Newbie question here... Should my spare be the same expensive wheel and tire as the rest?

[sass JT]

I personally didn’t want to spend a lot on my 5th tire. I have 37’s with beadlock capable wheels. I found a “used” new spare a guy had on his JkU for 4 years, never used, and sold it to me for $100 bucks. I did get it to fit in the stock location on the steel spare.
I have tried twice with 2 different jku’s doing a five tire matching set… even though I made instructions at the “merchant” that I bought them from they never wanted to do a 5 tire rotation or to even do it right to put it into the mix… and nobody would write it down in notes to make sure it was done correctly… I gave up on the idea.

Anyways, I won’t be using my spare much longer… switching to the fordys here hopefully by summer.

good luck sir

Sponsored

 

[Mball488]

Here is my theory. Lessons learned from my youth mostly. Don't be that guy (or girl) that takes the spare off to have that "look" on a Wrangler. I did that as a teenager and quickly became "that guy" that didn't have a spare tire when one of my valve stems broke off. ALWAYS KEEP THE SPARE ON!. With that being said I believe with a Wrangler a matching tire is critical, the wheel should match but that's strictly opinion (if they are the same width). For my JT I personally don't care about the spare wheel as much as I do the tire. I don't do a 5 tire rotation, just a 4. I also think that if you replace your spare wheel with either a factory match or an after market you take the chance of it not being steel and rock kick-ups or chips are bound to happen. I think we can all agree that seeing a wrangler with over sized tires and a stock 30 inch spare is the most ridiculous thing ever! (besides angry grille <--- Sorry, not sorry).

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'll summarize my thinking on it this way - points I've learned over the years of driving (50 years driving)

Shops that are legit and care about their work, etc. - will refuse to do anything with a tire over 7 years old. So if you keep the vehicle and end up with a spare 7 years or older - personally, I'd not trust it, and GOOD shops won't touch it. Tires age, even when not exposed to the sun.

It's been mentioned that the 5 tire rotation is a "hassle" or "extra work". Really? The extra effort of taking that spare down is more than offset by the fact that you only have to raise ONE CORNER at a time when rotating your tires. Drop the spare, put it on the right rear corner, etc. etc. - one wheel, one corner at a time, then the last tire rotates back to the spare. Otherwise, with 4 tire, you have to pull two wheels at a time, raise two wheels at a time. Just as much work as taking a spare down and putting it back up.
Further - have you ever tired to access a spare that's not been down for say 2 or 3 years? Yeah, that mechanism can rust, get stuck, bind, whatever - I've seen guys have to cut their spare down to use it. 5 tire rotation means your are exercising and using that lift system every time you rotate the tires. You are inspecting your spare at every rotation and making sure it holds air. That's the other thing - leave that spare untouched and unless you can remember to check it before every trip and put air in it as needed - your luck you get in the middle of KS with nothing for miles and have a flat and that spare - has a whopping 10 psi in it (if lucky)
So the 5 tire rotation keeps that spare lift exercised and ensures that spare is always ready each time you rotate.

Yes, the initial purchase of 5 tires is a bit more expensive - but it's no more expensive in the long run because you put off buying that next set - so over say 15 years you aren't really spending any more at all. You spread out tire purchases. There's a GREAT youtube video showing how the 5 tire rotation works.

Most tire resellers and shops advocate the 5 tire rotation. Jeep owner manuals (other than the Gladiator), for example, Grand Cherokee, etc. say if you have a matching spare, rotate it in.

I've twice had to deal with tires that were damaged 1" or closer to the edge of the tread. A LEGIT honest shop won't repair a tire damaged near the sidewall. I was able to talk one shop into fixing a tire with about 10,000 miles on it that was damaged just under 1" away from the sidewall by promising to put the spare in her Jeep and put the repaired tire in the back as a spare. Otherwise, we'd have been having to buy one new tire - IF we had been able to find one that matched. If the vehicle had say 25-30,000 miles then we'd have had one new tire and 3 more than half worn tires on the Jeep.

Frankly, I can't think of any reason against the 5 tire setup - other than
"it's more money" - ONLY up front! Not in the long run. Look at the math and the videos explaining that.
"It's more work" - no, not really, because you only have to lift one corner, and it's really fast to do one corner at a time as opposed to lifting 2 wheels. The work to swap the spare out and in is offset (plus you keep that spare lift system working and freed up and always know the status of the spare)

Over the life if the truck if you plan on keeping it over 40-50,000 miles, 5 tires isn't really more expensive, other than the cost of the WHEEL initially. The tires even out with time.

 

[sharpsicle]

IThe extra effort of taking that spare down is more than offset by the fact that you only have to raise ONE CORNER at a time when rotating your tires. Drop the spare, put it on the right rear corner, etc. etc. - one wheel, one corner at a time, then the last tire rotates back to the spare. Otherwise, with 4 tire, you have to pull two wheels at a time, raise two wheels at a time. Just as much work as taking a spare down and putting it back up.

