That was my argument, however I could see how that would be fishy in 4wd.

 

The diameter of the donut spares were the same

 

Well. Of course, you should not run a spare in 4wd at all. I am sure most of us were referring to a road flat, like I was.

And my 95 Cherokee's donut spare was smaller than the tires. The 2001 was the same size, you are right.

 

I don't think anyone is saying it's "so damaging", it's just that if you have a smaller spare, you are not properly prepared for off roading, which will require 4wd. One tire on the ground smaller than the rest is not good for the drivetrain in 4wd.

 

THE spare tires were the same size. It was the WHEELs that were different. a 28 inch tire is 28 inches whether the wheel is 14-15-or 16 inches. The wheels were skiinier to accomadate the mounting placment in the Cherokee's


2007 JK Unlimited 6 Speed 4.10 Gears
3 Inch BDS Lift
35x12.5x16 Yokohama Geolander AT/S
16x8 Cragar Soft 8 Black Steel Wheels
Custom front Winch Bumper from RoundStar OffRoad
Mopar Offroad Rear Bumper
Oilpan/Tranny skid Plate by Skid Row
JKS Quicker Disconnects
Skyjacker Brake line extenders
Skyjacker Adj Rear track bar
High Clearance Adj Front Lower Control Arms by RocKrawler
RocKrawler Front Lower Control Arm Mounting Bracket/Skid Plates
Warrior Products Rear Safari Doors
Plenty of ROCKRASH

 

The big problem is going to come from the computer. It's going to see the wheel spinning faster.

Deflate the three good tires, keep the spare over inflated, turn the ESP off and drive slow. It still might suck getting there but it may work.

Hanson makes a tire carrier for up to 35's that replaces the stock one.

http://www.hansonoffroad.com/product...roducts_id=177

 

This sums it all up right here. Actually, the auto locker would probably be OK, because it would sense different axle speeds due to the different tire sizes and remain unlocked. In theory, anyway. However...the REAL problem would come in if you had a limited slip. Since the axles would be rotating at different speeds, that action would burn the limited slip clutch pack up in no time. Not that the stock unit is anything to brag about in the first place.

 

edrive did bring up a good point about disabling the esp. Mine is always disabled right now (we have no weather to speak of). but that might cause an issue for a little while, or it may just fault itself after a little bit and quit.

 

Yeah. I don't wheel that often. So I would basically drop down the pressure on the good tires to about 25 psi and leave the spare fully inflated. and turn off ESP (to partial mode) since I will be in 2WD. I'm the kind of guy who gets a flat once every 5 years or so. *knocks on wood*. And I am moving up to 35s in a year or so after I get my 33s. So I could just save a few bucks by just airing down and driving straight to one place to park. Maybe I should invest in a flat repair kit? when I do get 35's you can bet I will have all 5 tires replaced!

It's only 1 inch difference! I ran a 31" spare on my 33 (34) inch tired XJ with the limited slip in the rear. No problems.

 

I don't think anybody has mentioned the fact that the computer will go nuts if you have a spare that is more than a 3/4" or so in diameter. It will detect that tire spinning faster than the others. And when you go around some corners (and in some cases, going straight) it will start flipping out on you.

EDIT: I see the ESp was mentioned. But hitting the button only partially disables it.