Matching spare wheel or matching diameter?

I recently bought a set of four 17×8.5" zero offset rims for my inbound 2022 Taco. Coming from a JK Wrangler I always had a matching spare wheel/tire, mostly for exposed aesthetics outside of the obvious technical reasons.

Considering that my Taco's 16 inch (rim) spare is no longer visible but still necessary for emergencies, I am weighing the thought of simply changing the spare tire to a larger diameter equivalent vs 100% matching wheel & tire.

Thought examples (still deciding between pizza cutters and 275s):

255/80/17 (33 inch) primaries with 255/85/16 (33 inch) on stock spare rim.

275/70/17 (32 inch) primaries with 265/75/16 (31.65 inch) on stock spare rim.

Or quit being a complicated cheap ass and buy the 100% matching wheel & tire combo?

 

Consider this:

3rd gen has only four slots for TPMS, so you can't rotate the spare.

Only buy what will get you out of a jam, and no more. Because in 5 years, you'll be replacing an unused tire.

 

check out the link in my signature. Had the same questions a couple years ago.

 

Thanks! Makes decisions a little easier.

 

The Toyota TPMS system/ available positions wasn't something I considered or fully realized for the Tacoma. On my Jeep JK I have it disabled with a programmer and only use standard valve stems. But will most likely retain TPMS with the Taco.

 

You can rotate the spare. I do a five tire rotation so that I'm using all 5 tires and not having an unused one. Discount tire can do a five tire rotation and also update the TPMS in the computer so that all 4 tires that are rolling will show up. They do it for free so it's easy peasy.

You could also buy the tool to update the TPMS sensor yourself but I think it's $300

 

I do like me some Discount Tire!

 

I'll throw in a vote for the buy a 100% matching set.

Pros:
1.) If you ever blow a tire, whether its on a trail or freeway , you don't have to worry about what weird ass rotation you need to do in order to not blow your diff up.

2.) Have the dealership or whoever it may be do a 5 wheel rotation, your tires will last longer, I purchased an additional TPMS sensor from toyota for 65$ and they threw it in my spare, when they do my rotation they re-scan them in the correct locations.

3.) If you do blow a tire, your wheels are all the same tread depth, so the tire shop won't pressure you into buying 4 all new tires because the tread wont be the same on each side of the diff.

Cons:
1.) $

The pro vs con list is pretty lopsided in my opinion for peace of mind.


Here is a thread of my overthought spare tire.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/overthought-spare-tire-mod.762031/#post-27189071

 

Personally, I like having a full size spare - meaning matching overall diameter. Whether you have the exact same tire or wheel as your regular ones isn't important. If you're mainly doing street driving and light offroading here and there then the spare tire probably isn't that important and you won't run it for long. Use something that fits your "temporary use" scenario if you had a blowout. If you do a lot more offroading, longer trips or more severe terrain then having a spare tire that is not only the right size but also the right type for your situation may be helpful. I like to be able to take multi-day trips out into the middle of nowhere so being a day's drive from civilization, through rough terrain, and only having a highway capable tire is not a position I'd like to be in.

I recently acquired a matching spare wheel and got my matching spare tire transferred over to that. I'm excited to be able to do 5 wheel rotations now. My truck also only has 4 TPMS sensors but I don't care about those things so it doesn't bother me if I'm sometimes running a wheel w/o a TPMS sensor.

 

Just match the diameter and be done. Doing a five tire rotation gets you nothing. Your tires on average are good for 50-60k miles or 5-6 years regardless if you have 4 or 5. Except that 5th matching one costs an extra 300-500 bucks depending on wheel/tire combo.

 

I chose a cheap aftermarket wheel with the same specs (17x8.5 -10) as my TE's so I could run a full size spare if needed and only have to worry about carrying 1 set of lugs/tools. I like knowing that if I screw something up in the middle of nowhere there will be no clearance or alignment issues with a wheel with different specs.

 

I have a matching wheel and tire and do semi frequent 5 tire rotations, basically any time I see uneven wear (usually on the steer tires) I do an X+spare rotation and put the lowest tread measured tire on the tire carrier, in theory this extends my tire life 20%, I have not used or even had TPMS sensors for 4+ years.

The one time I had a flat with this truck I knew I was getting low in a tire before my TPMS came on to notify me and had it gotten flatter any faster the TPMS wouldn't have been helpful in the slightest irregardless.

IMHO get a matching 5th and use it, or get a matching diameter and don't but realize if you ever do need to use it your handling characteristics will be impacted and or if it goes unthought about long term it may not be ready for service when you need it.

I don't think there's really a wrong answer other than not having a spare at all.