spare tire q. w/ unidirectional tires

lasrever · 11-12-2007, 08:13 AM

ok - so i'm kind of thinking of replacing my rubber when i get to ny.
the mud-terrains won't be at end of life but i want to put something on that will be a bit more appropriate for the kind of driving/weather as opposed to arizona.
currently i'm debating a few but among them are yoko geolander m/t and vredestein wintrac 4 both of which are 'directional' tires.
what does one do with the full-sized spare if you have directionals on?
my allroad had directionals and a full-sized spare but it was not a normal tire, it was a pretty plane-jane vredestein that was omnidirectional.
would one do the same kind of thing on the fj - have the spare be a omnidirectional tire that did not match the other four?
(i'm asking because y'all know that if i put a directional on the spare whatever blows will be the side which would run it in the wrong direction)
just wondering if anyone has any ideas.

thanks,

**Delray** · 11-12-2007, 03:04 PM

I have the ProComp Xterrains which are directional and I figured if I need the spare (even if it is installed going the wrong direction) It won't be as big of a deal as having a spare to finish out the trip.

You may need to get a tire flipped/mounted/rebalanced on one of your rims later so they are all facing the right way. It is certainly something to put in the mix for anyone considering a directional tread pattern though.

layonnn · 11-12-2007, 03:07 PM

Also, do you plan on using you spare when you rotate your tires? Do many other people do this?

blackseabk · 11-12-2007, 03:23 PM

Ideally if you have a body that has an FJ and if you guys are thinking of buying the same type and size tires make sure both spare is for different side that way you could swap tires if it is the one for the wrong direction, just an idea.

lasrever · 11-12-2007, 06:46 PM

i'm on the fence about including the spare in rotation - honestly i'm not sure if i'd want to deal with all that if i go directional.
it's the question of - if i get directional do i keep the spare as a non-directional that i can use in a pinch even if it doesn't match in looks, or do i get directional all around and 'hope' that a flat matches the direction of the flat and if not, as Delray implies, riding the tire in the wrong direction for a short period isn't that big a deal.
(i drove aquatreds for years and one set got rotated wrong which did actually ruin them pretty quickly, however)

we'll see, i hava a couple of weeks and about 4k miles to think about it.

5280FJ · 11-12-2007, 06:56 PM

If you are going to get an ulcer over it, find a non-directional tire... geez...

Or maybe call the manufacturer, and find out if the "directional" is tread only, or has to do with carcass construction.

Or just rely on a bunch of people you don't know, who, 99.9% (including me) have no clue as per tread pattern design, tire heat cycles, etc, etc, etc...

lasrever · 11-12-2007, 07:56 PM

Quote:

5280FJ previously said:

If you are going to get an ulcer over it, find a non-directional tire... geez...

Or maybe call the manufacturer, and find out if the "directional" is tread only, or has to do with carcass construction.

Or just rely on a bunch of people you don't know, who, 99.9% (including me) have no clue as per tread pattern design, tire heat cycles, etc, etc, etc...

hey - i'm not having an ulcer over this.
i'm just asking and from what i've found there is a great deal of knowledge here, and while lots of people on the forum may not know what they're talking about often experience will make up for knowledge if you're willing to take it all in and be intelligent about what you take away 99.9% of the time you'll get something worthwhile.

oh, and on all the tires i'm considering the directionality is purely in tread not in carcass - i know a lot about road/performance tires and wear and heat cycles, i'm trying to gain the equivalent knowledge of lt/off-road.

ask and learn, or not.