Is your 4x4's spare wheel's tyre the best or worst of your 5 tyres?

[4ePajero]

I have had this discussion with so many people but I seem to be a voice in the wilderness.

Note: This relates to your 4x4 only (the vehicle you take into wild secluded places. "Platkarre" and pavement crawlers are treated differently )

Is the tyre on the spare wheel to be the best or the worst of your tyres?

I saw this on the other forum:

The question was posed whether the side wall can be repaired or not.

After a discussion the original poster came to this conclusion:

Ill maybe take it round ti Hi-Q and see what they say. Ill only use it as a spare. Just feel bad about throwing away a brand new tyre

I can't agree with that.

If you drive with an intact spare, you can "afford" to have a puncture / blow-out, providing that the spare is a good tyre!

If you have fitted the spare, you CAN"T afford to have another puncture / blow-out, because there is nothing further to rely on!

If the fitted spare is a "dodgy" tyre, you place yourself at a risk, don't you?
If it is not good enough to serve as a road wheel, it surely isn't good enough to serve as a spare!


I believe in deciding on a brand and size of tyre for your vehicle, and then fit 5 new tyres.
Rotate the 4 on the road wheels, and replace when necessary.
The spare stays new and is returned to duty ASAP after serving as road wheel after a puncture.

Your thoughts?

[CATS]

I don't agree. My spare is ussualy the best of the four tyres that I take off my vehicle when replacement time comes, but definately the worst of all 5 tyres. I always replace four tyres together. The tyre to be used as the new spare is always still well within legal spec and without any flaws, but with limited thread left. I then remove the old spare and throw away. My reasoning is that :

1 - I always just need to buy 4 tyres and not 5,
2 - The tyre is still in good condition and should be able to take me at least say 5000km before the thread will be under legal, which hopefully should get me to a place where I can replace the damaged tyre.
3 - Tyres age over time and even if never run, will deteriorate over time due to the rubber compound. Thus using my method I always have a spare that is not 'too' old. If you always keep the original spare and only replace the other tyres the spare might look good when you want to use it one day, but could easily fail on the casing etc due to age.

OT!!! - By the way I still have my original spare that came with my 2001 Pajero 265/70/16 (I think) in my garage. It is now 10 years old but has never had a run and still has the 'bristles' on it. I took it off when I put the bigger profile tyres on and has just never used it. Free to a good home at own risk.

CATS

[tonton]

I agree with both!

You do not carry a dodgy spare ever. Not in a 4x4, and not in a platkar. If it is damaged, throw it away, or use it when you play in the local sandpit, and where you can make a plan if you have 2x failures.

I manage my four wheels, and always keep the best possible spare - but usually it will have less tread than those on the car. The integrity of the spare is always on standard, though.

An additional problem is of course if you carry a perfectly "new" spare for more than 5 years, that that wheel is more likely to blow-out if used than the others - so you have to manage your spare as well...

Anton

[HBannink]

I like to rotate my spare with my working tyres. When my tyres get to about the half way mark the spare gets taken off and put on to run out with the other three and a "new" spare is chosen at random. That way I don't have a very old tyre on the back that might just fail when I need it most. I have a bad habit of changing tyres before they reach the end of their life as I don't like to sukkel with unnecessary drama.

[tonton]

I like to rotate my spare with my working tyres. When my tyres get to about the half way mark the spare gets taken off and put on to run out with the other three and a "new" spare is chosen at random. That way I don't have a very old tyre on the back that might just fail when I need it most. I have a bad habit of changing tyres before they reach the end of their life as I don't like to sukkel with unnecessary drama.

Yes. Somehow MT or AT slicks just doesn't work...

Anton

[pierreandre]

One thing I've noticed with both car and bicycle tires: The older they get, the more puncture prone they are. Not just due to the amount of tread, but it looks like the rubber has less puncture resistance.

I've had three or four punctures on my old rear tires during the last few months, and none on the front tires. Thats driving only tar btw, no off road.

[pierreandre]

Henk's method of including the spare in the rotation and my car running on two new and two worn tires makes me wonder: Is it OK running in 4wd with different size tires? Is the size difference between a worn and a new tire significant enough to put strain on the LSD?

[tonton]

One thing I've noticed with both car and bicycle tires: The older they get, the more puncture prone they are. Not just due to the amount of tread, but it looks like the rubber has less puncture resistance.

I've had three or four punctures on my old rear tires during the last few months, and none on the front tires. Thats driving only tar btw, no off road.

Pierreandre,

My take on these points are as follows:

Firstly, rubber continues to vulcanise from manufacturing, and does get less resistant, therefore more susceptible for blow-outs (and other damage) after several years. Also - when you put on 2 new tyres, they usually go to the front - so the better (and more resistant) tyres are up front.

Secondly, on tar, you will often find that the front wheel crosses an object (nail or screw) that lies flat and therefore does not penetrate, but flips the object up, thereby increasing the likelyhood of a rear-wheel catching it at a bad angle that allows for a penetration.

Henk's method of including the spare in the rotation and my car running on two new and two worn tires makes me wonder: Is it OK running in 4wd with different size tires? Is the size difference between a worn and a new tire significant enough to put strain on the LSD?

Interesting question...

I will certainly not be using any difflock if I am forced to use different sized tyres.

Anton

Anton

[harras]

Guys - After being in this industry for 35years I can only say what I have advised to thousands of customers before. If you are not willing to drink and enjoy the wine that you are using for cooking dont cook with it. The same applies to your spare wheel, if you are not confident to use it and complete your journey safely with it do not use it as a spare. Maybe at the next GTG in Gauteng I can offer you some interesting facts from experience which will make you reconsider the advice with regards to tyre repairs and pressure.

[JohanV]

IMHO i dont mind if the spare wheel has had its share of traveled Km's.
but my personal preference is that the wheel shouldn't have any previous repairs plugs or noticeable weak spots.

The spare wheel, should something happens, is there to take me home or to a civilized place where i can do a decent repair or replacement of the injured tyre that my self repair kit cant fix or plug a hole.