My tyre which was a 160/65 was flat with a slow puncture. My dad swapped it for a 170/65 tyre which was my spare one. He says this is fine because the 160/170 bit is just the width of the tyre. However my mum‘s boyfriend told me he shouldn‘t have put it on because my car will be lopsided. Who is right? I only plan to have this car a few more months before I buy a new one which is why I don‘t want to buy new tyres.
Think about this for a moment. If you have to modify the car to get the wheels to fit, is it really a good idea to put them on?
You can go to your favorite auto supply and get extensions for your shocks. That's the easiest and least expensive solution. Sorry, I misread your question. Once you've properly adjusted your suspension, as described below, then you can use shock extensions to maintain the proper shock travel.
get the flat repaired put it on the car put the spare away(a spare is handy to have) problem solved
Firstly, you should never run two different size-marked tyres on the same axle - it doesn't matter if the rolling size is the same or not. At the most basic level it is an MOT failure, and an offence that could warrant a fine if stopped by the police. With regards to the physical size, the 165/175 bit is indeed the width of the tyre, but the crux of whether the vehicle will be lopsided rests on the profile of the tyre (the double-figured number following the 165/175) and the rim size. The profile is the height of the sidewall expressed as a percentage of the width of the tyre - so a 165/70x13 is a different height to a 175/70x13, for instance. The last two digits are the rim size - is your spare the same size rim? And is it the same style of rim (ie is it a steel when the other wheels are alloy?). You need to change/repair your correct-size flat tyre as soon as possible.
