I have considered my setup and wanted to see if anyone might have an elegant solution to a potential problem.

As you can see in my sig, I am running a 4" CST spindle lift and 285's which are almost 3" taller than stock (problem #1). The lift spindles require wheels with no more than 4.5" of backspacing, and accordingly the stock wheels will no longer fit on the front (problem #2).

Problem is, if I have a flat, and need to use the spare, I can't put it on the front, because of problem #2, and I can't put it on the back because of problem #1 (can't think of a better way to grenade my G80 than to have one wheel spinning 10% faster than the other).

The way I see it, I could source a cheap steel wheel with the correct backspacing and buy another taller tire, but I don't know if anyone makes a skinny enough 33" or metric equivalent 17" tire to allow me to use the factory mounting location, even if there is room under there for the increased diameter (I have not measured). The other option would just be to wing it and hope that the BFG A/T's are tough enough to prevent any severe damage and carry a can of fix-a-flat to temporarily fix any punctures until I can get to a tire shop.

As I see it, the stock spare tire is virtually useless to me as is, does anyone else have any ideas?

I am notoriously fickle when it comes to modding, so I might just be fishing for an excuse to sell the lift and drop the truck. Just wondered if there were any ideas out there that I had not considered.

Thanks.

 

I have a 285/75-16 on a stock rim hanging from my spare tire bracket. It fits fine.

 

Good to know that there is room for the increased diameter.

 

Nbred- are you runnig 285-70-17s or 285-75-17s?
the 70s would be roughly the same as th 285-75-16s mentioned, but the 75s will be 1 inch larger diameter.

 

285/70/17's - They are about 0.1" smaller than thunder's tires

 

due the same as thunder, if you catch a flat on the back you are fine, if you catch a flat on the front you'll have to put the spare on the rear and move the rear tire/rim to the front... carry a 12v air compressor (under $40 for a decent one), I carry one b/c I work in an office environment. If I come out after a long day at work and have a flat, chances are it's a slow leak, I can fill it with air and drive off instead of getting my good clothes dirty (I've done this before)

 

Good call Nick, that would probably be the cheapest way to go.