fitted to all four corners of original poverty spec Omegas, a spacesaver on all others. That size was very common on Granadas, Mercs, BMWs and other largish cars in the late eighties and through the nineties until we were all brainwashed into wanting massive diameter low profiles for some reason.


What this means is that ideally you want a spare wheel and tyre that is exactly the same size, width, diameter, speed rating as the ones on the car. You can do that without any problems on an estate, as the wheel well takes all of the stock size wheels and tyres. This isn't necessarily true of saloons but if I had one on 16s, I'd be looking for one of those and living with the tighter fit and not having the cover on it.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 01 September 2019, 19:14:13
195/65R15 is the same rolling radius as 205/55R16
the later being 10mm wider
so your spare should be 195.65 r15 on a steel 5x 110mm PCD GM rim
legal tread and not cracked.holds air
IIRC with the spare fitted you should limit speed to 80 KM/h or 50 MP/h

should be pretty easy to find local
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 02 September 2019, 12:41:50
Thanks for that lesson, Nick.
I presume wheels are shaped so that tyre centre lines coincide with the steering centre lines (the 'offset?).
If Omega steel spare wheels will fit my Vectra, I reckon all Omega wheels should do so. Right?
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Enceladus on 02 September 2019, 12:54:00
I still have four wheels on the car where I can read the tyres and they all say 225 55 R16.

I was therefore guessing that my long gone spare was (is - it's just it and I are no longer living together) 205 65 R16.

225/55-R16 95W or 94V on 7J x 16" (ET 33) alloys were standard fit on estates. Is yours an estate or a saloon?
That size is standard for later saloons as well.
205/65-R15 94V on 6.1/2J X 15" (ET 33) steel is the standard spare for facelift estates.
A wider tyre or a wider rim would not fit in the wheel-well. And probably not in a saloon either.

So the spare you lost was very likely a 205/65-R15 94V on a 6.1/2J x 15" steel wheel. This is a very close match on rolling radius to the main wheels. And seems the most likely spare supplied for all but some base models, which might have used 195/65-R15



Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Nick W on 02 September 2019, 12:57:05
Thanks for that lesson, Nick.
I presume wheels are shaped so that tyre centre lines coincide with the steering centre lines (the 'offset?).
If Omega steel spare wheels will fit my Vectra, I reckon all Omega wheels should do so. Right?




It's more complicated than that; ideally you want the tyre to rotate around the centre patch but there are lots of other considerations. Anyone designing a suspension system from scratch will start with the wheel and tyre and work from there. It's really critical to get them right.




Omega wheels will bolt on, but might not work.


You can't use 17" Omega wheels on an Astra G for instance. If you're no longer keeping Omegas, then get rid of the bits and use the correct ones for the replacement cars. Using old tyres(like 20 year old spares) is a very bad idea, no matter how 'as new' they look
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Nick W on 02 September 2019, 13:02:17

205/65-R15 94V on 6.1/2J X 15" (ET 33) steel is the standard spare for facelift estates.
A wider tyre or a wider rim would not fit in the wheel-well.



That is not true: a 17" Elite wheel with inflated 235/45 tyre fits the wheel-well just fine. It's a very tight fit on height though, some spacers are required for the boot floor latch to work. I never bothered on mine because gravity holds it down OK, and my car had a fitted rubber load mat that helped.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 02 September 2019, 14:13:04
Thanks for that lesson, Nick.
I presume wheels are shaped so that tyre centre lines coincide with the steering centre lines (the 'offset?).
If Omega steel spare wheels will fit my Vectra, I reckon all Omega wheels should do so. Right?




It's more complicated than that; ideally you want the tyre to rotate around the centre patch but there are lots of other considerations. Anyone designing a suspension system from scratch will start with the wheel and tyre and work from there. It's really critical to get them right.




Omega wheels will bolt on, but might not work.


You can't use 17" Omega wheels on an Astra G for instance. If you're no longer keeping Omegas, then get rid of the bits and use the correct ones for the replacement cars. Using old tyres(like 20 year old spares) is a very bad idea, no matter how 'as new' they look
I can see that too wide a tyre might foul bodywork on full lock, and Carlton wheels don't go over Omega hubs/brake drums. Otherwise, I can't imagine the complications.
Steel wheels are stronger and cheaper than alloy wheels, easier to fit, and no heavier. I reckon alloy wheels are silly fashion items.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 02 September 2019, 18:02:20
To a point, larger wheels have been fitted due to larger brakes on subsequent models, rather than for fashion purposes  ;)

For example, the Mondeo went from 14" to 15" to 16" in the space of one face-lift and one new model :y

Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Nick W on 02 September 2019, 18:16:17


I can see that too wide a tyre might foul bodywork on full lock, and Carlton wheels don't go over Omega hubs/brake drums. Otherwise, I can't imagine the complications.

