So, I picked up a nail in my left rear tire, and have the full-size spare on, which has never previously been used.

I've read before that if you have to replace a tire on a 4wd vehicle, you pretty much have to replace all 4 if the other three good tires have 50% or less life on 'em or risk expensive repairs. In my case i'm down to about 25% or so.

1) how true is that?

2) I'm going to atlanta tomorrow, and since the spare is brand new and likely a slightly larger diameter than the rest of the tires, how bad can I fuck up my vehicle?

3) If it's not a good idea, what are the chances i can get this plugged? It's not completely in the sidewall, it's sort of in the exact area where the tread and the sidewall meet.

[Edited on February 13, 2008 at 12:16 PM. Reason : af]

2/13/2008 12:13:40 PM

most shops wont plug a hole that close to the sidewall for liability issues

2/13/2008 12:14:51 PM

yeah that's what i figured.

maybe a little gorilla glue will help

2/13/2008 12:17:05 PM

is it all wheel drive or four wheel drive

the former will get fucked up, the latter wont if you disengage the front drive and you have an open differential in the rear (which you probably do)

but without the fucking YEAR, MAKE, MODEL no one will know for sure

2/13/2008 12:19:59 PM

the fucking YEAR, MAKE, MODEL are 2004 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER SR5 BRO

[Edited on February 13, 2008 at 12:23 PM. Reason : and it's 4WD, not AWD as in the thread title]

2/13/2008 12:22:30 PM

well i mean you arent driving in 4 wheel drive at all times are you?

arent they RWD and you put it into 4wd?

if thats the case, and if you have to, just replace two.

either two front, or two back.

cuz when you do put it in 4wd its not like you are driving on smooth contact patches.

2/13/2008 12:24:59 PM

yeah, it's RWD when 4wd is disengaged, which is why I never understood what the replace all 4 thing was all about.

and with that in mind, with the one spare and one old tire, would that fuck anything up driving to ATL and back?

maybe i could swap the spare with one of the front tires...

2/13/2008 12:27:50 PM

your front end will be unlocked, the rear may have a limited slip. Since the circumference is different between a new tire and old tire, it puts unnecessary stress on the rear axle. Just put the spare on the front and move a front to the back and you'll be ok. I've been running that configuration for about 5k miles now.

2/13/2008 12:28:08 PM

yeah, like ^ said you dont want to put mis-matched tires on your drive wheels.

if you dont have the time, or if they arent really worn out, just put the spare up front, and move a front wheel to the back.

2/13/2008 12:30:04 PM

^^,^ awesome, thanks

[Edited on February 13, 2008 at 12:30 PM. Reason : adsf]

2/13/2008 12:30:22 PM

It will be fine, you likely have an open carrier rear axle. The only time you need to worry about such things is when you have a full time awd vehicle, like audi quattro w/ viscous coupling. Many awd vehicles (land cruisers, land rovers, jeeps w/ 242 case etc) have open center differentials anyway so it still wouldn't matter.

[Edited on February 13, 2008 at 5:00 PM. Reason : /]

2/13/2008 4:59:40 PM

Quote :

"just put the spare up front"

never put a spare up front. not only is that your turning tire but also 80% of your braking.

2/13/2008 8:57:55 PM

putting the spare up front shouldnt be a problem since its a full size tire meaning it would be the same as the rest right?

2/13/2008 10:19:46 PM

Quote :

"never put a spare up front. not only is that your turning tire but also 80% of your braking."

Quote :

"have the full-size spare on"

2/13/2008 10:37:05 PM

Spend $7 on a plug kit from autozone/walmart/etc and do it yourself.

2/14/2008 7:53:52 AM

aah, cant even read. nevermind

[Edited on February 14, 2008 at 8:45 AM. Reason : ]

2/14/2008 8:45:19 AM

Quote :

"Spend $7 on a plug kit from autozone/walmart/etc and do it yourself."

it seems like the nail is too close to the sidewall. of course a pic would help, but if a shop wouldnt do it, then neither should you.

2/14/2008 8:47:04 AM

^ agreed..

i mean we did it at the golfcourse all the time on golfcarts and they still blew...but 17 mph is a lot less than 60->75

2/14/2008 8:58:50 AM

As long as it's not actually in the sidewall I wouldn't worry about it. I've ridden on tires like that for many thousands miles. Actually my bike's got a plug in it now about an 1/8 of an inch from the edge - tested to 150+

2/14/2008 8:40:11 PM

2/14/2008 8:41:53 PM