Just because the rim size is different doesn't actually mean that the spare is incorrectly sized. As long as the tire height and circumference between the spare and regular tires is comparable it will not cause any harm.

 

based on your response the donut is dangerous

your indication is similar size therefore 1" small diameter coupled with a limited use donut is dangerous

 

What size tires are you running and what is the size of the spare?

 

stock sizes new car

P215/65 R17, spare is T155/90 D16, Measured diameters tread to tread regular tires 29", spare 26" which suggests about a 10% circumference difference.

 

215/65/17 = 28" not 29". i doubt its that major of a problem unless ur running 32"tires. and on these rigs thats not happening right now. i ran our spare on the jeep for about 2 weeks while waiting for a new tire to come in. didnt have any problems. and didnt notice any drivetrain issues. also i am running 235/65/17 and thats a 29" tire!

 

Its just a Spare wheel to get you home or tyre Depot--Not to go racing!!

 

Are you kidding me? Some people just floor me...

You buy a Jeep and choose to not pay a few extra bucks for a full sized spare. Then afterwards knowing your spare is not full size you go and complain to the government?

Wow...

 

It takes all kinds I guess. I went and found a auto salvage yard that had "08" 17" Patriot alloy wheels from a wreck and purchased one for $100. Then went and had a Goodyear Wrangler 215/65R/17 tire installed like on the Jeep now that was another $100. So for $200 I have the very same wheel tire combo as on the Patriot now and fits nicely where the donut was. Oh and by the way the dealer wanted $220 + tax for the rim alone.:wow:

Besides it would really suck to puncture a tire off roading and have to try and get out of somewhere with that donut.

 

By my calculations, the donut spare should be around 27" to 27.2" in overall diameter. So less then 1" in total difference for an temporary spare is not dangerous at all. And yes, if you're going to go off-roading, I'd make sure I had a full size spare.

 

28" regular tires and 27" "mini-spare". The size is not an issue for a short drive at low speeds.

Ever read the owner's manual?

Temporary use spare tires are for emergency use only.With these tires, do not drive more than 50 mph (80 km/h). Temporary-use spare tires have limited tread life. When the tread is worn to the tread wear indicators, the temporary use spare tire needs to be replaced. Be sure to follow the warnings, which apply to your spare. Failure to do so could result in spare tire failure and loss of vehicle control.

I was near someone (not for long) on the freeway this past Saturday that was driving 85mph on a minispare!

 

wow, just wow.

 

end of story, Chrysler/Dealer provided full size spare

And let me keep the donut

 

In my case, I have a set of steel rims and winter tires.
I removed the donut, and keep an off-season full size spare in my pat.

 

nevermind........I started my post this AM and now I see he has responded with 'dealer supplied a full size spare'. NICE DEALER! Hope you appreciate what they did, as they were in no way obligated to do so.

 

I didn't like the compact spare when I had to use it so I got a 17 inch black spare tire wheel from the dealer for 77 bucks and mounted a goodyear sr-a tire. So now I have a full size spare I carry and the small spare as a backup.

 

A Potential Stupid Question



So, I'm in the procces of getting 4 new tires (Pirelli P4) because after just 40,000 the Goodyear SRA's are already balling because they suck!! Anyway, one of my current SRA's has about 10,000 miles less because of a flat so I had the idea of replacing my donut spare with the SRA (of course buying a spare type rim for it.) Here's my question, will a full size spare still fit where the donut is now? It looks like there is enough clearance and I doubt Jeep would design a different body style just for a spare, but I wanted to throw out the question to my fellow Jeep Patriot friends to see what you guys had to say.
You guys are AWESOME!!

 

Its nice to hear that they have given you the full size spare tires as well as letting you keep the donut... There is not much difference but its important to have same tires sizes for ease of driving...

 

there is a difference

My wife recently had to use the doughnut which I had assumed was a full sized spare until she called me and told me it was a doughnut. The size discrepancy was a big deal since the 4x4 patriots are technically a full time 4 wheel drive vehicle. in the 6 miles from flat tire to tire dealer, a vibration developed in the rear. After a month the vibration was still there during acceleration from 30-40. and I'm not talking about cell phone vibration here, I'm talking healthy whole vehicle shaking vibration. finally it started in with a loud vehicle jarring clunk at 25mph, and that's when I forced my wife to hand over the keys. the clunk started on a Saturday so I couldn't take it in until Monday. I took it to the dealer, took the mechanic for a ride so he could hear it, and made an appointment for Wednesday to have it checked out. unfortunately the last time it made the clunk was that monday with the mechanic, so on wed. when I brought it in, they couldnt reproduce the problem, and charged me 87$ to tell me my fluids looked ok and bring it back in if it did it again. Chances are my transfer case, or rear differential are jacked up now, and will completely fall off my jeep within the next year. My advice, change out your doughnut for a full size spare as soon as possible.

 

FYI Jeep Patriot's do not have Transfer Cases !!!

