I took down the full-size spare on my new-to-me 2013 LX and realized it's never been used before. The tire doesn't match the four on the other rims either. I'm assuming it's 8-9 years old - that's just garbage now, right?
Is this spare garbage?
- Thread starter blaise
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RET2
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Check the date code on the side.
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- #3
Thank you!
That’s likely original. Wouldn’t want to rely on it.
Markuson
SILVER Star
I don’t know its condition, but I can tell you that Discount Tire shops would refuse to balance or mount a tire that has been sitting & exposed for 8 years.
If youre not needing a larger spare, I’d look for some new take-offs for cheap and dump that one.
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- #6
I was wanting to go for new 17” rims. Now I have a good reason to buy the 5th rim & tire too.
RET2
SILVER Star
All you have to do is get a reliable tire place to do a 5 tire rotation consistently. This seems to be an issue for a lot of places. Wouldn't hurt to keep a diagram of the original rotation in the glove box.
So… I have an unused 2010 spare. So basically no one will even mount a new tire on it?
Markuson
SILVER Star
That’s not what I meant. Wheel is fine.
I was only referring to his old tire. They likely won’t service that tire. Mounting a newer tire on that wheel is perfectly fine. Unless a wheel is warped, cracked or bent, etc.…wheels are basically ageless (almost).
PS. I don’t know Discount Tire’s exact “rule” and I can’t speak for them. I just know that I’ve run by various tires that I kept too long over the years for mounting, and their way of deciding yes or no was to look at the year code. In one case, I felt the tire was ok, but the answer was essentially…”as soon as we mount that tire, we are legally *endorsing its road worthiness*…and we can’t do that beyond our age limit.”
That doesn’t mean that tire is gonna instantly fail.
It just means Discount Tires’ lawyers say it might. But in this kind of case, I actually tend to agree that its smart—especially when a better spare can be had for pocket change onCraigs list.
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This. Discount wouldn't replace the TPMS sensor on the original spare when it failed at the 10yr mark until I purchased/ brought in new tire. Age was the issue, not condition.
I wouldn't hesitate to use it temporarily as a spare, assuming the dimensions are similar to your other tires. That said it would be very short term, basically to get me to a tire shop the next day for replacement.
FWIW I do 5 tire rotations for this reason
FWIW I do 5 tire rotations for this reason
RET2
SILVER Star
Five tire rotations can be iffy if you don't use the same competent tire shop. Even then with labor turnover in these times it can go sideways. Suggest keeping a diagram of the previous rotation in the glove box.
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- #13
I might just do my own rotation & oil changes.
RET2
SILVER Star
Oil sure but since I switched to Discount I use them more to get the free balancing with a rotation.
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- #15
That makes sense.
I didn't realize you'd ever rebalance. I like Discount Tire locally, just Tire Rack has a better deal on tires & the rims I actually want.
I didn't realize you'd ever rebalance. I like Discount Tire locally, just Tire Rack has a better deal on tires & the rims I actually want.
Discount Tire will usually price match if they can get the same wheels and tires.
It is quite possibly fine to get you off the trail and home even if it is the original tire. I'd check for signs of dry rot, cracks in the sidewall at seams and around the raised lettering and base of the tread lugs. Sometimes these aren't apparent on a spare tire if it has not been used and when you actually mount it and drive on it, 10 years of age suddenly show up almost instantly. If you are considering keeping it I would mount it and put some miles on it and see how it looks.
The saving grace of the LX/LC spare tire location is the lack of UV exposure. My factory spare on my 2008 LX (This is back in 2018) actually looked much better and was showing far less signs of dry rot and cracking than the 3 year old Michelins that were actually in use. I put holes in the Michelins a couple times on the trails and used the spare multiple times, it still looked great with no real signs of age even after a few hundred miles of use. It was a decade old. That said when I replaced the Michelins with Falken Wildpeak AT3W's I replaced the spare as well.
Not advocating for keeping old tires around longer than their service life though. If you are going into remote areas or exploring solo I would be replacing my spare with the rest of the tires.
The saving grace of the LX/LC spare tire location is the lack of UV exposure. My factory spare on my 2008 LX (This is back in 2018) actually looked much better and was showing far less signs of dry rot and cracking than the 3 year old Michelins that were actually in use. I put holes in the Michelins a couple times on the trails and used the spare multiple times, it still looked great with no real signs of age even after a few hundred miles of use. It was a decade old. That said when I replaced the Michelins with Falken Wildpeak AT3W's I replaced the spare as well.
Not advocating for keeping old tires around longer than their service life though. If you are going into remote areas or exploring solo I would be replacing my spare with the rest of the tires.
Yeah. I typically rotate the tire with the most wear (least tread) to the spare.
Same issue here - I recently got a flat (catastrophic sidewall damage, on the street, at low speed) on my then new-to-me LC. Swapped on the spare, which turned out to be a similar model Dunlop Grandtrek (18" on my LC, vs. 20" on your LX), non-matching to the other 4 Michelins on the truck. It looks like it was probably the original spare, so late-2017 vintage, but it had apparently had never been used / rotated / whatever.
I have been running that Dunlop tire (started at new 10/32" tread depth) for ~3k miles now with no problems, opposite a new Michelin from Tire Rack on the rear axle. It looks rough cosmetically, but it works, and the other 3 Michelins are down to 5/32 - 6/32", so they're almost done. I will be buying a set of 4 new Michelins over the winter and trashing the 4+ year old Dunlop spare in favor of the Michelin I just bought. Apparently you need to buy and install a set of 4 to get Michelin's 55k mileage warranty to kick in. 5-wheel rotations from that point forward. Not quite an FIA Formula 1 bar code, but I use paint pen numbering on the inboard sidewall to help me keep track of which tire is which.
As an aside, I bought a cheap "new" Michelin off eBay as an insurance policy against another flat - forgot to ask the seller ahead of time, but the date code came out to like 2009 or so...that explains the cheap price and rough appearance. No dry rot, so I'll hang onto it for now, but another eBay lesson learned.
Helpful hint: while you're at it, check your bottle jack - mine looked new but needed some oil / TLC to get it to spin up and down freely.
I have been running that Dunlop tire (started at new 10/32" tread depth) for ~3k miles now with no problems, opposite a new Michelin from Tire Rack on the rear axle. It looks rough cosmetically, but it works, and the other 3 Michelins are down to 5/32 - 6/32", so they're almost done. I will be buying a set of 4 new Michelins over the winter and trashing the 4+ year old Dunlop spare in favor of the Michelin I just bought. Apparently you need to buy and install a set of 4 to get Michelin's 55k mileage warranty to kick in. 5-wheel rotations from that point forward. Not quite an FIA Formula 1 bar code, but I use paint pen numbering on the inboard sidewall to help me keep track of which tire is which.
As an aside, I bought a cheap "new" Michelin off eBay as an insurance policy against another flat - forgot to ask the seller ahead of time, but the date code came out to like 2009 or so...that explains the cheap price and rough appearance. No dry rot, so I'll hang onto it for now, but another eBay lesson learned.
Helpful hint: while you're at it, check your bottle jack - mine looked new but needed some oil / TLC to get it to spin up and down freely.
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- #20
New spare is here…
necessary expense of course
necessary expense of course
