Does tread life matter when putting on a spare tire?

[chriscosta416]

Hi all, need to change out one of tires on my LX due to a sidewall puncture, I have a full size spare, same model/brand and size just brand new vs the other 3 tires on the truck.

What is the acceptable tread life difference for the new tire vs the used ones?

 

[Heritage 2020]

Depends.

Spare tire for some is for emergencies—to get you to safety. 3/32 (fully inflated to recommended specs) is as low as I’d go if I just needed to get from point A to B.

If that is the case, and the tire is under your truck—you could have a worn tire (that matches the tire size of your setup).

I can’t mount a tire under my LC due to the LRA tank and HATE under vehicle mounted spares as they are a PITA to change.

Personally I prefer a rear tire carrier as the under the vehicle is too much of a pain.

For some, the spare is part of a 5 tire rotation.

Note: My spare is mounted on my Slee bumper carrier and is used as part of a5 tire rotation.

There is no consensus. Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[chriscosta416]

Removed first few sentences.

Tires probably have 10k miles purchased this year so I’m not too concerned but would be nice to know for the future if there’s tread depth difference to replace em all

 

[Heritage 2020]

To add, I’m off the trails and home, however my sidewalldamage (I guess I shouldn’t say puncture) is revealing the steel cords of the tire and I plan to put the spare on and replace the damaged tire, but should be worried about buying a whole new set?

Tires probably have 10k miles purchased this year so I’m not too concerned but would be nice to know for the future if there’s tread depth difference to replace em all

I replace my All Terrain tires at 8/32, but that is just my subjective opinion.

Steel cords is very bad, and is a safety issue.

No if it were me.

I would NEVER do that, using what you are posting—but you have to measure your personal risk tolerance.

That is my humble recommendation.

 

[chriscosta416]

Steel cords is bad, and is a safety issue. No if it were me.

I would NEVER do that, using what you are posting—but you have to measure your personal risk tolerance.

That is my humble recommendation.

yes, I’m aware. Hence me swapping it, but my question is for the future and for the new replacement I pick up tomorrow should I be concerned about tread depth for the 4wd system?

 

[Heritage 2020]

yes, I’m aware. Hence me swapping it, but my question is for the future and for the new replacement I pick up tomorrow should I be concerned about tread depth for the 4wd system?

Yes. Full time 4wd.

For the 4wd system—make sure all 4 tires have the same pressure and tread wear.

My recommendation is to buy 5 tires (and a 5th matching spare).

Get a 4 wheel alignment to ensure that everything is dialed in optimally.

Rotate the tires every 5k miles using a 5 tire rotation.

Check tire pressures every month and inspect the inner/outer tread regularly for wear.

Replace at 8/32 if All Terrain, but BARE MINIMUM of 4/32 (my subjective recommendation regardless of type of tire).

Note: my apologies for the back and forth, but you can pm me if you have questions as I don’t mind assisting.

 

[paulunm]

You can have your spare shaved down to match the rest. Seems like a better option that buying 5 new ones to me.

Put a new (or used/old take off) of the same brand and size in the spare location.

 

[TeCKis300]

Hi all, need to change out one of tires on my LX due to a sidewall puncture, I have a full size spare, same model/brand and size just brand new vs the other 3 tires on the truck.

What is the acceptable tread life difference for the new tire vs the used ones?

If same size and same tire, there's no appreciable concern to the drivetrain in regards to tread wear.

 

[Sandroad]

If the 3 tires remaining on the truck have 10k miles on them, you should be fine just putting the new matching spare in the 4th place and rolling on. If it were many more miles, there might be too much circumference difference. You can read tech articles about acceptable differences in tire circumference on full time 4WD vehicles at the Tire Rack.

However, I see it’s a 2011. If it’s the original spare it would be too old to be safe.

 

[chriscosta416]

I bought it along with the other 4

Easy peasy, thanks everyone for your advice!

The stock jack is suitable for 32 inch tires and a slight sensor lift.


Quick and easy, I don’t mind the spare being under the truck.


New tire on

 

[bloc]

Our Torsen center diff makes it important not to run tires front/rear with a difference in size that would strain the limited slip aspects of it. How much of a size difference? The manual doesn't say. You'll often read 5% online, not sure where they get this number other than repeating it.

But here's what the manual does say

"Do not mix tires of different makes, models, or tread patterns. Also, do not mix tires of remarkably different treadwear." There are other lines about type of tire, factory size, etc.

The question becomes what qualifies as "remarkably different treadwear"

Defender LTXs have a 70k mile treadwear warranty.. meaning you can assume they'll go even further. IMO 10k is insignificant if it is even, healthy wear.

 

[aptos]

I just replaced 1 tire due to a puncture and had Tire Rack shave down the new tire to the same tread depth as the others. It has worked great and shaving cost about $25. I had read that the max allowable difference was 2/32 and wasn’t quite ready to purchase a whole new set

 

[TeCKis300]

Our Torsen center diff makes it important not to run tires front/rear with a difference in size that would strain the limited slip aspects of it. How much of a size difference? The manual doesn't say. You'll often read 5% online, not sure where they get this number other than repeating it.

But here's what the manual does say

"Do not mix tires of different makes, models, or tread patterns. Also, do not mix tires of remarkably different treadwear." There are other lines about type of tire, factory size, etc.

The question becomes what qualifies as "remarkably different treadwear"

Defender LTXs have a 70k mile treadwear warranty.. meaning you can assume they'll go even further. IMO 10k is insignificant if it is even, healthy wear.

At the risk of adding complexity, there may be multiple reason for these types of recommendations.

From the perspective of driveline robustness, heat, and durability, the 200-series has tractor levels of robustness so it probably can handle more rotational difference than most. Even though torsion as it's input is further the average of two tires. Heat is often correlated to speed so that's a factor.

I suspect much of the manual cautions are more due to stability control. The systems assumes some measure of balanced traction with the same tires in varied conditions. With different makes, models, treads, that adds an element of unpredictability. Tread wear in extremes similarly can create differences.

 

[bloc]

I suspect much of the manual cautions are more due to stability control. The systems assumes some measure of balanced traction with the same tires in varied conditions.

I agree. But it’s the only thing in the manual about the topic, and somewhere there is a limit to how much speed difference there can be between the front and rear driveline without damaging things.

IMHO the tread wear difference of one road-oriented tire is nowhere near that threshold. Probably also safe for stability control… or at least I’d have no problem running it like that.

 

[stonepa]

Hi all, need to change out one of tires on my LX due to a sidewall puncture, I have a full size spare, same model/brand and size just brand new vs the other 3 tires on the truck.

What is the acceptable tread life difference for the new tire vs the used ones?

If you are asking whether it can damage your vehicle by using a basically new spare tire with full tread depth on a LC with 3 other tires that have some tread wear, I would say no. Go for it. Some AWD center diffs, like Subaru, require all 4 tires to have similar diameters/tread depth, but nothing would indicate that requirement for a LC.

 

[TimCFJ40]

10k miles difference on a Defender LTX probably is barely measurable wear. I try and rotate my tires every 5k in a 5 tire rotation, but sometimes I go 10k between rotations, and it's fine. Put on the spare, buy another one to replace the bad one and carry on. I'd probably put the new tire on the ground also and rotate one of the used ones to the spare position and carry on.