31 inch spare tire question

Rubirob

Rubirob

TJ Enthusiast
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Nov 11, 2017
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Location
Sacramento, CA, United States
Hey guys, I was just about to take my tj to American tires to get a matching spare tire. I have 31 inch (I think 30 1/2 really) M/T tires on it. So I was taking the cover off of the spare and saw two things.

First that the spare looks like an all terrain 31 inch tire.. condition isn’t bad but isn’t great. I’m guessing P.O. might have gotten it used to match the 31s he put on it.. so I guess I do already have a spare even tho it’s not matching lol.. what do you guys think? Will the spare work with my tires?


the second thing I noticed was my spare rim isn’t a Moab.. I have a rubicon.. and all 4 rims are the Moab’s that Jeep put on the rubicon’s.. is that normal? Maybe it came with a spare Moab rim but P.O. destroyed one and used the spare to replace it. I’m not sure.. I am only wondering because it would be nice to keep the cover off when I do get a matching spare

here are pics of the tires profiles.. Moab wheel is the M/T and regular Jeep wheel is the spare..
I appreciate your guys help and input, I don’t remember the name of the tires I have, they are some knock off tho.. Americana or something.. when I looked them up the actually had pretty good reviews so idk I think I will use them haha
Spare tire, non Moab rim
70dbf731e806f8208950542f6c763d61.jpg


One of the M/T tires and Moab rim
6099eecd1da0faaaa46f065f89288f4b.jpg


Close up of spare tires dimensions
499609b99ef8d90c5dc89dd443a227e2.jpg



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265/75R16 comes out to 31.6x10.4

So yes, it will work. However, I wouldn't run that spare on the vehicle for long periods of time, unless it's just to get home. Mismatching tires and tread patterns isn't ideal.

In addition to that, that tire looks severely dated. I would look for a production date on it. If it's 7 years or older, it's no longer safe to drive on, regardless of the amount of tread on it.

Tires DO go bad with age, even if you've never driven on them.
 
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Chris said:
265/75R16 comes out to 31.6x10.4

So yes, it will work. However, I wouldn't run that spare on the vehicle for long periods of time, unless it's just to get home. Mismatching tires and tread patterns isn't ideal.

In addition to that, that tire looks severely dated. I would look for a production date on it. If it's 7 years or older, it's no longer safe to drive on, regardless of the amount of tread on it.

Tires DO go bad with age, even if you've never driven on them.
Click to expand...

Yea I know that now, I got a ranger about 5 years ago from a friend and the tires looked good.. good tread.. no cracking.. but they were like 10 years old lol.. lost a tire camping.. sucked haha.. I will look at replacing the rim with a Moab and putting a new tire on it.. idk how old it is I will check


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Tires always have a date stamped somewhere on the sidewall. Often times it's small and hard to find, but it's there somewhere.
 
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Chris said:
Tires always have a date stamped somewhere on the sidewall. Often times it's small and hard to find, but it's there somewhere.
Click to expand...

Chris are the Moab’s good for wheeling? Or should I just get a whole new set of rims? I can get the spare rim for like 100$ on eBay right now


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Chris said:
In terms of tires you mean?
Click to expand...

No the rims. I know you had Moab’s for a while.. the ones the rubicon comes with. I’m assuming there pretty good for wheeling.. but I am wondering if there are better sets I should get instead of buying a replacement spare.. and save the money for a new set.. like I was saying I can get a replacement spare for 100 bucks on eBay right now..


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Rubirob said:
No the rims. I know you had Moab’s for a while.. the ones the rubicon comes with. I’m assuming there pretty good for wheeling.. but I am wondering if there are better sets I should get instead of buying a replacement spare.. and save the money for a new set.. like I was saying I can get a replacement spare for 100 bucks on eBay right now..


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Click to expand...

You have more tire options when you go with a 15" rim, which is why you see them more often. Not only will the tires usually be cheaper, but there's also a much, much larger selection of tires. Since the wheels on your TJ are already 15", I would just find a 15" wheel for the spare, no doubt about it.
 
Chris said:
You have more tire options when you go with a 15" rim, which is why you see them more often. Not only will the tires usually be cheaper, but there's also a much, much larger selection of tires. Since the wheels on your TJ are already 15", I would just find a 15" wheel for the spare, no doubt about it.
Click to expand...

I didn’t think about that, the rims I have on the Jeep are all 16s
dbb9662a273b4d75902fa4c74504c0a0.jpg

So maybe I will look into getting a new set of rims when these tires get old.. they are new so I might use them for a few years first lol and get a spare that will be a little more trust worthy than the one I have


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Rubirob said:
I didn’t think about that, the rims I have on the Jeep are all 16s View attachment 48402
So maybe I will look into getting a new set of rims when these tires get old.. they are new so I might use them for a few years first lol and get a spare that will be a little more trust worthy than the one I have


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Click to expand...

Ahhh, I missed that. For some reason I thought they were all 15s.

If you have 16s already, just get a 16" spare. There are tires for 16s, just not as many options as if you had 15s or 17s. A Moab is just fine for wheeling, yes!

