Galaxy wheel nuts & tyres

[Daza101]

Hi guys,
A couple of months ago I purchased a 2013 Galaxy Titanium X from the local Ford dealership.

A few days ago I noticed a slight vibration when accelerating in 2nd gear around 1800 rpm so before booking it in at the garage I thought I'd check the tyre pressures and wheel nuts were tight. The tyre pressures were all ok but checking the wheel nuts wasn't quite as simple as I'd expected because my extendable wheel wrench, which has fitted every car I've owned in the last 20 years, doesn't fit the Galaxy nuts. I was surprised to discover the Galaxy doesn't come with a wrench or jack (as detailed in the owners manual)!

On previous cars I've owned - Fords, Vauxhalls, Subaru etc they have all had caps over the wheel nuts. The nuts/caps on the Galaxy are quite shiny so I assumed were actually caps but I haven't been able to remove them even with a special tool. I can only assume they are therefore not caps but shiny wheel nuts.
Measuring the locking wheel nut key and wheel nuts they looks to be 21mm. Could anybody tell me if this is standard on a 2013 Galaxy?

This is the first car I've owned without a spare wheel or jack and I'm a little concerned about solely relying on the inflation kit in case of a puncture. On average I probably get a puncture every year or two but I don't know if that's normal or not.
I've been looking around and came across the "Pirelli Cinturato All Season" tyres. As well as having the benefits of being an all season tyre they are also self sealing in the event of a puncture. They've only been around for about a year in the UK and there are limited reviews at the moment but those that I have found do sound quite good especially the self sealing aspect.
The "Pirelli Cinturato All Season" tyres do seem to be available in sizes to fit my Galaxy (225/50 ZR17 98W) but I wondered if anyone had any experience of them, ideally on a Galaxy?

Thanks

[Daza101]

I've just seen that Michelin & Continental also do self sealing tyres although haven't yet seen what sizes they cover. I'd be interested if anyone has any experience of self sealing tyres particularly on the Galaxy.

Thanks

[gregers]

 

cant help you with the info you need on the tyres,but i too didnt like the
fact that my smax didnt have a spare either,so i got hold of another wheel,and bought a jack etc.

[mike wilson]

There's a well known issue with Ford's wheel nuts.  They expand when tightened.  So you need a 21.5mm (or whatever the actual size is) spanner to fit them.

In reality, hammer something on to get them off and replace them.  I _think_ new stock does not have the problem.  They might even be a gratis item, like the rear badges were for a while.

I _think_ (again...) that all fords have come with inflation kits as standard for some time.  If you want even a spacesaver wheel, never mind a full one, you have to specify it at order.

[Daza101]

There's a well known issue with Ford's wheel nuts.  They expand when tightened.  So you need a 21.5mm (or whatever the actual size is) spanner to fit them.

In reality, hammer something on to get them off and replace them.  I _think_ new stock does not have the problem.  They might even be a gratis item, like the rear badges were for a while.

I _think_ (again...) that all fords have come with inflation kits as standard for some time.  If you want even a spacesaver wheel, never mind a full one, you have to specify it at order.

Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of the issue with the wheel nuts expanding. I'll mention it next time I'm at the dealers.

At the moment I'm considering switching to self sealing tyres when the current ones need replacing. I'm not sure I'll go down the route of getting a spare because it'll take up space in the boot. Someone did tell me there is a wheel well under the seats but it has the heater for the 3rd row of seats in it. I haven't had a chance to check so don't know if that's true or not.

[mike wilson]

Tubeless tyres are self-sealing -  compared to tubed and to a limited extent.  Manufacturers have chosen to go the no-spare route for two reasons.  Firstly, carrying less weight improves mpg, slightly.  Secondly, their data presumably suggest that punctures are not too much of a problem for most people.  Tubed tyres tend to not to deflate suddenly, as tubed ones do, because of their slight self-sealing attributes.

People who check their tyres regularly and are (I was going to say normally but perhaps not...) observant tend to pick up tyre problems before they become serious.  Blowouts are rare (more on that shortly) and you will probably be concerned with other things if that occurs.

The only place where blowouts may be wrongly uncredited is motorway accidents.  It seems to me that continuous high speed on poorly (if at all) maintained tyres would be a source of accidents but it is difficult to obtain data.  There does seem to be a large number of "unexplained" crossover/lane swapping accidents on motorways, though.  High speed tyre failure would seem to be a likely candidate for the cause of them.

If you really have a high number of punctures to deal with, have you tried any of the sealing gunks on the market?