Spare Tire Size and Other Tire Questions.

Hey Everybody! I'm about to make my first modification to my Tacoma. I'm throwing on a new set of tires and rims. I've got a few questions about tires though.

1) If I went with a 275/70-r17 tire, should I replace all 5 tires with the same tire and rim?

2) if I with with a 16" aftermarket rim with a different off-set, could I run the stock steel spare rim with the same size tire at a mildly different offset without any major issues?

3) tire rotation. I keep hearing tire rotation. Should I be rotating my spare with my other tires. If yes, how do i got about doing this? Should i buy an identical set of 5 and rotate them out to maintain tread life?

Thanks everybody!

 

I wouldn't worry too much about offset with the spare tire, my main concern would be the diameter. Some people say that if a rear tire goes flat and depending on the rear diff type (i.e. open or limited slip), its better to move a front tire to the rear and use the spare only up front. However, I think that statement needs to be researched more. Just mentioning it to see if anyone can way in on that.

Additionally, having different diameter tires can possibly cause the rear diff to overheat, especially if its being driven on for a significant amount of time/excessive speed. Diffs can compensate for slipping in the tires, but if the diameter difference is big enough, too much tire slipping can over work the differential and possibly damage it.

So having a different sized diameter tire to throw on just to get you home or to a shop is most likely fine. But I wouldn't roll with that thing for a considerable amount of time.

If your not going off-roading and your truly concerned about the spare, you can try and buy a cheap steal rim and cheap tire with the same diameter.