Does your spare weigh you down?

[durok]

Was browsing parts, planning out a couple builds as well as a refresh of an existing vehicle...

I was going to be swapping wheel/tire sets on a Vaterra K10 for a more scale-appearing 1.7" set and realized that the existing spare was going to look out of place, but I do prefer a spare on my truck beds. So, I didn't feel like dropping serious cash on picking up an identical spare to match the relatively pricey RC4WD RaceLine wheel and Goodyear MT/R spare - and they weren't sold singly anyways.

So,I needed to keep as close to the same OD to keep it somewhat scale, lightweight to keep the COG low, and cheap... and I really wanted to get two different OD tires because I realized I wanted a spare to go with a future build as well. So, I found a great deal on the very last remaining RC4WD 1.7" Siped TSL Super Swamper Bogger - $5(Damn! But not a very light tire) and then since i wasn't having as much luck on cheapness for another - went for lightness and OD instead and picked up a single RC4WD 1.9" Scrambler (just about the lightest for its OD available).

Then - wheels... Hmmm. Was going to go with cheap RC4WD steelies, but the spare doesn't really need to be a beadlock, and doesn't even need to be a metal wheel. Searching a bit - I found Vaterra 1.9" pseudo-beadlocks that I had never seen before and found them for $6.99 (for a full set of 4!). After I ordered them I got to thinking, what vehicle were they originally for?

Got a big laugh out of the result... The Vaterra SlickRock! :lmao:

Also, the product blurb on another site said they wouldn't match up to traditional 1.9" crawler tires... I thought - Huh? I'm not even glueing them up, they are just going to be spares - so what. Who are they kidding with that remark?

So, today I got them all in. Even though 1 tire is a 1.7", of course the fit was fine. Likewise on the 1.9" tire. it's so funny holding each of them and then picking up the spare Incision Method / Axial R35 BF Goodrich Baja T/A 2.2" I ordered long ago for my RR10 - it weighs a freakin' ton compared to these (admittedly much smaller) spares. The Vaterra wheel with a small-ish tire is truly a featherweight combo.

Anyways - I thought the whole experience was somewhat amusing. Maybe if I was glueing them up, I would run into a problem with the SlickRock wheels - but they seem fine. They're right at 1" between the beads & even have a pretty strong looking hex area. The pseudo-beadlock ring area is very shiny black, and the wheel centers are matte finished - kinda neat for a wheel that cost me all of approximately $1.75 each.... I could probably paint the ring silver to match my Raceline alloys on one of them. Funny thought I had after getting the tires and wheels... Man, if they had 4 more Boggers at that price I'd snap 'em up just to use as mud tires - they're more appealing than I thought they'd be. Unfortunately, they are priced in line with the rest of RC4WD's tires if you buy them in pairs...and I have checked back to see if they restocked singles... ;-)
...and, I even kinda like the Scramblers - they'd be perfect on a MST CFX w/a Proline Samurai body... sheesh, do I have a rubber fetish or what?

Pics:

 

[Ironhide13]

Running with a spare on the rig always looks better, scale points or not. I bought the SCX10 II kit, and at first bought a full set of Proline KO2s because I thought the stock Axial looked way too big; I was building for a weekend warrior look. But soon after crawling a time or two on hard trails, I went back to the stock Axials for ground clearance. So, since I had the smaller tires, and the stock plastic wheels after getting a set of SSD beadlocks, I got the spare tire carrier for the rear bumper. Looks great, but the extra weight on the stock plastic bumper and bumper mount just makes it catch on most everything.

My intentions that if I ever went more scale in a Class 1 adaption with a full interior for the XJ body, was to go back to the Proline KO2s, and mount a 1.55" RC4WD Dirt Grabber & steelie combo in the rear cargo area, like the 1:1 actually had. I've decided to step away from the XJ body, so maybe someone here will read this and do it justice.

I do still plan on running with a spare mounted on the rear somewhere for my next pickup body, but I haven't quite got the proper layout yet.