The other issue with 16s is that most of the off-road tires only come in an E rating as oppose to the preferred C (or D) rating. This equates to a stiffer ride.
 
Chris said:
Tires DO go bad with age, even if you've never driven on them.
Click to expand...
Sound advice!

Sadly, most of us just buy a car or tires without checking the dates to confirm the age, it's of particular importance when buying second hand tires, in addition, I would only be using second hand if I lived on a rural property and wasn't intending on infecting my shortcomings on fellow road users so here's how you find when your tires were manufactured: whos running to the garage right now?
age-hero-580-x-330.jpg

"The first two digits are the week of manufacture, and the last two digits are the year. For example, if the last four digits of the DOT code are 0203, that means that the tire was manufactured during the second week of the year 2003."
Beat yourself up


And now that you took the time to read the important safety tips here is the...

HOT TIP: Old tires can be revived! Yep, and what many of you wont realise is that if you use your TJ offroad then your probably reviving your tires without know it. Anyone see where this is going? Tire manufactures use polymers to help keep the rubber supple, airing down to low pressures and flexing your tires over lost of obstacles permeates the polymers to the surface and this will help keep your tires flexible for longer and the best, it's free!

HOTTER TIP: Do it on a hot day


G'day!
 
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Chris said:
Ahhh, I missed that. For some reason I thought they were all 15s.

If you have 16s already, just get a 16" spare. There are tires for 16s, just not as many options as if you had 15s or 17s.

The other issue with 16s is that most of the off-road tires only come in an E rating as oppose to the preferred C (or D) rating. This equates to a stiffer ride.
Click to expand...

Ok I see, yea those are class e tires. Now I thought having a higher ply rating (class e are 10 I guess) is good for wheeling.. they won’t puncture as easy.. but maybe I’m wrong?


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Wombat said:
Sound advice!

Sadly, most of us just buy a car or tires without checking the dates to confirm the age, it's of particular importance when buying second hand tires, in addition, I would only be using second hand if I lived on a rural property and wasn't intending on infecting my shortcomings on fellow road users so here's how you find when your tires were manufactured: whos running to the garage right now?
View attachment 48403
"The first two digits are the week of manufacture, and the last two digits are the year. For example, if the last four digits of the DOT code are 0203, that means that the tire was manufactured during the second week of the year 2003."
Beat yourself up


And now that you took the time to read the important safety tips here is the...

HOT TIP: Old tires can be revived! Yep, and what many of you wont realise is that if you use your TJ offroad then your probably reviving your tires without know it. Anyone see where this is going? Tire manufactures use polymers to help keep the rubber supple, airing down to low pressures and flexing your tires over lost of obstacles permeates the polymers to the surface and this will help keep your tires flexible for longer and the best, it's free!

HOTTER TIP: Do it on a hot day


G'day!
Click to expand...

All good advice! They say that's how Paul Walker (of the Fast and Furious fame) died in that infamous crash. I heard that the tires they were street racing on were very, very old tires, but no one bothered to check the age of them.

Tire age is something most people don't even bother to look at when they buy second hand tires, and it can indeed be very dangerous!
 
Rubirob said:
Ok I see, yea those are class e tires. Now I thought having a higher ply rating (class e are 10 I guess) is good for wheeling.. they won’t puncture as easy.. but maybe I’m wrong?


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Click to expand...

A higher ply rating will mean stronger sidewalls (less likely to puncture). However, an E rated tire is a LT (Light Truck) tire, and is meant to hold somewhere around 80+ psi, due to the fact that it's meant for a truck, which weighs nearly double what our TJs weigh. Put those stiff tires on a TJ, and they can rattle your fillings out.

Now, I will say that having run E rated tires on my Moab wheels, if you keep them at 26 psi, they aren't all that bad. However, I can tell you that a C or D rates tire still has a softer and more comfortable ride.
 
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Chris said:
A higher ply rating will mean stronger sidewalls (less likely to puncture). However, an E rated tire is a LT (Light Truck) tire, and is meant to hold somewhere around 80+ psi, due to the fact that it's meant for a truck, which weighs nearly double what our TJs weigh. Put those stiff tires on a TJ, and they can rattle your fillings out.

Now, I will say that having run E rated tires on my Moab wheels, if you keep them at 26 psi, they aren't all that bad. However, I can tell you that a C or D rates tire still has a softer and more comfortable ride.
Click to expand...

Ok that makes sense, like I said I will probably keep these until they wear out and when I replace them I will evaluate my options.. I like how the side walls are stronger on them.. but ya the ride is kinda stiff


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Rubirob said:
Ok that makes sense, like I said I will probably keep these until they wear out and when I replace them I will evaluate my options.. I like how the side walls are stronger on them.. but ya the ride is kinda stiff


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Click to expand...

That's what I would do. Keep them for now until they need to be replaced. Then consider the other options. There's also a big difference between an A/T tire and a M/T tire.
 
Chris said:
That's what I would do. Keep them for now until they need to be replaced. Then consider the other options. There's also a big difference between an A/T tire and a M/T tire.
Click to expand...

I haven’t looked much into the difference between the two.. but I read that M/Ts in the snow are not very good.. are A/Ts better for that?


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