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Dual Lockers- Spare Tire

B

BADaXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Maine
I've got an aussie up front and i want to put one in the rear. i was about ready to order the other day and then i got to thinking... most of the wheeling i do is in places that are at least 20 miles away. i have a full size spare but it's a different tire so it's not the exact same diameter. if i get a flat on the trail and don't have a spare tire with a diameter very close to the other 3, one of the lockers is going to be doing a lot or ratcheting on the drive home... thats my only cause for hesitation on going f/r lockers. just wondering if anybody has any thoughts or experience with this?
Thanks
 
BADaXJ said:
I've got an aussie up front and i want to put one in the rear. i was about ready to order the other day and then i got to thinking... most of the wheeling i do is in places that are at least 20 miles away. i have a full size spare but it's a different tire so it's not the exact same diameter. if i get a flat on the trail and don't have a spare tire with a diameter very close to the other 3, one of the lockers is going to be doing a lot or ratcheting on the drive home... thats my only cause for hesitation on going f/r lockers. just wondering if anybody has any thoughts or experience with this?
Thanks
Click to expand...

You can put the spare on the front for the ride home .... while not in 4x4 you SHOULD be ok with slightly different tire sizes.

I don't know about this, but you might also be able to play with tire pressure to get them at the same diameter ..... but then again that might cause other issues.
 
how close is the spare's diameter?
If it's within an inch I wouldn't worry too much. You can always air down the other tire to get it close enough. I wouldn't go long highway distances like that, but 20 miles probably isn't going to hurt it.

When I had a detroit in the rear I always knew when my tire pressures were off, because you could hear it ratcheting in a straight line. It only takes about 5 PSI difference, so I don't think it's a big deal.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if you are concerned why don't you just pick up a full sized spare? Craigslist...used tires are cheap. Seems like a weak reason to not get the locker.

Ben
 
Under acceleration (load) it(the rear) should always be locked anyhow, no ratcheting occurring, until you're off the gas. You'll have more wear on your tires, but it's not something you'll be doing alot of - it's something you'll do to get you home or where you need to be. It will not hurt the locker. Where you really do not want a difference in diameter is with an LSD, as it will constantly be slipping and generating alot of heat. If given the choice, run the different sized tire in the front. In 2wd, you won't know it's there with the exception of maybe a slight draw to that side to which you'll have to counteract with steering corrections.
 
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In 2 wheel drive the front locker will never be under load so there should be no issue.
 
i say it depends on how close the 2 tire sizes are. if its with an inch, id say go for it, and try to just air the bigger one down.

but running a 35, with a 32 or something i could see causing issues. lunchbox lockers can act quirky enough under normal situations with loading and unloading. the last thing id want to do is give them another reason to do weird things
 
DaffyDuc said:
and what exactly would deflating one tire do for the size? its still the same diameter regardless of how flat it is.

lol
Click to expand...

the height between the rim and tire decreases as it is deflated , effectively making it a "smaller tire" My aussie will ratchet if one tire is lower than the rest. If one tire is smaller by and inch it will help to lower the pressure in the bigger one
 
what about running detroits front and rear? i have a detroit in the front already and am thinking of putting 1 in the rear and getting rid of the lsd in the 8.8
 
that's what i figured... the spare is a worn no-name 33 and my tires are 3/4 tread trxus. as for buying another spare, tires are not all that easy to come buy nor that cheap here. there are currently no suitable tires on craigs within reasonable distance. anyway, i'm not that worried about. i would definitely put it on the front and manipulate pressures to get as close as possible. i wanted to see what others had to say about the constant ratcheting and what it might do to the drive gears/ teeth. chances of it happening are slim enough that i'll probably just go for it, i just wanted to make sure there weren't any horror stories of chewed up aussies and pitted gears and bearings...
Thanks
 
I ran a mismatched set of BFG MTs for years with lunch box lockers front and back. You could hear the front click going in a straight line and this was with a small difference in diameter. However it didn't seem to hurt anything. When the mismatch was on the rear it would pull to one side or the other under power but nothing tragic.

The reason for the mismatch was my BFG MTs in various states of tire wear due to sidewall cuts and roadhazzard warranty.

Sorry, drug this thread up on a search I did on tire pressure, didn't realize how old it was.
 
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