:wow:

Chances are my transfer case, or rear differential are jacked up now, and will completely fall off my jeep within the next year. My advice, change out your doughnut for a full size spare as soon as possible.

Jeep Patriot's DO NOT HAVE a transfer case !!!! Not even the FDII variant, it's all done by the CVT

The creaking sound you were hearing must have been a rock jammed up in your rear spring.

 

Anyone that thinks that MickeyG is wrong doesn't know much about 4WD IMO. You can cause serious transfercase/differential damage by running un-matched tire sizes. For the manufacturer not to provide 5 evenly sized tires is just stupid.

JMHO

 

in 4wd mode, yes can cause damage,
when running on a donut, do not engage 4x4,
have ran on donuts many times in past 20 yrs,
many times not swapping it out for well past the 50 mile range,
commute to work is 26 miles each way, have ran on donuts for 1 week,
in various cars, including 4x4 liberty, wrangler,
my pat came with full size spare, so cant comment on donut on the pat,

 

:dead_horse:It's a TEMPORARY spare. not meant for long term use, high speed use or trail use. If it doesn't meet your needs (or for some reason terrifies you), buy a full sized spare from a junkyard, tire shop, or dealer.

 

Dumb question that probably has been asked before... But can you fit a full size spare in that space? I have the fdI with 17" wheels and the crappy firestone affinity tires, my spare is smaller and barely fits in the spot.. I am curious because i do plan on upgrading to the 215/65/17 tires next year and will buy a full size spare if i know it fits.

 

Open diff and no transfer case, so UCMJ and Camas's foundations are simply not applicable to the Patriot.

 

I don't think anyone has defended or will defend the donut spare. It is what it is. That's why so many folks replace the donut if their vehicle has one.

 

Just out of interest, my Patriot came with 5 x 17 inch alloys, all the same.

And Yes, the 17 inch full size wheel fits comfortably in the wheel well of MY Jeep. Don't know if all Jeeps are all the same?

 

I've recently replaced my donut with a full size spare. I had 2 flats within a 2 week period and then my donut went flat as well. It was pretty bad. I ended up buying a 17" black steel rim from ebay that was originally made for a caliber for $50 and put a cheap tire on it. viola - full size spare.

I wanted to make sure it was a different wheel so I wouldn't just leave it on lol. I know the steelie weighs a bit more but i havent seen any dramatic difference

 

I know this is an old post, but just wanted to chime in my 2 cents in case someone like me looks it up in the future.

I just had to use my donut spare and as soon as I made a turn my ESP anti-skid light came on, so it obviously does affect the AWD sensors! Beware. I turned off the ESP using the button on the dash and had no problems, but just be careful.

 

Chysler Genius example #412

So, I bought a full size 17" spare to go with my factory 17" wheels and, surprise - it does not even come close to fitting in the spare tire well.

So, I have to put my SIXTEEN INCH DONUT spare back in my Jeep to use with my SEVENTEEN INCH wheels!

Can someone tell me why, when I spent money to get the "Tire & Wheel Package", that I have a 16" donut as a spare tire for my 17" wheels???

And yes, it does make a difference (see posts above). Way to go, Chrysler :BLAM:

 

I had a 96 Subaru Outback for a while. Got a flat on my way home from work at the right rear corner. Pulled off the road, changed the flat out for the doughnut spare, and drove 11 miles to a tire shop. Had the tire replaced, and got back on the road. By the time I got home, I had a constant grinding noise coming from the "center Diff", and a loud popping coming from the rear axle. If you have an all wheel drive or full time 4 wheel drive vehicle the tires must be the same size. When I took the outback in to have it fixed, the mechanic showed me a fuse holder under the hood. He told me that if I had pulled the fuse in that fuse holder it would have disconnected the center diff and no damage would have been done. However, Subaru did not tell you that in the owners manual for 1996 models. I beleive they changed the owners manual at a later date to include that information.

My wife drives a 2010 Outlander GT with S-AWC. She dropped it off before work one day and had two new tires installed on the front wheels. It needed 4 but we only had the scratch for two for whatever reason at the time. She picked it up after work and drove less than one mile. It lit up the all wheel drive caution light on the dash. The tires she had put on were the same tires it came with from the factory, but the old ones on the back had worn enough that the traction control sensed different speeds between the axles and disconnected the all wheel drive. She had to take it back and have them put two more new tires on the rear, and put it on a credit card. (we only use a credit card for emergencies)

I have an FDii Pat. Fullsize spare. Since that episode with the Subaru, each time I have had to use the doughnut spare, I have always made sure I installed it on a non-drive axle. If it was on a front wheel drive car and a front tire went flat, I would jack up the rear put the doughnut on the rear, and then use the good rear tire on the front drive axle. That way anything connected with gears or clutch packs was spinning at the same speed. It was not cheap to replace the center diff clutch pack and rear differential on that outback. It's not an expense I am willing to pay out again. If all I had was a doughnut spare, I would swap it out for a fullsize steel wheel and used tire. It's not hard to find that combo for around 100 bucks, and it could save you thousands, literally.