Thoughts on a smaller spare tire?

[FD72]

I’m going to be putting 275 70 18 BF Goodrich KO2’s on my JL Sahara..... I was considering just going with a 255 or 265 for the spare to reduce weight on the tailgate and avoid clearance issues with the bumper. Any thoughts? Anyone out there doing something similar?

Sponsored

 

[Carlton]

1. Tires should be the same size on a solid axles vehicle.

2. I think running a smaller spare is one of the most tacky things people do to their jeeps. Major pet peeve.

 

[TRZ]

I plan on doing this, running 315/70/17s with a 295/70/17 as a spare tire. With the Sahara you’ll want to try to not use 4hi with mismatched tires. And you won’t be able to use a 5 wheel rotation strategy.

I personally want a narrow spare due to the ledges I’ll be traversing (want to minimize the possibility of catching my spare coming off a ledge) and to be nice to the spare tire carrier. I’m also not too concerned about not being able to do 5 tire rotations.

 

[UKCATS]

If you ever have to use the smaller spare, it will make your stability control and other electronic nannies, very unhappy.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Incorrect diameter tires turn at different speeds. For a Rubi that is staying in 2wd to get from the side of the road to a tire shop, it could work. Not ideal by any means and I specify a Rubi because it doesn’t have a limited slip but is open until the locker is engaged. For someone that has a limited slip if you had a flat on the rear, you could put a front matching tire on the rear and the spare on the front. This creates a significant amount of additional work but would work.

Easiest is to have matching tires.

Brett

 

[ChrispyJL]

There will be no issue with tailgate, or bumper clearance.

That is a 33.2x10.8 tire, nowhere near heavy enough to damage tailgate.

Please get a matching spare.

There is a reason it came with 5 matching tires, most of them have been pointed out above.

 

[four low]

The rolling diameter must match, but the width can differ. For a spare, a tall skinny tire that matches your diameter would work. You could save a lot of weight, and not have so much overhang to catch on a ledge with a tire and wheel that will get you home .

 

[blnewt]

I mount my OEM granny tires (245/75/17s) for our long drives over 1k miles round trip w/ matching spare. I keep it covered and still keep it back there when running our 295/70/17s, it will suffice for a limp to a tire shop or back home. It's not an ideal situation but for the way I run my tires it works for me, and I really don't want to lift that big extra tire/wheel on and off to do our switches.

And w/ the cover on it looks pretty decent, but I do get the solid reasoning for running all 5 the same (and understand your disdain ChrispyJL )

 

[FD72]

Thanks for all the advise. Since there isn’t any clearance issues with the 275 70 18 and the stock bumper I will definitely do a matching spare tire.

 

[FD72]

I’m going to be putting 275 70 18 BF Goodrich KO2’s on my JL Sahara..... I was considering just going with a 255 or 265 for the spare to reduce weight on the tailgate and avoid clearance issues with the bumper. Any thoughts? Anyone out there doing something similar?

Everything fit just fine including the spare! Thanks for all the advice.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

I plan on doing this, running 315/70/17s with a 295/70/17 as a spare tire. With the Sahara you’ll want to try to not use 4hi with mismatched tires. And you won’t be able to use a 5 wheel rotation strategy.

I personally want a narrow spare due to the ledges I’ll be traversing (want to minimize the possibility of catching my spare coming off a ledge) and to be nice to the spare tire carrier. I’m also not too concerned about not being able to do 5 tire rotations.

You’re going to run a different size spare to save 3/4 of an inch?

 

[TRZ]

You’re going to run a different size spare to save 3/4 of an inch?

If I go with Milestar Patagonias, I'd be saving just under an inch as 295s are 11.8 and 315s are 12.7. A 295 is also sure to fit as a spare without a relocation bracket. But you make a good point, 1 inch may not be worth it. While all my driving experience has been in lifted Grand Cherokees that didn't have spare tires on the bumper, I've seen plenty of Wranglers hit their spare tires on the shelves and steep climbs in Moab.

 

[COSJL]

If you get a flat while offroad and need to use 4wd, non-matching spare is a bad idea. For on on road use, you can put the slightly smaller spare in the front in 2hi, air it up to max and should be fine for getting to a shop. Keep in mind that a matching spare that is never rotated in will also have a different diameter than the other in-use tires - upto an inch difference in case of some mud tires once they get close to 2/32.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

If I go with Milestar Patagonias, I'd be saving just under an inch as 295s are 11.8 and 315s are 12.7. A 295 is also sure to fit as a spare without a relocation bracket. But you make a good point, 1 inch may not be worth it. While all my driving experience has been in lifted Grand Cherokees that didn't have spare tires on the bumper, I've seen plenty of Wranglers hit their spare tires on the shelves and steep climbs in Moab.

I’d get a hitch stinger before I got a different sized spare.

 

[FD72]

Went with a matching spare... the 275 70 18 KO2 fit in there nicely

Sponsored