Spare Tire

[geophb]

Decided to double check last night. Well my memory failed me once again. I have 255/70R16 spare tire. 265/65R17 on the main four.
Thats a 1.6% difference as far as numbers go, didn't look at the actual tire manf. specs

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[WxNerd2015]

I have the 265/65/R17 Hankooks with the Sport Packages and FX4 package on my Ranger on the Magnetic wheels for the 4 main wheels and tires, and just checked my spare, and I also have a 265/65/R17 Hankook (Same Tire) on a 17" steelie as a spare under the bed, and that is from factory. So all 5 of mine match.

 

[Rinn69]

So you've really never had a full service spare? It's not like an imaginary thing.

Maybe....not sure, but I don't remember one. But I do know that spares have some type of limit on them....speed and/or distance.

 

[wanted33]

I noticed this awhile back so I decided to take the spare off and put it beside the other and it is very close. On my truck the regular tire is 255/65R17 and the spare is 255/70R16.

That's the ticket right there. Whether it's a 16", or a 17" the diameter of the tire is what counts. The 50 mph thing is just to keep Ford out of court for those that will sue at the drop of a hat. And no, Ford is not liable. There's not enough difference in the tires to cause any problems.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Threads like this are one of the reasons I usually replace the crappy spare with full sized rim/tire.

After a recent trip to the the dealer I saw some days later a lovely gouge in one of my rims and when I contacted them about it they pull the it isn't on the check-in report so I must have hit something... BS.. Cause you can see where they ran the impact socket off the lug nut and down the machined surface of the rim... And to top it off they are the only ones who have worked on it.

Since they won't own up to it, I went looking and found 18" OE pulls in like new shape for about 170 shipped on Ebay. Ordered one and when it arrived found it was flawless, so I swapped the tire and sensor over to the replacement. Bought another OE tire and now have a matching rim/tired full size spare.

 

[Ranger8729]

I have the 265/65/R17 Hankooks with the Sport Packages and FX4 package on my Ranger on the Magnetic wheels for the 4 main wheels and tires, and just checked my spare, and I also have a 265/65/R17 Hankook (Same Tire) on a 17" steelie as a spare under the bed, and that is from factory. So all 5 of mine match.

Same here - 2019 XLT with FX4 and 302A. Maybe it connects to the packages and/or date of Manuf??

Maybe....not sure, but I don't remember one. But I do know that spares have some type of limit on them....speed and/or distance.

Every single truck i've ever owned came with a full size spare that was was rated exactly the same as the other tires. Sedans were not. 1987 Ranger, 1996 F150, 2000 Expedition, 2006 Wrangler, etc but they all had a steel rim. I replaced the rim/tire after the first set wore out so I can do a 5 tire rotation and match.

That's the ticket right there. Whether it's a 16", or a 17" the diameter of the tire is what counts. The 50 mph thing is just to keep Ford out of court for those that will sue at the drop of a hat. And no, Ford is not liable. There's not enough difference in the tires to cause any problems.

This exactly. On my old truck i ran a 215/70-14 and a 235/75-15 for about 1000 miles while finances were tight - open diff didn't care at all. On my Jeeps and new vehicles, with a limited slip and electronics, there's no way I could pull that off. But 1.6% difference is just a couple burnouts worth

 

[VAMike]

Every single truck i've ever owned came with a full size spare that was was rated exactly the same as the other tires. Sedans were not. 1987 Ranger, 1996 F150, 2000 Expedition, 2006 Wrangler, etc but they all had a steel rim. I replaced the rim/tire after the first set wore out so I can do a 5 tire rotation and match.

My old VW jetta came with exactly the same tire in the trunk as the 4 on the outside. Zero restrictions on using it. (In fact, I don't even remember which one was originally the spare, they were switched around so many times over the years.) Nowadays with aluminum rims that cost more than the tires the manufacturers have gotten cheaper. Current jetta the spare is optional. (To be fair to the manufacturers, it is a lot of weight that statistically never gets used--tires are better and most drivers don't even know how to change a tire anyway.)

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

Got into that predicament when I got a sidewall puncture on the trail. Switched to the spare and made it to a tire shop.

Asked them to switch the tires on the rims for me so I could drive on my 18 and get a new tire on the spare later and that's when we found out different size rims. Same OD for the tires though.

And no reason with a steely and a full size standard tire you can go highway speeds. 50 is BS, I kept it at 75

 

[Kemo Sabe]

here the story, I had from the factory 18" tires installed for an extra $900. Had a front tire that kept going low so I went to the dealer one afternoon to get it fixed. The mechanic had me come out to the shop, you had a nail in the tire which caused the leak, BUT, if you look this lug is cut to the cord so the tire is bad, 13980 miles. I said take the tire on the spare rim and put it on the rim in front, OK, 5 min he came back the spare rim is a 17" the tire won't fit on the 18" rim, tire stores are closed so we will have to put the 17" spare tire on the front and we'll get a new tire tomorrow, ok, what else could I do. I did some errands got home taking a look at the tire the rim had a sticker on it that said, do not go over 50 mph, I had, and the mechanic said nothing. I could not find a 18" 6 hole spare rim any where. So here's the question, is Ford liable for damage to the front wheel gearing when driving on a 17' and 18" front tires when that's the only option they give a person. The first week in October I was in Arizona and the speed limit is high, hard to not be a hazard at 50 mph on the side of the road. How far should a person drive on two different size front tires, some of the strethes were over 100 miles. I believe Ford should have a 17" spare tire recall. I see most of the new Rangers have 18" tires do the all have 17" spares? What do the readers think

No problem, but we always put the taller tire on the right, shoulder side of the road. But, the purpose was to only wear out the odd tire, then correctly replace it.
Good luck.

 

[Craig]

If any, not all, and 2019 may be different than 2020. My 2020 Lariat 4x4 (non-FX4) with chrome package came with 18” road wheels and a 16” spare.

I worked with a guy that put 30K on a donut spare. Highway speeds and all. Probably could have gotten more out of it but it caught on fire when one of the families of wildlife that lived in it chewed some wiring. I am serious as a heart attack on this.

It's not a donut it's a regular 17' tire

 

[THLONE]

I have 4 16" steels and a 50mph tire and aluminum spare wheel. I guess it is just grab and go with spares. A funny story, my buddy was driving his van with about 70000 miles when he gets a flat. The spare is under the floor boards. Ya it was flat also. It had never been checked. My sister was going on a trip. She asked me to check her tires. She said when I got in her trunk what are you doing? I said checking your spare. Ya it was flat, never been checked. ?

 

[YaBoiNewton]

I had to use my spare the other day. At first glance it was a Hankook Dynapro just like the other four. Cool, right? NOPE.
As I loaded the punctured tire into the bed, I had to take a second glance at the spare - It was NOT the same tire. It was the same size, but the actual tread pattern was different!

Anyone else got a weird Dynapro?

 

[jsphlynch]

So here's the question, is Ford liable for damage to the front wheel gearing when driving on a 17' and 18" front tires when that's the only option they give a person.

As others have opined, I really doubt you've caused any damage. Even if you have, though, I'm not sure what you want to hold Ford liable for? Damage done by operating your vehicle outside of the parameters recommended by Ford?

 

[PierreD]

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

 

[J Krutsch]

All 5 of mine are the same 17"

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