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Old 04-30-2020, 09:16 AM   #1
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Using non-rotated spare tire long term?

Question, I have about 16k miles on 4 of my tires and 0 miles on my spare. While, I have rotated my tires a couple of times, I never had the spare rotated in. I ran over a ratchet tie down strap on the highway and took a chunk out of one of my front tires. The tire still holds air, but probably not the best thing to be driving around on. Is there anything I should be concerned about if I swap in my spare tire and use it long term since it has more tread depth, and therefore is slightly larger, than the other 3 still operational tires?

The original reason for not rotating the spare in was due to the fact that I only put about 5k miles a year on the van so when the time comes I will be replacing the tires most likely due to age not miles driven on them. Therefore, my thinking was that since I am not trying to squeeze every last mile out of the tires, rotating the spare in wasn't really of importance.

Soooo, what's the verdict, should I be concerned, or am I good to swap in the non-rotated spare?

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Old 04-30-2020, 09:28 AM   #2
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Should be fine as long as you don't have a mechanical locker or limited slip, if you want to place it on the drive axle. With an open diff, it won't be a problem.
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Old 04-30-2020, 10:34 AM   #3
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carringb, are you saying that a running a unused/unworn spare with a worn tire of the same size on a limited slip axle will damage the gears because of the sized difference of worn vs unworn?

I wouldn't have thought that size difference would be enough to do damage.
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Old 04-30-2020, 10:46 AM   #4
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carringb, are you saying that a running a unused/unworn spare with a worn tire of the same size on a limited slip axle will damage the gears because of the sized difference of worn vs unworn?

I wouldn't have thought that size difference would be enough to do damage.
Any difference in rolling diameter can slip the clutches. The more torque being applied, or the greater the diameter difference, the more heat the clutches will make.

It's probably the #1 killer of LSD clutches, since even driving off-road doesn't rely on the clutches continuously, unless you're doing some all-weekend mudding.

The work round is to only place different sized tire on the non-driving axle (and if 4x4, keeps the hubs unlocked).
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Old 04-30-2020, 11:09 AM   #5
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OK so with that said, lucky for me that it was a damaged front tire that needs to be replaced since my front diff is open, and the majority of the time I am driving around with unlocked hubs anyway. Unlucky for me is that from now on I will have to rotate my tires in a strange way. The replacement tire effectively can never be put in the rear position due to the fact that my rear diff is an LSD. Is that correct?
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Old 04-30-2020, 11:33 AM   #6
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I would avoid putting the new one on the rear, at least until it's worn down to match the one you're taking off. Once that happens, you should can then put that tire back into service on the rear with replacement.
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Old 04-30-2020, 01:07 PM   #7
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Obviously I/we haven't seen the "chunk" that was taken from the tire, so can only speculate is wouldn't be considered "safe" as a spare either.
Consider purchasing just ONE new tire for the front, and mount your unused spare on the other front. Then use the good used tire as your spare ???
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Old 04-30-2020, 01:43 PM   #8
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Ooohhh I like that idea! Yes, the "chunked" tire will be junked. Then the 2 fronts (new tire and previously unused spare) would wear at the same rate and I could use a normal rotation method as they would always be paired up. Also, depending on where the tire pairings are placed at a given point in time, the "used" tire that I make my spare could be used for a back tire or front tire failure.

This could be a PITA to keep track of which tires are which, so no matter what I do, lesson learned. I will start rotating in my 5th tire, not for mileage, but to avoid this issue in the future!
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Old 04-30-2020, 02:17 PM   #9
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....This could be a PITA to keep track of which tires are which, so no matter what I do, lesson learned. I will start rotating in my 5th tire, not for mileage, but to avoid this issue in the future!
Back in the early 90's we began using a local repair shop for our Vehicles - small outfit, owner was an older German immigrant that was heavily involved with every vehicle that came in - they had a fantastic reputation.

Had them put new tires on our Bronco, and when I picked up the truck he pointed out he put new metal valve stem caps on, and not to mix them up.
He had inscribed a number on the top of each - 1 through 5 (I had a rear tire carrier for my spare). That was his system to keep track of rotation...from their location he could tell where they had been, and where they should go next. I'm sure you could easily come up with something similar.
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Old 05-07-2020, 11:04 AM   #10
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I don’t think you mentioned the age of the tires.

So also always consider tire age and the vehicle’s roll over hazard. I’ve read a lot about this.
I mean it is said that many companies won’t use tires over 6 years old on their vehicles and definitely don’t use tires over 10 years old, many tire stores won’t even rotate such old tires on a vehicle it is said in general.
The dot number on the tire tells the year made.

Simply because tires, like rubber bands, dry out and then can suddenly completely fail.
The sun speeds this up, so the amount of sun exposure plays a role.
Of course if a tire blows out, it might do some damage at highway speeds to the fender liner or mud flap, if a large flap of tire rubber whips around.

But the main concern and scare is certainly if the vehicle has a high center of gravity, a vehicle that can roll over at highway speeds in a complete tire failure event.
The extended vans are more prone to roll over or vans that have been lifted.
Also some of our vans are so heavy that the tires are being used close to their max load weight rating.
Of course the proper air pressure is so importantly needed so the tire can stand tall against the vehicle weight or the side walls will flex and overheat and fail no matter how nee the tire is....

I think tire shine dressing applied twice a year may help slow aging some as well as covering tires that seasonally sit, like on a trailer and also not long term parking the tire on dirt, as dirt can speed up drying aging, park on a plank of wood or other dirt barrier for that boat trailer tires.

Take care
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