 

[svt923]

I have a similar feeling about spare tires, they are there for looks.

The spare on my GCM Jeep is on a plastic Axial wheel unglued with no foam. It is even an out of spec tire that got replaced for free but looks the part and that is good enough.

FYI, the wheels from the Yeti Jr make good, lightweight spares for 1.55 tires.

 

[Natedog]

Durok, nice choice of wheels and tires, I often crawl without a spare for lower cog. Good advice to check tires/wheels weights and sizes. Sometimes a fullsize spare won't fit on the truck just like 1:1. Paint pen would dress up the the Vaterra Slickrock wheels. If I"m going for looks, G6, etcetera then I'll usually run a tire that's same size or close to those on my truck, sometimes on a lightweight beadlock (Axial plastic or Pro-Line plastic beadlocks are good for this) or sometimes I've glued the tire on, it can be baked off later.

 

[DukeMinnix]

I try and match the tread pattern and general wheel look and color. It does look a little odd having 1.9 RB on the back of my MJ truggy that sports 2.2 RBIIs though, quite a size difference :lmao:

 

[Richterat83]

I try and match the tread pattern and general wheel look and color. It does look a little odd having 1.9 RB on the back of my MJ truggy that sports 2.2 RBIIs though, quite a size difference :lmao:

"space saver" tire? lol

 

[FANATICRC]

I loved the way my TRX-4 looked with the spare when I took it out of the box and set it on the counter to inspect my purchase, I even liked the look of the spare as I drove it and it looked damn good in some of the pics I've been taking. Then I started doing some steep inclines and.....drag....drag....hang up....drag....so after that run I went home and removed it. I'm replacing it with the knightcustom rotopak relocate kit and spare tire delete for the back. It'll still look really good and be way way way more functional.

 

[Orangejeep1]

I loved the way my TRX-4 looked with the spare when I took it out of the box and set it on the counter to inspect my purchase, I even liked the look of the spare as I drove it and it looked damn good in some of the pics I've been taking. Then I started doing some steep inclines and.....drag....drag....hang up....drag....so after that run I went home and removed it. I'm replacing it with the knightcustom rotopak relocate kit and spare tire delete for the back. It'll still look really good and be way way way more functional.

I’m completely new, so forgive me if I’m way off base, but would stiffer shocks solve this problem?


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[durok]

Handling could be otherwise adversely affected by stiffer springs - not worth the tradeoff when the core issue is worse approach angle caused by the spare.

Also, sometimes a lower center of gravity is preferable to a scale spare tire as an accessory...

 

[FANATICRC]

Handling could be otherwise adversely affected by stiffer springs - not worth the tradeoff when the core issue is worse approach angle caused by the spare.

Also, sometimes a lower center of gravity is preferable to a scale spare tire as an accessory...

Exactly, it helps to lower the center of gravity by having that heavy spare gone. The problem I had like said above is because of the angle of incline the spare tire would drag and hang up when trying to do a more verticle rock wall climb

 

[Orangejeep1]

Exactly, it helps to lower the center of gravity by having that heavy spare gone. The problem I had like said above is because of the angle of incline the spare tire would drag and hang up when trying to do a more verticle rock wall climb

You both make good points. TY




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[ferp420]

I used 1 of the 3 pieces of the method beadlocks that came with my rig it matches the new ones to and a small closed cell foam in side to keep it from colapsing and a old ripsaw its alot lighter than a full rim and the closed cell foam dosent fill up with water it realy sucks when you role your rig in the creek and add 4lbs of water to the roof of the rig instantly

 

[canadianbacon]

I have an Axial Walker Evans 1.9 and an older Flat Iron I run as my spare, decently light weight and still functional.

 

[Peaker]

I have only run with a spare tire on the Honcho in its kit form, when i changed to the jeep pickup body that had to go.

I then tried it again with the TF2 fully decked out ( 2 spear wheels even )
And that with the heavy steel cage/rack over the bed and 2 wheels in the bed that just killed off 90% of the capabilities of the car.