5 wheel rotation, is it worth it?

WallyWest

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I mean having a spare that is the same wheel and tire as the rest and including it in your rotation schedule.

I have a good set of four Pro Comp wheels I can pick up, but only four. They're not identical to the current model and I haven't been able to find any others for sale to pick up the fifth.

Trying to decide if that matters or not. I'm thinking off road having a spare you know is reliable and is identical to the rest could be a good plan. Otherwise it's mostly a cosmetic choice.

Thoughts?
 
All you really need is a spare that is the same size as the tires you are running.

But it does look better if they all match.
 
If the 4 are a good deal you should probably go for it. I do have 5 identical but had to pay full price new. I will rotate the spare in.
 
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It depends on how you drive your Jeep. If it's a daily driver then it is a good idea. In my case I put so few miles on the Jeep that I will replace the tires because of age long before they have low tread.
 
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I don't like having a non-matching spare.
I don't like buying 5 tires and selling a practically unused spare for pennies on the dollar just to make room for a spare that matches.

Therefore, I do a 5 tire rotation. I still have to buy 5 tires, but I get 20% more life out of them so it evens out.

The worst part of it is getting the tire shop to do it the same way every time. Seems there's not as much consensus on what position the spare rotates into.
 
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Buy 4 new ones and drive them down to the point you're needing new tires. Buy a set of 4 new ones, and BAM now you have 4 spares that are just low on tread. Age is a factor in tires and you don't want to use tires that are TOO old, but if I had 4 worn down but still good tires in the garage I wouldn't be scared to carry them as spares 10 years later. Or just keep the best one, knowing that you'll be buying more tires in a few years anyway.

Yeah, a matching brand new spare on the back looks cooler, but is it $200+ cooler?
 
Yeah, a matching brand new spare on the back looks cooler, but is it $200+ cooler?

When I bought my TJ it had the original spare wheel and a Goodyear spare tire the original size. I found 4 matching Moab wheels and bought 4 Goodyear Duratrac tires just a little thinner and taller that that spare. The tires not matching doesn't bother me but the wife thought a tire cover looked $39.95 better and bought me one for father's day. My son says they should all be the same size to save my limited slip but it will end up on the front regardless of where the flat is located.
 
Yes to the 5 wheel rotation. I like to have all of the wheels and tires the same so there is no issue with tire diameter difference. Also, using all 5 tires gets you a little bit more time and mileage between tire replacements.
 
I would definitely do it. When I got my LJ last year, it came with 5 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R tires. All of them manufactured in 2006...

Four tires were all used and the spare was brand new. Nothing I could do with the spare since it was super old and the design for those tires had changed. I purchased 5 tires back in May with the intention of rotating all of them.
 
Definitely worth it, might as well wear all 5 tires as even as you can.

Though in your situation, if you can only get 4 for a good deal, I'd do it. Check if you can at least find a 5th wheel that matches. If the tire doesn't match, keep it as a spare.

Last time I bought tires, only got 4 and kept the best of my old tires as a spare. I did already have the 5th matching wheel though.
 
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Check if you can at least find a 5th wheel that matches. If the tire doesn't match, keep it as a spare.

That's my problem, I'm not finding any of these wheels for sale anywhere, although I don't know the exact model # yet. The current models on Pro Comp's website are similar but noticeably different.

The spare, which I could pick up as well, currently is a plain steel wheel with a tire that is not the same size as the rest. They're all 33s, but the main tires are 12.5" and the spare is 10.5". So not really into that as a long term solution.

But it's a good deal on the wheels plus tires that have at least some tread left. And it's exactly the tire size I was building for. I guess just take the plunge and hope I can find a fifth matching wheel at some point.
 
I would still do it if it's a good deal. Though I would only bother if there's a decent amount of tread on the tires.

I bought some used tires a few years ago that looked to have decent tread. Pretty sure they were old, lost two of them on one run. That was no fun since I was the only TJ. Had to drive on a flat tire until we got to the road.
 
I’m doing what @suicideking did, keeping my best tire from my previous 5 set, getting 4 new and moving to a 4 tire rotation. I just don’t drive the Jeep enough to really benefit from rotating a 5th tire in. Plus, I like buying new tires.
 
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Visual estimate on the tread is about 2/3 gone. They're General Grabbers.

Date code is 4112, so they're pushing the envelope. I would probably run them for a year or so and replace.

Equivalent Pro Comps, wheels only, would be $450ish for 4. The four used ones with tires are $300.
 
Visual estimate on the tread is about 2/3 gone. They're General Grabbers.

Date code is 4112, so they're pushing the envelope. I would probably run them for a year or so and replace.

Equivalent Pro Comps, wheels only, would be $450ish for 4. The four used ones with tires are $300.
Unless I loved the wheels, I’d let it go and just start w a new set
 
Ugh, I hate making decisions. LOL

Related question, if I got new wheels/tires I'd sell what I've got. Which are 30x9.5 General Grabbers that were brand new a year ago, have maybe 5k miles on them. I didn't buy them, bought the TJ and that's what it came with. Spare is a matching OEM wheel, but not a matching tire. It's a Wrangler tire, same size at least.

What do you think I could get for the full set?

It's these wheels.

JP03-15080-5450-25SM-2__71516.1581516331.jpg