Steel wheels are stronger and cheaper than alloy wheels, easier to fit, and no heavier. I reckon alloy wheels are silly fashion items.


There's a load of stuff that has to fit inside the wheel, and the steering movement has to be allowed for. Add the suspension travel, and the inside clearance is much more complicated than the bodywork.


Steel wheels aren't necessarily any of the things you listed, but they do get more likely the bigger and wider the wheels. especially when the mounting face is closer to one edge than the centre of the wheel.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 02 September 2019, 18:59:30
Not so long ago Jaguars, MGs and Aston Martins had wire wheels. I've never driven one, and I can't imagine they had any offset, but they must have worked after a fashion.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Nick W on 02 September 2019, 21:38:58
Not so long ago Jaguars, MGs and Aston Martins had wire wheels. I've never driven one, and I can't imagine they had any offset, but they must have worked after a fashion.


They do. But they're ugly, fragile and expensive which is why they went out of fashion.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: terry paget on 02 September 2019, 22:11:25
Not so long ago Jaguars, MGs and Aston Martins had wire wheels. I've never driven one, and I can't imagine they had any offset, but they must have worked after a fashion.


They do. But they're ugly, fragile and expensive which is why they went out of fashion.
I stand corrected, I read they do make offset wire wheels, with different length spokes inside and outside.  I suppose again they were fashion items, and as you say, expensive and fragile, and have now passed out of fashion. Not so good with tubeless tyres either.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 03 September 2019, 11:04:27
I am in Midsomer Norton, near you, and I have spare Omega wheels, but no 17". For a spare, does size matter?
Terry

Thanks.  I have sent you a message.  Any chance I could pop over today and see if one fits? I am not looking to scrounge it and am happy to buy it! 

I am sorry about my typo of 17 - the spare, like the road wheels, is R16.  I put it down to old age, approaching senility and general decrepitude.

It is no wonder Mrs Google was of little help is telling me what to buy off eBay as there seem to be so many variants.  I half remember reading what was on the spare as 205 65 R16 and some post here say that later saloons were fitted with 205 65 R16 as spares, while other posts say it won't fit in the well and I am better to go for 195 65 R15.

I doubt I will ever need to mount the thing but, if I do, I would like to know I wasn't damaging the car because it was the wrong rolling radius, so working the diff rather hard if on the back; or the wrong offset, which might stress things or mess up the steering geometry if on the front, or even crunch into the bodywork.

I'll send my phone number.

Thanks
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 03 September 2019, 13:19:18
Terry came up trumps and I now have a 205 65 R16 steel spare which fits nicely in the spare wheel well of my 2001 saloon.

Reading the thread convinces me that selecting a spare for a car when you don't know the size makes rocket science look easy!

Thanks to all who replied.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: dave the builder on 03 September 2019, 18:05:02
do you mean 205/55 r16 or 205/65 r15  ???

because 205 65 R16 is a bigger radius ::)
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 03 September 2019, 19:11:33
do you mean 205/55 r16 or 205/65 r15  ???

because 205 65 R16 is a bigger radius ::)
You're asking someone who gave their spare to a random stranger with a completely different car simply because they had the gall to ask :-X
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 04 September 2019, 09:49:29
do you mean 205/55 r16 or 205/65 r15  ???

because 205 65 R16 is a bigger radius ::)
205 65 R16

There's not that much difference.  The normal 225 55 R16 has a sidewall height of 225 x 0.55 = 123.75 mm.  The spare 205 65 R16 has a sidewall height of 205 x 0.65 = 133.25 mm.  It's a few mm more than the difference between a new and a worn tyre. 195 65 R16 would be better as it has a sidewall height of 126.75mm and gives 10mm more space in the boot and the wheel well. 

But beggars can't be choosers - I asked for a quote from one of those "we'll get quotes from scrapyards for you" websites and I received no quotes.
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Darius on 04 September 2019, 09:55:20
do you mean 205/55 r16 or 205/65 r15  ???

because 205 65 R16 is a bigger radius ::)
You're asking someone who gave their spare to a random stranger with a completely different car simply because they had the gall to ask :-X
It's called being a good Samaritan to someone in need.

It was 8pm on a Bank Holiday Monday evening and he was miles from home.

I am sure that had your wife got a puncture at 8pm on a Bank Holiday Monday evening when she was miles from home and I had refused to help her, you would be incandescent with rage.

I treat others the way I would like to be treated by them.  Sometimes, but not often, it goes wrong. 
Title: Re: Anyone near Bristol have a spare wheel and tyre for a 2.2 DTI?
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 04 September 2019, 12:25:57
She would have breakdown cover :-X