Re: Last tire question, I promise

Should I buy 4 and keep my existing spare (which is still in great condition), or get 5 and use the 5th as a spare?

Hank

All 5 tires should be the same diameter. If your current tires are the same diameter as the tires you are buying, then you can use the best existing tire as a spare.

As in physical measurement or as is 235/75R15? (I think this was visited in a different post where two tires that have the same #'s can have two different diameters)

Hank

I like having a matching spare which is part of the normal tire rotation pattern, simply because if you do manage to destroy a tire you will still have 4 matching tires. If you only replace them in sets of 4, and something happens to ruin a tire, you will inevitably end up with a mismatched tire. If none of your new tires die an early death, the worst case scenario is that you get 20% longer wear out of the set as a whole.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

Physical size the same is needed for a 'spare' only if you have a locker front and rear.

I don't have a locker so I can use a 31x10.5 as a spare for my 33" tires.

If you just have a locker or limited slip in the rear, then you need to use the smaller spare on the front only which means 2 tire changes if a rear goes flat. One front one to the back, the spare to the front.

Our Cherokee even came with a small 'silly spare'. I learned real fast to bring a full sized spare for that though, the silly spare just don't cut it off road.

Mike

With a limited slip the tire with the least amount of grip spins and the one with the best grip doesn't get any power, correct?

As a physical measurement.

It is OK that the tires have a different diameter if they are the same size to begin with. For example, I have worn tires on the ground and a brand new tire on the rack. This is OK because they are all the same size. What I was referring to earlier was that you don't want a 30" tire on the rack and 32" tires on the ground, or that sort of thing.

That is your stock open diff.

A limited slip has clutch packs inside so it is easier to get both tires spinning.

Mike

Ok.

So it's just easier to buy 5, and give the three that are good to someone who can use them.

:-)

Thanks yet again.

Hank

That trick has saved me from being on the receiving end of a strap a few times.

Mike

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