Running a smaller size spare?

I have a 32" spare on the driver side back of my truck right now because someone knifed a hole into my 33. Is it okay to run like this for a while or should I fix immediately with a new tire?

Thanks

 

Depends on just how your truck get used .

Like how many miles you drive in a day .

The more difference in size the worse it is going to handle

The small spares were a weight saving measure to get to the nearest place

 

I wouldn't see a problem with it.unless you're gonna roll with it for a while.. over time it might make your tread wear a tiny bit differently on your other tires if anything. I would just air that sucker up a little more than your others to maybe help even it out a hair. I switched to 33's from 32's and just had a Mexican owned tire shop slap my old 32 on the spare with no balancing or anything. No reason to buy a whole new 33 just for a spare, for me anyways. I don't do long trips so it's not needed.

 

Don't use 4wd or your e-locker if applicable.

 

Only temporary reason to not run it would be if you have and lsd or autolocking diff. Long term would be possible tire wear but i doubt half inch will make much difference.

 

I was always told that running two different sized tires could have a negative effect on the diff gears. I have no personal experiance with anything like this happening, just looking for opinions on this theory.

 

If it's one of your rear tires I would move it to the front. Run the same size tires on both rears.

 

It is going to force the spider gears to work more than they typically would but it would be akin to driving in a slight turn for awhile. Take care of it as soon as you can but no need to break your neck doing it.

or do this:

 

This. You have one tire rotating at a certain speed and the other rotating at another speed. I can see rearend gear problems in your future.

 

And don't run 4x4 while doing it.

 

Spider gears are always turning somewhat unless ure driving on a perfectly straight perfectly smooth road with perfectly equal tires. Think it works out to be about 3% difference in wheel speed so not much

 

Was it an auburn fan?

 

LOL no I don't think so, I just moved to Nashville and fired a guy last night. There were also three skater punk kids that mischieviously ran away from the area of my truck but I didn't think anything of it till I walked to my truck and heard a hissing noise. Could have been either of them I guess. I was able to make the 3 mile drive back to my house just fine. The hole was just barely enough to do anything. My coworker's tire was also slashed in the same place and he had a rental.

I ended up getting a KO2 installed on in this morning. Now I have to get a whole set. A little earlier than I was planning but apparently they discontinued the Rugged Terrain as of March which is a shame. Besides the fact that they held rocks like a somebitch, they were a really good tire. If anyone wants three Rugged Terrains with like 50% tread on them, let me know. I'm in the market for three KO2s now.

Thankfully I added a warranty to this tire that covers me for tire slashing and there's no pro-rated tread BS, if it happens, they put a new tire completely for free as long as there is still useable tread.

At least I have one sexy tire on my truck!



*drool*

 

The question I have now is, how can I make a 33 fit under there? I was planning on running these Rugged Terrains for a while longer, and then get a whole new set of KO2s while putting the current one underneath for a spare. The issue with that is I can't fit a 33 under there right now. A 32 fits perfect but a 33 hits the exhaust, the axle, and almost hits the driver side leaf springs.

Should I just throw the 32 back under there and get three more KO2s ASAP or are there ways to make a 33 fit with no problems underneath?

 

Just to play devil's advocate, wouldn't the diff still spin up front and cause slight binding there also? I have ADD.

 

Passenger side axle is disconnected but diff is always spinning cause its still connected to the drivers side axle.

 

Front diff gears are always spinning. The drive shaft (connected to tcase) up front is not - so there's no connection to the tcase.
The front & rear diffs are both OPEN diffs which means they compensate for the differences in distance via the cage / spur gears (can't remember the exact term). http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential2.htm

Do not run 4WD and if you have a locker, DO NOT use the locker.

Running a different sized tire isn't a totally bad thing, but I wouldn't do it for long term (only as an emergency). It will put excessive amount of load / pressure / wear on the internals of the diff. The diff internals will always be compensating for the difference in distance. Not only that...but the power coming into the diff will probably always default to the path of least resistance which would be the smaller tire thinking that its always slipping. You could also end up with tires wear issues also.

 

Okay cool, so anyone know if a 33 can be stuffed in the spare location?