The question is ....how much diameter makes a difference in the short amount of time you drive with the smaller spare to go get the flat fixed or replaced?
Because a 285/70/17 tire with a tread depth of 18/32,when the tread is worn down to the wear bars is about the same diameter or even smaller then a stock new 265/70/17 tire(spare) .
I figure Toyota had to have built in at least as much as the difference between a worn out tire's diameter and a new tire's diameter and the safety features still work(abs,trac,vsc, ect.).......which is about 2 tire sizes in diameter.
The main reason I upsized my spare to a 285/70/17 BFG AT is because I was worried if I was offroad or on icy,snowy road conditions out in the middle of nowhere and got a flat that the stock spare wouldn't cut it .
I wanted a spare that would be a close match to the others I was running for capability standards. In other words ,the spare Dunflop or whatever passenger tire spare wouldn't get me to where I could have my original fixed or replaced.Plan for the worst and hope for the best theory.
As proquip stated ,the best bet is a 255/80/17 ,which is about the biggest diameter you'll fit up under but not be too wide to be the low spot in the back. My 285/70/17 spare is the low spot(barely) in the middle in the back and has some drag marks to prove it. The rubber gives a little though as I run it low and drags on the hitch reciever the hardest.