I upgraded the brakes a while back and bought 4 of the 16" wheels to fit over the caliper. The spare was still 15". I had a blow out last week which required a new tire. I bought the cheapest they had.

The other 3 have low tread so I will be replacing those soon. I'd like to use this opportunity to buy the 16" spare, but I have a question. Will the normal 16" wheel/tire fit in the spare space? I was thinking of buying another 16" wheel and use the cheap tire I bought as a spare.

 

The rim size will not be an issue.

It is the tire size that will tell.

One sure way to tell would be to take one of your 16" tire and wheels and see if it will pull up into the spare tire space.

 

The wheel isn't what matters, it's the overall diameter of the tire. 31" or smaller will fit under neath. 33" may fit if you don't have a tow bar installed.

 

I have a 1998, and it came with a 16" spare from the factory 265/70/16. There is about 3/4" space from the hitch. The wheel is steel, but an alloy wheel should fit fine. I was going to get an alloy wheel for mine, but unfortunately I have to sell my 98 4Runner.