Rotating in the spare tire

JeepJeep75

New member
Hey guys, need some input here. Seeing as how the JK is extremely sensitive to wheel speeds, and the difference between wheel speeds, has anyone had a problem rotating in the spare tire? I have almost 10,000 miles on my stock BFG rubicon tires. Comparing these to the unused spare tire, there is a noticeable difference in tread height. If I rotate in the spare, being that it is a little bit bigger than the rest, will I have a problem with the traction control thinking that I'm spinning a tire? I will have the spare tire swapped onto one of my rims with the TPMS sensor in it, as the spare tire rim doesn't have a sensor in it. I don't think it would be a problem because, what if you put on the spare anyways? My main question is, will it screw with the computer? Or should I just let the spare tire rot on the back while I wear down the rest? What do you guys think?
 

Benito

Caught the Bug
Hey guys, need some input here. Seeing as how the JK is extremely sensitive to wheel speeds, and the difference between wheel speeds, has anyone had a problem rotating in the spare tire? I have almost 10,000 miles on my stock BFG rubicon tires. Comparing these to the unused spare tire, there is a noticeable difference in tread height. If I rotate in the spare, being that it is a little bit bigger than the rest, will I have a problem with the traction control thinking that I'm spinning a tire? I will have the spare tire swapped onto one of my rims with the TPMS sensor in it, as the spare tire rim doesn't have a sensor in it. I don't think it would be a problem because, what if you put on the spare anyways? My main question is, will it screw with the computer? Or should I just let the spare tire rot on the back while I wear down the rest? What do you guys think?

I believe spare tire does have a TPMS sensor in it.
 

JeepJeep75

New member
I guess I can try putting on the spare now, at least to see if it'll mess with the traction control. While I'm at it I will let some air out of the spare and see if it triggers the TPMS.
 

JoeB-JKURX

New member
That's what I was thinking. I try to rotate mine every oil change. The factory spare has tpms sensor unless it was removed.

10K is a bit much but very unlikely to trigger ESC. 5 tire rotation makes all kind of sense. You get 20% more tire life on a set and can include a new tire size/style/brand on all 5 including your spare if you decide to change so that they all match. There used to be a caution with radials on changing the direction a tire rolls (which is necessary on at least one tire with a 5 tire rotation) but I contacted BFG and Discount Tires about it and they both say there is no longer a reason not to do a 5 tire rotation schedule if you have a full sized spare. The Jeep owner's manual even says a full sized spare should be used in the rotation schedule.

That said, when I took it to the dealer for service (prepaid oil change and rotation), they didn't use the spare. I don't use their service anymore (do my own synthetic and Discount does the tires). The dealership service always seemed half-assed (didn't vacuum inside and just ran the rig through the whirly brush wash - scratched the soft top windows and left a lot of dirt around the back by the spare).
 

NV375

Active Member
I do a five tire on my jeep @ Discount Tire I just go help with the third brake light when I see them getting there. My third brake light is in spare hubcap.
 

Zstairlessone

New member
I did a 5 tire for the life of the OEM KMs and never had an issue with the ninnies living inside the control module acting up. Did 5 tire rotation for the life of my 33" KM2s and no issues. Still on the 285/75-17 KM2s after a couple of rotations and no issues to date doing it 5 tire. I do all my rotations at 5000 to 6000 miles. The only thing I noticed was after every rotation on the original KMs they were noticeably louder for the first couple of weeks.
 

JeepJeep75

New member
Cool, thanks guys. I put the spare on and drove around today with no indicator light from the traction control. I have been rotating my own tires every 3,000 or so. Maybe a bit overboard but it can't hurt. I didn't realize the spare had a TPMS sensor in it or I would have done a 5 tire rotation sooner. I must have missed that bit in the 600 page online manual.
 

Hot94Z28

New member
I also rotate it in and I do it every oil change (4000-5000 miles). I figured if I ever need to change a flat I would like my full size spare to be at the same wear as my other tires.
 

WJCO

Meme King
Luckily with tires being stock (I run the same tires on my WJ), you can find them on Craigslist all day long (at least up here). So, if you ever did have to try to find a closer matching tire tread depth, you might be able to get a used one very cheap. I've always kept that in the back of my mind but haven't had to deal with it yet. I haven't rotated my spare in.
 

jeeeep

Hooked
discount tire can measure the difference between your spare and other tires, there is a difference when it's not recommended to rotate in a new spare as it will cause gear damage but not trip the sensors.

I do a 5 tire every oil change around 6k miles
 
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