What Should I Buy As A Replacement Spare for 4Runner?

[nthach]

Well…heck. I bought a tire and had it mounted, but it was a mixed experience.

I ended up calling 3 local places - Discount Tire (over $200), Tire Discounters ($180), and NTB ($154).

All these quotes were for some kind of off-brand tire such as Westlake or Linglong, etc.

Ended up choosing NTB for $154 out the door (parts, labor, & tax) to dismount both tires, transfer the Bridgestone Dueler H/T (identical to the other tires) to the alloy wheel, and mount a Linglong Crosswind 265/70-17 to the steel spare wheel.

The price of the tire is on the receipt as $118. So I paid about $36 in labor & taxes.

The Crosswind is a Chinese copy of the Michelin LTX/Defender LTX, and I’d say, appearance-wise, its pretty darn close. The biggest difference I can spot is that the sipes aren’t full-depth like the Michelin.

So far, so good. Satisfied with that tire and the price, they were nice to deal with, got it done quickly, etc. Which I appreciated.

What I didn’t appreciate, was the scratches they put in the inner bowl of my wheel, with a flathead screwdriver blade, or similar, scraping the old wheel weights off. 🤬

I specifically mentioned that this is a new 2021 vehicle (and wheel), and that I didn’t want any scratches. He said no problem, our machine has a rubber-coated duckbill.

Well, I inspected the face of the wheel before I left. But I neglected to look at the inner barrel of the wheel. 😤

Their machine Also put some nice “puncture” marks (7 pairs of them) around the inner barrel. I assume whatever machine they used has something that expands into the inner barrel in order to secure it. But it caused damage. Cosmetically I don’t really care about the divots, as they’re not really visible (the scratches are). But they might eventually be starting points for corrosion, and should probably be blended out, alodined, and painted, to prevent corrosion eventually starting at those points.

I’m very upset, mainly, that someone was careless enough to use a flathead screwdriver or the like to scrape off the wheel weights. And I’ll be contacting the manager on Monday morning to arrange for them to either repair the damage, or replace the wheel.




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In the last photo, above, you can see 2 of the little “puncture marks” or “divots” that were left by their machine. Why it would operate like this, in a way that can, and has, obviously, damaged customers’ wheels, is beyond me.

Maybe someone here understands the type of machine that was used, and can provide some insight? Was there negligence that caused these divots? Again, I can’t believe that a machine would be designed in a way that could potentially cause damage like this. If so, I’d certainly like to bring it to NTB’s attention, to hopefully prevent others’ wheels from being damaged.

Rim clamp tire changers engage the wheel with claws on the turntable - and they have a spiked surface to grip the wheel barrel. Those machines allow for near “touch less” tire demounting and mounting, as the wheel doesn’t need to be locked down to a hub arbor and no tire irons are involved.

They do make a scraper to take off tape weights and a good tech will use that and brake cleaner to take off the double-sided foam tape(3M usually) on the wheel.

 

[dishdude]

They may not be the same size, but I'd bet they're close to being the same diameter, if not the same diameter. That's what matters.

You just got the spare that they use on the base model. You're not going to get a matching 20" spare from Daimler/Cerberus/FCA/Stellantis... whoever owns them today.

Yeah there's no way the 20" wheel will fit in the well. It makes sense. The spare is an 18" that's the right diameter mounted on a steelie to get you where you need to.

 

[john_pifer]

Rim clamp tire changers engage the wheel with claws on the turntable - and they have a spiked surface to grip the wheel barrel. Those machines allow for near “touch less” tire demounting and mounting, as the wheel doesn’t need to be locked down to a hub arbor and no tire irons are involved.

They do make a scraper to take off tape weights and a good tech will use that and brake cleaner to take off the double-sided foam tape(3M usually) on the wheel.

Yep, all they had to do was use a plastic scraper. I don’t care about the adhesive residue - I can get that off myself.

But the scratches - unacceptable.

 

[02SE]

Sorry to see that. I can't stand hacks. Which with rare exception is why I do my own work.

You know, you could very likely sell your '21, get a '22, and still make a profit.

 

[john_pifer]

Sorry to see that. I can't stand hacks. Which with rare exception is why I do my own work.

You know, you could very likely sell your '21, get a '22, and still make a profit.

I do what I can also, but unfortunately I don’t have access to a tire-changing machine.

Not too worried. There is a good wheel repair place down the road. I’ll suggest that they take care of the bill for sanding/repainting.

Or, if they prefer, they can just replace the wheel.

I bought this for about $7200 off MSRP, so I am in a good financial position on it. Haven’t thought about selling. Not sure I’d want to wade into this market as a buyer right now!

 

[Timmastertech]

Yep, all they had to do was use a plastic scraper. I don’t care about the adhesive residue - I can get that off myself.

But the scratches - unacceptable.

Have you ever tried to peel stick on weights off with a plastic scraper? Give it a try and get back to me on how well it doesnt work. I would be more upset with the piss poor balance job on that steel wheel

 

[john_pifer]

Have you ever tried to peel stick on weights off with a plastic scraper? Give it a try and get back to me on how well it doesnt work. I would be more upset with the piss poor balance job on that steel wheel

Dude, you’re a master tech? And you’re griping about something as easy as removing some adhesive?

Get outta here.

