Spare Tire decision

[MarcR]

I wanted to get some help/clarification on what people do with the spare tire under the truck for 1) Rotation and 2) Changing tires. My last car was a 2016 car and didn't come with spares nor did I have any on my previous cars.

1) For Rotations, do people swap in the spare tire into the 4 or just rotate the existing 4?

2) When changing out all tires after XX amount of miles due to tread wear, do they swap all 5 tires and throw the perfectly fine spare away?

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[OxygenMask]

There are many correct answers to this.
(Got my first car in 1977)
Me:
1.
If a full size spare with a matching wheel, 5 tire rotation is probably the best. I keep meaning to but never have...
If a full size spare without a matching wheel I do 4 tire rotation.
I do RF-RR LF-LR, but modern tires are ok to criss-cross unless they have directional tread.
2.
No way! I've gone through 4,5,6 sets of tires on many vehicles leaving the factory spare alone, it's not getting UV damage etc....just think of it as a temporary spare if it's beyond the industry recognized date code limit and you need to use it. Esp nowadays with stupid tire prices...

 

[OxygenMask]

I thought I'd add:
I'm 67. I've used my spare...4 times?....in easily a million miles of driving. Admittedly I've never owned junk cars with bald tires.

2 on the road failures (F150 under warranty, tires not covered by Ford, denied by Goodyear, it's why I'll never buy a Goodyear tire. Ever.)
And 2 due to HARDcore off-road damage subjecting my tires to SERious abuse.

I take my spare tire seriously. BUT, it's rarely an issue.

I've also never owned a car with no spare, although a few had cute compact motorcycle tire spares. Every one of my flats would NOT have gotten me home with a can of fix-a-flat. Word to the wise.

 

[Unit 91]

The stock spare is a steel wheel, so I doubt you're wanting to put that in the rotation.

 

[purdyd]

I am a 5 tire rotation guy. But that means you will need a matching rim and tire for spare.

‘and non of the rangers have matching spare rims. And all the spares are speed limited, likely because they aren’t balanced.

if you go anywhere where you might not have easy access to road side assistance, I would get a matching spare rim and tire.

The problem with not rotating the spare is that can get old and neglected. If it gets too old it is not safe. And roadside assistance may not install it for you,

 

[richman555]

I rotate my 4 tires as I have the black out package 18 inch wheels. Honestly, I haven't gotten a close look at my spare to even see what tire on it from factory.

I think the bigger question comes when I go to replace the OEM tires someday. Should I replace the spare and buy 5 tires?

 

[saxdogg]

To do 5 tire you'll need a matching wheel and a TPMS sensor too. Not a bad idea since it would force you to lower your carrier and grease it up a little when needed, but I've only ever done 4-tire rotates. If your spare is full-size it will work with any other set of tires in an emergency.

 

[OxygenMask]

The RR spare is a matching KO3 on a black steel wheel. Looks like 4 tire for me...

 

[srv256ss]

There are many correct answers to this.
(Got my first car in 1977)
Me:
1.
If a full size spare with a matching wheel, 5 tire rotation is probably the best. I keep meaning to but never have...
If a full size spare without a matching wheel I do 4 tire rotation.
I do RF-RR LF-LR, but modern tires are ok to criss-cross unless they have directional tread.
2.
No way! I've gone through 4,5,6 sets of tires on many vehicles leaving the factory spare alone, it's not getting UV damage etc....just think of it as a temporary spare if it's beyond the industry recognized date code limit and you need to use it. Esp nowadays with stupid tire prices...

Bought an extra wheel, sold the steel spare wheel. I do a 5 tire rotation. 25% longer life (time, not miles) from the tires versus leaving it under the bed until I need it.

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