New Tyres - What about the spare?

Hi, my Defender needs four new tyres. It's got General Grabber TRs on it at the moment. I have no problem getting these again, but if I choose a new tyre, what is the usual practise with the spare? Although it's never been used, it's sat on the back in the rain and sun for years, which must have a slight wearing effect on it.

Do you just leave it as an odd-one-out, or replace it? What do you do with the old one if you replace it?

Your supposed to rotate the tyres so the spare gets used too.

Flossie said:

Your supposed to rotate the tyres so the spare gets used too.

Click to expand...

No your supposed to get punctures then rotate using the spare

@PointerSisters
Has the UV can affect the tyres. Look for cracks etc if it shows any don’t use.
Also if you don’t use them bet they are flat when needed

10 years is the sort of general maybe kinda rule depending on this and that - that I have used. Even if unused with full tread I would change it after 10 years.

If your spare has sat in the same position for four years without a cover, I would remove it and rotate it 180 degrees to prevent one half getting all the U/V.

Above load of bollacks use your spare when you get a flat then sort flat and put spare back...modern cars don't come with same size spares even landys...my smart doesn't even have a spare just a bottle fix and inflated...rotating is ok but not with spare...imop...

I have a 750x16 on the rear door as a temp spare incase someone decides they need a nice modular with a new AT tyre on it

kevstar said:

I have a 750x16 on the rear door as a temp spare incase someone decides they need a nice modular with a new AT tyre on it

Click to expand...

Exactly...

Shippers said:

Exactly...

Click to expand...

Got a 750x16 on my 90 aswell

I keep my spare in the back of my 90. That way, it’s out of the sunlight and stays nice and clean for if/when I need to change it!

Hicap phill said:

No your supposed to get punctures then rotate using the spare

@PointerSisters
Has the UV can affect the tyres. Look for cracks etc if it shows any don’t use.
Also if you don’t use them bet they are flat when needed

Click to expand...

I've never had a puncture in 15 years of Landy ownership

Shippers said:

Above load of bollacks use your spare when you get a flat then sort flat and put spare back...modern cars don't come with same size spares even landys...my smart doesn't even have a spare just a bottle fix and inflated...rotating is ok but not with spare...imop...

Click to expand...

My spare is around the back of the house. Its a never been used BFG AT. It's on a gleaming alloy from when I had them refurbed donkeys years ago. I intend to use it as a 'get me home' if I ever get a puncture. It still looks new with no cracks. It could well be 10 years old. I will replace it at some point, but it looks fine for now. The back of the house is due North and so it gets no direct sunlight where it is stored.

Rubber tyres age for many different reasons. These reasons includes oxidisation, UV exposure, temperature, salt etc. This aging process can often be seen as cracking between tread blocks and circumferential cracking close to the rim.

It is good practise to rotate all tyres on a vehicle.

IIRC the industry is not allowed to sell new tyres which are over 2 years old and recommend changing tyres when they are about 7 years old.

Date of manufacture is a 4 figure code on the tyre.

Just remember those 4 rubber things are what keeps your vehicle in contact with the road.


Brendan

Al2O3 said:

I've never had a puncture in 15 years of Landy ownership



My spare is around the back of the house. Its a never been used BFG AT. It's on a gleaming alloy from when I had them refurbed donkeys years ago. I intend to use it as a 'get me home' if I ever get a puncture. It still looks new with no cracks. It could well be 10 years old. I will replace it at some point, but it looks fine for now. The back of the house is due North and so it gets no direct sunlight where it is stored.

Click to expand...

Pardon my ignorance, but how will you use it as a 'get me home' if it's stored at the back of the house?

Col

Colthebrummie said:

Pardon my ignorance, but how will you use it as a 'get me home' if it's stored at the back of the house?

Col

Click to expand...

He's being doing this since he was a nipper...…………...

kevstar said:

I have a 750x16 on the rear door as a temp spare incase someone decides they need a nice modular with a new AT tyre on it

Click to expand...

But then you live in a well dodgy area

Colthebrummie said:

Pardon my ignorance, but how will you use it as a 'get me home' if it's stored at the back of the house?

Col

Click to expand...

Obviously, that's a very sensible question
My Mrs uses the landy as her daily drive to work. If she gets a puncture she'll have to phone me to take the tyre. She only works 15 miles from home and it wouldn't take me too long to get home, pick it up and get to her. If we're going on a long journey together, I'd take the dummy wheel off the back and put the proper spare on.

Def90man said:

But then you live in a well dodgy area

Click to expand...

Nope not dodge at all we live in quiet semi rural village but if passing scumbags from other areas decide to have a easy picking off the rear door it wont be a new Terrafirma wheel & new tyre. They can have a worn 750x16 instead

Flossie said:

Your supposed to rotate the tyres so the spare gets used too.

Click to expand...

The spare tyre even on a defender seems to be of a lighter grade and slightly narrower?

I just began the labor of overhauling my steel wheels and the spare tyre I mounted was lighter than the non-spare wheels were.

Am I the only one who has a full size matching spare mounted to the vehicle? If it is not a matched spare then you cannot rotate the tyres around as @Flossie mentioned. I actually have two spares because it was recommended, although completely unnecessary, for the trip to Morocco, one lives in the garage one lives on the back of the 110. Similarly with the series (also two spares, one on bonnet one on rear bulkhead) all the wheels and tyres match. This allows them to be rotated around so the spares are roughly the same amount of wear as the rest of the tyres and when replaced it is not a brand new never used tyre which is too old to be any use. I know it is easy for me as I can swap pairs, but you can do the same thing with a singe, move the spare to the front, front to back, back to spare etc. This ensure more even tyre wear, and allows maximum usage and mileage out of a set of rubber.

p.s before any one complains that rotating them is extra work, if your landy is like mine the wheels come off for maintenance/repairs often enough that it is not a special job, you just swap them at this point.

Old BFG on my back door, only service it has seen in recent years was once when I took out a side wall setting out a trial and on cattle box when it had a flat on the way to mart.