 

[Timmastertech]

Dude, you’re a master tech? And you’re griping about something as easy as removing some adhesive?

Get outta here.

so how many times have you peeled wheel weights with a plastic scraper? Wheel weight adhesive isnt your run of the mill adhesive

 

[john_pifer]

so how many times have you peeled wheel weights with a plastic scraper? Wheel weight adhesive isnt your run of the mill adhesive

Im in aircraft maintenance, and, yes, I’ve successfully removed wheel weights and many other types of very tough tape and adhesives without damaging the wheel or surface I was removing it from.

Does it take a couple more minutes of time and some extra care? Of course.

And, guess what? That saves what we call, in my business, rework and warranty work, like NTB is about to have to do for me. Its cheaper and easier to just do a job right the first time.

Putting scratches into an aircraft wheel or other part of the airplane would never be acceptable, and I would discipline my mechanics if they ever negligently damaged an airplane like this.

I’d suggest not making excuses for lazy and shoddy maintenance practices. When you do, you’re contributing to lowering industry standards.

 

[02SE]

I've been removing adhesive wheel weights for most of my adult life on my own cars and motorcycles, professional racing vehicles I've worked and continue to work on, and consumer cars when I was still in that business.

I haven't scratched a wheel yet.

 

[2010Civic]

In the future you should remove all weights from the wheel yourself before having tires installed.

 

[john_pifer]

In the future you should remove all weights from the wheel yourself before having tires installed.

I’m not gonna do that. That’s what I pay them for.

They damage it taking it off, they pay for the repair or buy me a new wheel. Their choice.

I will (and I have) let them know up front that I’m expecting no scratches, and discuss whether they have rubber-coated, no-mar tire changers. I did that in this case, but it didn’t occur to me that they‘d gouge the crap out of the wheel barrel removing the weights.

If they can’t provide some kind of guarantee that they won’t scratch the wheels, I go somewhere else.

 

[2010Civic]

Personally I'd rather just remove them myself and have one less thing to worry about.

The time dealing with the shop and getting the wheel fixed would far outweigh just taking the weights off.

 

[Crusher]

Earlier this week, the wife ran over something that cut the left rear tire, necessitating the use of the spare.

Thread here

The tire that was cut is not repairable, and my plan is to have the spare Bridgestone Dueler H/T that is currently on the spare, steel wheel, transferred to the alloy wheel, and buy a cheap tire to go on the spare, steel wheel.

Since the 4Runner is 2WD, and we plan to wear out these stock Bridgestone H/Ts, I was thinking about going with something highway-biased and fairly inexpensive, considering it will only rarely (if ever) be used.

So, I thought I’d consult the BITOG hive mind and see what you guys think I should get!

Tire is 265/70-17.

We have just about every retailer you can think of within 1-3 miles of us.

John I love the pic of you and your pregnant wife. I don't take any chances with my safety do to substandard equipment. I would put the highest quality spare tire on that's available, regardless of cost. On a personal note last Fall I changed out my factory Pirelli spare tire on my 2011 Ford Expedition because it was 9 yrs old. I replaced it with a new Michelin for about $220. I hope I never use it.
I sell high quality Michelin Defender take-offs on Craigslist approx every 2 yrs once they hit 6/32nds and 75k miles. I'm sure you could find a quality spare tire on Craigslist for a reasonable price if you decide to go that route. Safety First and Good Luck!

 

[MNgopher]

On one hand, I understand and respect the idea that one should get a quality job done without damaging your wheels.

The flip side is, you price shopped the repair, and then chose the lowest price. And how do shops make any money when chasing after low price shoppers? Short answers are the expectation is to employ lower dollar techs to do tire changes and flat repairs, have expectations (ie: incentives or goals) to turn things around in a certain amount of time or to do some number a day, and to cut corners while doing so.

I'm not here to say its OK to damage customers equipment. And I'm not going to say either of the other two places you priced out would have gotten it right either. But being surprised when it doesn't come out quite right isn't a surprise either.

These days, I've found a shop that does things right. They are definitely not the cheapest. But they are honest, up front, and do things the right way. Hard to find, but worth it in the long run in my mind.

 

[dan_erickson]

Oh how I have been in your shoes before. It’s beyond irritating

 

[Johnmpb]

Linglong? I assume they’re Chinese. What mileage are they rated for?

 

[john_pifer]

Linglong? I assume they’re Chinese. What mileage are they rated for?

No idea, but they’re a Michelin LTX M/S-2/Defender LTX copy (probably without several of the features of that tire). A set would probably last decently, but probably not to 70,000 miles like the Michelins.

 

[swampdodo]

So, something like what the OP went through can happen at a dealership...although, they have seemed to make it right. This is at one of the local Ford dealership...looking at reviews because they have a used vehicle I might be interested in...

 

[john_pifer]

So, something like what the OP went through can happen at a dealership...although, they have seemed to make it right. This is at one of the local Ford dealership...looking at reviews because they have a used vehicle I might be interested in...

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I’m quite sure it happens all the time, and will continue to happen. There aren’t that many people who care enough about their vehicle to even look twice at the wheels after a mount/balance.

And the attitude of some techs and service advisors of “oh that’s normal” appears to be pretty pervasive.

Heck, even a BITOG member who has “master tech” in his user name claimed it was no big deal, right here in this thread.