Wheel says 50 mph max

[pda1122]

Friend picked up an 03 Passat dirt cheap and on one of the wheels it has a sticker that says 50 mph max. The other three wheels have no sticker but are the same wheel. Are these full size spare wheels? Three wheels have VW hub caps. Driver side tires are shot and the other two seem to be in good shape. He says they are directional tires.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

"Temporary use only" on the sticker. That makes it a temporary spare. I would get a used/new wheel and use this as a spare as intended. Sounds like he needs four tires anyway.

Doesn't look like those lug nuts match, either, which would concern me.

 

[ENGINEER60]

It's a spare and they are only designed for limping to the nearest repair shop, not driving around on

 

[CT8]

That is why the car was dirt cheap.

 

[eljefino]

How cheap?

Those are lug bolts, not nuts. The oddball is some stupid locking one, that looks pretty easy to beat.

Make sure the rims are *exactly* the same, for example, all 6 inches wide.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
The oddball is some stupid locking one, that looks pretty easy to beat.
That is probably why that wheel is still there - they lost the wheel lock.

 

[pda1122]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
How cheap?

Those are lug bolts, not nuts. The oddball is some stupid locking one, that looks pretty easy to beat.

Make sure the rims are *exactly* the same, for example, all 6 inches wide.

I believe he paid $1200, seller originally asking $2k. Not exactly the prettiest with the missing hubcap, front bumper hanging by zip ties, front quarter panel mismatched shape, etc. but seems to run good and fluids look good. Don’t know if timing belt was ever done (which means prob wasn’t). My buddy worked on fixing up a ‘78 f-150 custom, taking the bed off, made wood bed, new shocks, ujoints, frame paint, coolant flush, fuel filter, some other things I’m forgetting so I’m sure he knows his stuff. We just thought it was weird seeing this on one rim. It just seems like we see these type rims everywhere in Maine! But I guess the others are rated different or the owner doesn’t know better/doesn’t care
Oh and wheel lock key is in trunk

 

[RooflessVW]

The sticker on the wheel is irrelevant, what matters is the tire itself.

It's a standard steel wheel with a normal tire. The sticker is there because it was a spare 15" wheel for a car that may have been delivered with 16" or 17" wheels.

 

[71Chevyguy]

It is the exact same wheel that would otherwise be on the car. They used the 50 MPH sticker to make it a spare and save on wheel weights, since they didn't have to balance them if you aren't going over 50. You can peel the sticker and continue on using it. You can usually get those at the junkyard cheap and they are in good shape since most were just used as "spares"

 

[jjjxlr8]

Use caution as some manufacturers, including VW, use special wheels for the temporary spare.

 

[skyactiv]

Wrong about the wheel weights.I may have posted a pic of mine few years ago. My GTI has the same sticker on the FULL size spare. The spare is a steel wheel used on a base Golf with a V rated French made Bridgestone in 205/55/16. And it's balanced. Type in VW full size spare in Google images and you'll see they are balanced.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The oddball is some stupid locking one, that looks pretty easy to beat.
That is probably why that wheel is still there - they lost the wheel lock.

You just have to pound a triple square in.

 

[Delta]

Originally Posted By: pda1122
[/quote]
My buddy worked on fixing up a ‘78 f-150 custom, taking the bed off, made wood bed, new shocks, ujoints, frame paint, coolant flush, fuel filter, some other things I’m forgetting so I’m sure he knows his stuff.


No offense, but a 78 F-150 is an entirely different class. Anybody handy can work on the old Ford, the VW not as much. They're ack backards compared to most stuff.


Anyways, my previous and current VW has had/has the 16" steel wheel full size spare with the same sticker. It is narrower than the 18" on there now. At one time someone might have nabbed one at the JY to replace one of the regular steel wheels. Not sure how it compares to the other OEM steel wheels. If it has the same tires as the rest its been run like that for a while...

 

[pezzy669]

My '03 Golf had a full size 15" spare that looked just like the one pictured but without the sticker, my roommate had a '03 Passat GLS that had same spare without sticker. Both had rolling stock that were 15" (steelies with hubcaps on Golf, Passat had alloy wheels). I gathered over time that the ones with the speed limitation were 15" spare on VW's equipped with 16" or greater wheels. Probably more of a liability and possible transmission/4Motion wear issue from having a different size spare on versus the other 3 tires.

 

[nthach]

If VAG installed a "lightweight" full-size spare, that label does apply. Goodyear supplied Chrysler with full size "lightweight" spare tires.

I also see buses equipped with Firestone City Transport Radial or Goodyear Metro Miler "transit-specific" tires that clearly have MAX SPEED 55MPH on the sidewall routinely see 65-68MPH on the freeway on commuter routes. That, I can't explain.

 

[CapriRacer]

I would be very careful assuming the spare wheel is identical to the other wheels on the vehicle. It's just possible that the spare wheel is made on the same fixtures as the regular wheels, but of a thinner metal, and would NOT be suitable for regular usage.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: ENGINEER60
It's a spare and they are only designed for limping to the nearest repair shop, not driving around on


My neighbor has been driving around on one of these donuts for weeks now...

 

[853okg]

Holy hoopty! I see these all the time in certain parts of the city. FWD cars with mismatched wheels, going around corners with the transaxle screaming.