This right here is the only reason I'd ever consider a 5 tire rotation on the JT. Outside this, it really isn't worth it.

....But even then, you can still do this rotation "trick" with the factory spare, so meh....

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This right here is the only reason I'd ever consider a 5 tire rotation on the JT. Outside this, it really isn't worth it.

....But even then, you can still do this rotation "trick" with the factory spare, so meh....

Hmm, if you drop the factory spare down then what's the difference? That fully negates the "not worth it" as I see it. You are still dropping it and putting it back up.. But then that's a GOOD thing as you inspect and air it up, and keep that lift system working and rust free and not stuck when you need it most.

I see a lot of "it's not worth it" but no one really gives a reason "it's not worth it".

Can someone please explain - I can see if the wheel is a $300 wheel or the tires are 400 each (but then over time the cost of tires is IDENTICAL!) Only the extra wheel is an extra expense.

 

[sharpsicle]

Hmm, if you drop the factory spare down then what's the difference? That fully negates the "not worth it" as I see it. You are still dropping it and putting it back up.. But then that's a GOOD thing as you inspect and air it up, and keep that lift system working and rust free and not stuck when you need it most.

I see a lot of "it's not worth it" but no one really gives a reason "it's not worth it".

Can someone please explain - I can see if the wheel is a $300 wheel or the tires are 400 each (but then over time the cost of tires is IDENTICAL!) Only the extra wheel is an extra expense.

An opinion is really all any of this is. It's fine to do it, it's fine not to do it. In the end we have to split hairs to try and find which is a "loss" which usually means it doesn't matter. That leaves it up to the owner. If I had a JL, I would match. But the JT, no. And there's no straight-forward evidence that shows this is causing any kind of loss or problem.

 

[Troybilt]

I just went through this. I needed a spare tire and I am running 38's. They do not recommend running a 38 on a 8" rim witch is what the factory spare is. I ended up getting a matching rim. Discount tire gave me a good deal on it so that helped ease the pain a bit.

Now I have decided to go with a set of Icon Rebound Pros. @$379 a pop I will not be getting the 5th I will just stick with the new spare i have for emergency's.

 

[1996XJ]

I just went through this. I needed a spare tire and I am running 38's. They do not recommend running a 38 on a 8" rim witch is what the factory spare is. I ended up getting a matching rim. Discount tire gave me a good deal on it so that helped ease the pain a bit.

Now I have decided to go with a set of Icon Rebound Pros. @$379 a pop I will not be getting the 5th I will just stick with the new spare i have for emergency's.

I hear you on the price ! A nice set of wheels and tires is going to take a huge chunk out of the money I saved going with Gupton to buy the Jeep. But its better to have saved a huge chunk of money to begin with don't get me wrong.

 

[ThatStinging_Jeep]

So if your budget allows for a full size matching spare,or you rotate all 5 tires and if your a long distance overlander were you absolutely need a spare then go for it,or your that guy thats on budget buy a Steelie that matches the width of the rest of your wheels and your set,of you can go with your stock wheel and bam your set :D

 

[kevman65]

A thought to keep in mind.

You don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do to your JEEP.

As for the same size same wheel and tire spare. There are good arguments both ways. It's a decision YOU have to make. I run a 5 wheel rotation, so I have a matching spare. You can limp home on an undersized spare. Just remember to keep the undersized on the rear and not up front. Means you might have to move a good tire to the front and put the undersized on the rear.

 

[DesertDog]

Does anyone have a 2021 Rubicon wheel that they would like to sell?

 

[WXman]

Like ShadowsPapa said, there's a lot of threads on this.

Just to recap, the reason pickup trucks come with steel wheels for spares and SUVs like the Wrangler come with a matching alloy wheel is two fold:

1. The spare on a pickup is stored under the vehicle where it's subjected to mud, water, road salt, sand, gravel, debris, etc. etc. An alloy wheel will get trashed in that environment unless it's rotated out every oil change, and 99% of people don't ever touch that spare until they need it.

2. The connection on the end of the winch that slides into the hub of the spare and then holds it as you reel the spare tire up and into position can mar the finish of the wheel. An alloy typically has a clearcoat finish, and this will get scratched and then corrode. A steel wheel is painted and can withstand the mounting hook, and even if it does get scratched a spray paint can fixes it in seconds.

So if you do spend $$$ on a matching spare wheel, be sure you DO rotate it out every oil change.

 

[DesertDog]

For what it’s worth. …I’m looking for a Gladiator wheel so I’ll have 5 and then put them on my wife’s Wrangler Rubicon.

 

[XraytecH]

No but it would be nice to have the same wheel and tire specs.

 

[John in the Woods]

I see a lot of "it's not worth it" but no one really gives a reason "it's not worth it".

I know this is an old thread, but I have to say that’s a great video. Thanks. I just did a wheel and tire swap, and went with 5. I plan to still carry the 5th wheel under the bed (pretty side up) and do this rotation.

And now I really want some M&Ms.

Sponsored