rabican

Hello all,

I have a '09 TT AWD with 25/50 R17 wheels.
I would like to install a space saver spare in the rear.

I can't seem to find any R32 spares, plus when comparing the RPM for the stock tire to the R32 125/70 R18 the RPM will be off by 30. On the other hand the Volvo T115/85 R18 is only off by 5 which seems like a better fit.

Can anyone confirm this will fit on my car? I saw one person said it would but I cant seem to locate the spacing and different sites have diff specs which scares me.

Looking to buy the: Volvo OEM R Type 18" Spare Tire w/Rim for S60 R V70 R 04-07
If you smart people agree this is a good fit for me.

Thanks!!

Vegas-roadster

There has been considerable discusion with Audi USA reps about the deletion of a compact spare for the Mk II TT at past TT West events. The spare was deleted to save weight, space, and manufacturing cost. Unfortunately, almost all sports cars have done this. Several Audi USA reps have been stranded in their cars after getting a flat that is not fixable with the supplied pump and are now sympathetic to the problem. What is even more perplexing is that there appears to be a well for a compact spare but the well wil not fit an inflated compact spare and I have found no one that has discoverd a blow-up spare that might fit.

This is a real problem for anyone in the SW and mid-west where it is not unusual to be an hour away from a garage that could tow you and then you would have to wait for a replacement tire to be delivered from a major city.

The 2 flats I have had in the past 5 years in my Mk I would not have been repairable by a pump. One was a bent rim from a pot-hole and the other was a tire slice from a piece of metal on the road. One was in the middle of Death Valley. It would have been at least 2 days to get the tire replaced or pay an obscene tow charge to Las Vegas where they had replacement tires.

Run-flats are not a solution for our area because they are typically only good for about 50 miles and few gas station garages have the special equipment required to remove them from a rim, assuming they have a replacement tire which is a bad assumption.

So I carry my own compact spare on any trip outside town. I looked into 2 options that have been proven to work on the Mk II.

The first is a compact spare that uses a VW 18" compact rim, part number 1k0 601 027 b0 3c which VW dealers have readily in stock for about $165 and can be bought online for about $115.

The tire is a Bridgestone T145/70R18 that Tire Rack sells for about $325 with tax and shipping.

This gives a tire diameter of 26" which compares well to the 25.7" to 26" of the various available tire combinations that Audi offered with the 09 to 13 model TT. My car has 245/40/18 which has a diameter of 25.7". I explored used auto parts dealers nationwide to see if I could get these cheaper but had no success. Once you add installation cost you are approaching $500.

What I wound up buying was an almost full size spare. Buy a cheap 16x7 wheel and the cheapest 205/60/R16 tire for about $200 installed. The diameter is 25.69". IMO you want the tire to be slightly smaller than your standard new tire to account for reduction of diameter due to tire wear. The advantage of this solution is that you can run this tire forever at normal freeway speeds (I wouldn't exceed the speed limit however) whereas the compact spare is only rated for about 50 mph for several hundred miles. The disadvantage is that the almost full spare wieghs more and is about 2.36" wider than the compact spare which uses up a litle more trunk space. However the almost full size spare's rim provides a nice space for storing smaller items if you are packing your car for a trip.

I had not heard of the R32 spare you mentioned. Is that an Audi spare? More information please? I have been unable to find any US tire dealer, VW dealer, or tire manufacturer that will sell you the spare tire rubber sizes you mentioned. You can try Volvo. The T115/85/18 was sold in Europe but I can't find it here. The most narrow tire I could find is the above mentioned Bridgestone. Make sure you get the "T" tire or you will wind up with a motorcycle tire that can not handle the load.

rabican

Thanks Vegas-roadster. I thought about a full size but I'm hoping to cut into the Styrofoam and hide the tire away; i highly doubt this mod will work with a full size wheel.

The VW R32 wheel I'm referencing is the space saver spare rim from a VW Golf MKV R32 (125/70 R18), I could have sworn this is what people were using.

I was using the following link to compare rpm's for each tire: http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...foTireMath.jsp

And here is a photo of the VW space saver installed.

Does anyone know if the volvo i mentioned T115/85 R18 will fit on the mk2 tt?

Thanks!!

rabican

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-OEM-Pi...item51a06b923e

Vegas-roadster

I believe the R43 rim only works for Mk I TTs. Again, finding the rim is easy but I could not find anyone who sold that specific size tire but the T145 size I mentioned works.

I did not see the photo in your post but I have seen a "how to" for installing the compact spare into the TT well on a UK site. However, it takes more then merely cutting the foam. There is not adequate space. Even the smaller diameter compact spare from my Mk 1 did not fit. Other parts and wires need to be re-routed according to that article, and the spare sits a little higher in the well so the OEM floor wil not lay flat over it. The article aded a thin plywood cover over everything to even things out. They used the T115 and it would not lay flat without the plywood. My T145 would bulge an additional inch.

Vegas-roadster

That Volvo rim is 5-108, the TT is 5-112

rabican

oops, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...pace-Saver.jpg

rabican

I wonder why people said it fits then...

RoadTTripper

I think I saw in a previous thread that the Volvo spare tire would fit the VW spare rim, but I did not see the old thread when I did a quick search.

I also do a lot of traveling on the east coast and cross my fingers every time I hit the road. A REAL solution would be great. Let Audi leave the spare out if they must, but let us order it if we don't care about the weight as much as the getting stranded part. You can always take the spare out if you are on the track or someplace where you worry about the extra few pounds.

rabican

I found this readme: http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewt...?f=19&t=145285