Spare tire rotation??

[PureCaboose]

Is the spare the same size as the other 4 tyres? If it is not, then technically it is not a valid spare tyre and you can be defected for it! Before everyone jumps in, IF you have a spare tyre in your vehicle, it MUST be suitable and legal for use. That means the same rolling diameter as the remaining tyres. It can be a different size, width, profile etc but it must be the same rolling diameter.

That aside, putting on a smaller tyre on one side of the axle will lead to the spider/sun gears rotating when they normally do not. This well lead to excessive wear and or heat in the differential. Not to mention the ESP and traction control will more than likely go spastic.

I always do a 5 tyre rotation, otherwise you end up with a massive difference on the spare tyre. Especially if you run mud tyres like we do on our Jeeps.

[chris0375]

Depends how much the difference is. If it's just the difference between worn and not worn I don't think it's going to matter short term.

I religiously did 5 tyre rotation at 5000km when I had my good mud tyres. I can't be bothered with oem wranglers.

Always made sense to me to buy 5 tyres and rotate. Assuming subsequent sets of tyres are a similar price the net cost per kilometre is the same.

Getting a flat isn't a big deal because you still have 4 matching tyres with very similar wear.

When it's time for new tyres I have the flexibility to shop around, change tread patterns etc and not be worried what will match an old spare size wise.

Aesthetically matching spare looks much better.

[MightyMouse]

Having two sets of wheels and tires ( Procomp muddies in summer, IROC's in winter ) ...... its pretty much random where they go back each time Not exactly a foolproof strategy but its better than nothing.

Also having run the same make of tire for a few sets I've got the tire pressures down pretty pat for my setup and don't see any noticeable front to rear wear difference - but it doesn't get driven around town very much so no roundabouts etc.

[Banshee]

Originally Posted by PureCaboose

That aside, putting on a smaller tyre on one side of the axle will lead to the spider/sun gears rotating when they normally do not.

I truely suspect this will only be the case if you only drive in perfectly straight lines. The difference in diameter of a slightly worn tyre & unworn spare will make a negligble difference to the spider gear rotation in day to day use.

[Charly]

Thanks guys. Yes my spare is the same wheel and tire size as the others only a little worn so think I will leave it on and from now on rotate all 5 tires more regularly.


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[Paul-JK]

As others have said, the difference in diameter from 17,000km of driving will be minimal and I doubt it's going to cause any issues. If you're that concerned put it on the front left and get it scrubbed down quicker.

I would also ways do a 5 tyre rotation for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, when I change tyres I will more than likely change brands and try something different so I'd want them all to be the same.

Secondly, tyre rubber degrades even if it's not used and is past it's best by the time is 5-6 years old (starts to go hard, doesn't have as much grip, aquaplanes a lot more, starts to crack,......). This is more noticeable on some tyres, less on others. I had MT ATZ 4-Rib on my JK and after 4 years the rubber hardened up and they were dangerous in the wet. They still had over 50% tread depth left, with some siping still visible but if the roads we wet I could not go around a roundabout regardless of how careful I was without the back end stepping out. The degradation will be even worse if the spare is on the tailgate (like on the JK) with no cover and in full sun all of the time. Unless you do lots of km per year, the chances are you'll only need new tyres once every 4 years or possibly longer, and there's a good chance your tyres were a few months (or even years) old by the time they were fitted to your car. That means that even though it's not been used, it could already need replacing anyway by the time your 4 road tyres need replacing. Might as well include it in your tyre rotation and get some use out of it.

[Nanook]

I've got uni-directional tyres which makes rotating difficult so I don't bother.