Rotate spare tire?

[J.A.]

Thanks J.A, I keep your page bookmarked for quick reference. Do you have indents on the tire and/or scratches on the spare when you drop the spare to add to your rotation? I see that you've used Griot's Fine Hand Polish on your rims, if you do get scratches from the tire being stored underneath does the polish help?

I have not had the scratches on the spare you have mentioned. Nor indentations on the tire. I did use the fine hand polish on all the rims to remove fine hairline scratches as a result of normal wear and tear. I wouldnt expect it to remove the kind of scratches I am thinking you have. Do you have any pics?

 

[TechWrench]

I'm debating getting a set of 4 or 5 new tires soon so I dropped my spare to clean it off and it has lots of fine scratches as though sand has rubbed against it. Sounds like it's a common problem, for those of you that do a 5 tire rotation, how do you protect the spare from scratches, does a typical hand wax cover up the scratches? Also if you do a 5 tire rotation every 5000 miles do you get indents on the tire from the "U" looking bracket the tire presses against under there?

Do you store the spare with the finished, 'outside', surface up or down? If you are hanging the spare on the cable with the finished surface down, it could be getting damaged by debris being thrown up by the rear wheels. I always store my spare with the finished side up against the underside of the vehicle floor pan. I have noticed that I get some indentations in the tire from being held up against the crossmembers, but they go away in a day or so, so I haven't worried about them. I do a regular 5 tire rotation on my oem wheels, and I do have to clean the wheel that was in the spare position before I install it, but haven't noticed anything more than normal dirt and grit from the winters roads.

 

[martini]

Do you have any pics?

Thanks guys, I'll take a picture when I get home to show what it looks like. I'm also going to try and use a wax/polish on it after a "before" picture to see how that works.

Do you store the spare with the finished, 'outside', surface up or down?

The tire is stored finished side up to try and help protect it. I don't know when the scratches appeared since I got mine used and hadn't really cleaned off the spare before now since I'm going to be using it in my rotations once the new tires are on.

I have noticed that I get some indentations in the tire from being held up against the crossmembers, but they go away in a day or so

That's good to know that the indentations go away.

 

[TechWrench]

The tire is stored finished side up to try and help protect it. I don't know when the scratches appeared since I got mine used and hadn't really cleaned off the spare before now since I'm going to be using it in my rotations once the new tires are on.

So, it is possible that the scratches came from when the previous owner had that wheel mounted, and not from being stored underneath?


That's good to know that the indentations go away.

Yeah, usually I just clean the tires when I swap the winters out for the summer ones.

 

[martini]

Here's a picture of the scratches, they're really visible in direct sunlight on fine scratches on every spoke (the camera didn't capture all of it, but good enough for an idea):

I put some wax on it but it didn't really do much, any suggestions on what to try?

 

[TechWrench]

Here's a picture of the scratches, they're really visible in direct sunlight on fine scratches on every spoke (the camera didn't capture all of it, but good enough for an idea):

I put some wax on it but it didn't really do much, any suggestions on what to try?

It's difficult to tell from that pic, but it looks like the scratches radiate out from the center, and not from side to side. Also, I don't see any on the side surfaces of the spoke. If these observations are accurate, then I suspect they came from some other cause than being stored underneath the vehicle. Maybe the prevous owner was a little too agressive when trying to clean them?

 

[sunnyside]

Send my car to the scheduled service, they checked all my tires and said there is no need to rotate.

 

[martini]

Also, I don't see any on the side surfaces of the spoke. If these observations are accurate, then I suspect they came from some other cause than being stored underneath the vehicle. Maybe the prevous owner was a little too agressive when trying to clean them?

I think you're spot on and I agree with you, since they're only on the surface and in such a consistent direction.

 

[snhrph]

I rotate with every oil change and include the spare.

I follow the same pattern as J.A..

 

[J.A.]

Here's a picture of the scratches, they're really visible in direct sunlight on fine scratches on every spoke (the camera didn't capture all of it, but good enough for an idea):


I put some wax on it but it didn't really do much, any suggestions on what to try?

Yeah, little hard to tell from the pics but it looks like aggressive washing using a brush like they do at a car wash. Do the other wheels look like that? I think that it looks like it would come of with buffing. Try some of the Griots hand polish or something similar. Test it on a small portion first.

 

[LowLife]

Tire shelf life/unused spare life span...

i have read that tires can go bad. i believe some tires have something like a 10 year shelf life. ANd that a spare tire can bad after about 6 years or so. sounds like a use it or loose it type of situation. I would say throw the spare in the rotaion (if they are not directional tires/same sized tires,, etc...)



Can tires weaken with age? - Nightly News - msnbc.com

 

[2008t4r]

I did my tire rotation yesterday. I did all five tire rotations. Cleaned the wheels and tires with oxy clean laundry powder soap for the white wall. I was satisfied with the results. It did clean and whiten the lettering. After cleaning, there was a rust stains on my front wheels. I tried turtle wax Chrome wax, and it did remove the rust stain. BTW, i do my rotations every oil change (5K miles).