SQOD Squad - Stupid Question Of the Day (9 Viewers)

[bloc]

With exception to rotating 5 tires I don’t see any major drawback to just keeping OE spare setup unless you’re real deep off grid. Think of it as a doughnut and meant to get you to a tire repair shop.

This goes against what the owners manual says, and is likely very unhealthy for our Torsen limited slip center differential, especially if that driving includes any freeway time.

 

[UPR LC]

This goes against what the owners manual says, and is likely very unhealthy for our Torsen limited slip center differential, especially if that driving includes any freeway time.

Agreed!

Best practice is to get a fifth matching wheel/tire.

Less hassle and less to worry about if you go on any long drives (road trips), why worry about finding a tire shop to fix / replace a tire within a few miles of a flat tire due to you not having a matching spare?

If you off-road, it is absolutely good practice to have a matching spare tire/wheel.

 

[lcjockey]

This goes against what the owners manual says, and is likely very unhealthy for our Torsen limited slip center differential, especially if that driving includes any freeway time.

I wasn’t suggesting it would be a long term solution but instead a means to get to a repair shop driving at moderate speeds. I can’t imagine an inch difference in sidewall height would have any impact for a few miles but of course if that’s what the owners manual states then by all means that’s what one should do.

 

[lcjockey]

Agreed!

Best practice is to get a fifth matching wheel/tire.

Less hassle and less to worry about if you go on any long drives (road trips), why worry about finding a tire shop to fix / replace a tire within a few miles of a flat tire due to you not having a matching spare?

If you off-road, it is absolutely good practice to have a matching spare tire/wheel.

What about a patch kit first then resort to the temp doughnut?

 

[gaijin]

What about a patch kit first then resort to the temp doughnut?

IMHO, a temp doughnut/space saving/different-sized spare is never a good idea for a LC200.

If cost is an overriding concern for a fifth matching tire as your spare, then research a different sized tire (usually narrower), that has the requisite Load Limit specs, on either your existing spare wheel or an inexpensive take-off wheel.

There is no problem using an 18" spare wheel with four 17" mounted wheels, as long as the overall diameter of all five wheel/tire combos are the same.

Of course, best practice is to have all 5 tires and wheels the same and do five-tire rotations.

HTH

 

[bloc]

There is no problem using an 18" spare wheel with four 17" mounted wheels, as long as the overall diameter of all five wheel/tire combos are the same.

This.

Once upon a time I had 285/70R17s on Rock Warriors and was looking at Aux tanks. Knowing the 13-gal options require lowering the spare tire somewhat, I was also looking into which tires I could run on a narrower Tundra wheel to reduce impact on ground clearance while keeping an acceptably similar diameter.

I had a lot of trouble finding a good option.. and IIRC the best fit was prohibitively expensive. It just made sense to get a fifth RW and identical tire to gain the benefits of 5-tire rotations.

I will say though.. our under-body spare tire mounting options do frequently damage the wheel from contact with the rubber bumpers. I'd absolutely take further precautions to space the wheel itself downward slightly if it was a wheel I cared about.

 

[lcjockey]

This.

Once upon a time I had 285/70R17s on Rock Warriors and was looking at Aux tanks. Knowing the 13-gal options require lowering the spare tire somewhat, I was also looking into which tires I could run on a narrower Tundra wheel to reduce impact on ground clearance while keeping an acceptably similar diameter.

I had a lot of trouble finding a good option.. and IIRC the best fit was prohibitively expensive. It just made sense to get a fifth RW and identical tire to gain the benefits of 5-tire rotations.

I will say though.. our under-body spare tire mounting options do frequently damage the wheel from contact with the rubber bumpers. I'd absolutely take further precautions to space the wheel itself downward slightly if it was a wheel I cared about.

This is my big hang up compared to driving a few miles to repair shop for not doing a 5th spare, damage to the wheel. I completely get the increased longevity of 5th wheel rotation, what that actually translates into not sure, but every rotation a wheel may get banged up underneath. Yes these trucks are meant for off-road but I still try to prevent unnecessary damage. So what options exist to protect spare underneath?

 

[bloc]

This is my big hang up compared to driving a few miles to repair shop for not doing a 5th spare, damage to the wheel. I completely get the increased longevity of 5th wheel rotation, what that actually translates into not sure, but every rotation a wheel may get banged up underneath. Yes these trucks are meant for off-road but I still try to prevent unnecessary damage. So what options exist to protect spare underneath?

The non-cosmetic side of the wheel being pointed down and the tire sidewall protruding a good bit further than that seems to prevent actual damage to the wheel. Other people get on harder trails than I do but while I have dragged the spare a number of times (though less than you'd think), I have yet to damage the tire or wheel in those situations. The damage I was referring to was from IMO poor design of the rubber isolators on the spare tire crossmember.. and this damage is going to happen with any movement of the vehicle. Meaning more of it is done on-road than off, given the reality of how most of us use our 200s.

5-tire rotations have an advantage beyond extending the useful life of the tire set by 20%. If you're halfway through your tread life and get a flat that can't be repaired, you still have four tires with even treadwear that you can use for the rest of their life. Instead of sticking a tire in that has full-depth tread, which will be the odd one out, and when you replace the others, will already be half worn. In the event of an unrepairable flat, replace the damaged tire with a new one, keep that wheel and tire in the spare location, and drop it into the rotation when you wear out the other four.