So, I recently picked up a set of wheels and tires from a friend and they came with a full size spare of the same size tire but way newer... The 4 tires that I have on the car are pretty bald, and I am just wondering if I get a flat is it a bad thing to put that full size spare on if it has more tread there for being bigger? and maybe if not, is there a certain side or corner to put it on? I am thinking that it is not a good thing to do but please give me your thoughts! thanks
Well, it would be best to rotate the spare through so it has the same wear as the rest, but as a spare even with the uneven wear I think you'd be fine. I always carry a full-size spare, mine is the same size and similar wear, but a different type of tire. At low speeds for short distances it's fine and I think it's a lot better than running on the donut spare. I've had to use the full size spare once and the donut once. Driving on the donut sucked. I couldn't notice the full-size, even though it was different tread. In both cases I just drove the minimum I needed to go to fix the other tire. Some (most?) auto transmission Subarus can be put into FWD mode by inserting a fuse, in that case you'd want to put in the fuse and run the oddball tire in the rear, either side, even if you had a flat on the front. For manual transmissions, I don' think there's a best place to put the spare.
I would always go to FWD mode if your tires are different. The previous owner of my car drove on set of two new tires and two old tires for a few months and destroyed the center differential clutch plates in my car. When I bought the car the dealership put new tires on all 4 corners, but the center differential wasn't very noticeable for about another 3 months. I ended up replacing the center differential clutch plates which cost me ~$300 plus about 6 hours of labor to do. The dealership wanted $1500. Subaru doesn't even recommend running different brand tires, even if all new. I wouldn't risk driving it with one different tire unless you are using the fuse for a short distance to get new tires.
So my bugeye is an auto so where is this FWD fuse at? I never knew there was such a thing... if someone knows where that is that would be awesome! thanks for the advice guy, and if anyone else has any info just let me know... the more people that suggest the same thing than the better it seems!
I'm not positive the auto wrxs have the fuse since they use a different style center diff. On my wife's 99 impreza, the fwd fuse socket is in the fuse box in the engine bay. You put a fuse in the socket to run as fwd, no fuse is awd. I guess check your owners manual, it should have a section about using the spare tire and it would be mentioned there if you have it.
DONT DO IT! Ur spare should be ok if ur just driving to the tire store to get one repaired, but i would not advise running one tire that is newer than the others, a varience of as little as 2/32nds between tires can cause differential problems. i have seen it happen, and have had to pay for the consequences... Just my $.02, but i do run a tire store...
It does have it in the fuse box but it says in the owners manual that is does not work on the TURBOed models! That's weird Ok, thanks for the 2 pennies bora28
Our '02 NA Outback gets the fuse installed with the spare and the '05 Legacy GT does not get a fuse. Both cars are autos.
follow the 2-3 32nds rule and keep all of those equal sized tires the same brand and model. a 245-45-17 good year will be a different size then a 245-45-17 hoosier...even though they say they are the "same" size they differ greatly basically what everyone said Dont do it!
