I am going to put an Aussie locker in the R. As I pondered and looked at all the reviews and install tips a ? came up. I did not notice that "same tire size" was a important issue discussed. I think for me it is a no brainer. If you don't think about it and you get a flat and your spare is not the same size there could be problems. It's one of those domino effects. My question is how much or little of a circumference difference will cause the locker to rachet or will it spin the smaller tire faster. Safety issues and damage to components?

 

i never thought of that....LOL

guess that's another reason to have a full size spare

 

I carry two full size spares when offroad. You could take a front tire, and put on the the rear, and spare up front. PITA. Maybe air down down other rear tire to same size as spare and drive real slow...

 

I think you'll probably find it would simply pull noticeably to the size with the smaller tire as the larger tire would be the driven tire and the smaller tire would simply be ratcheting faster than the carrier. I'd guess a 31" and a 33" would be annoying enough that I'd be looking for a tire shop, but that's pure speculation. This shouldn't be too harsh on the locker unless the tire sizes were hugely different and even then, you'd just be wearing it down, nothing catastrophic would instantly happen.

 

honeslty i wouldnt chance it i was just talkin to my uncle bout this very same thing today cuz my buddy traded his 85 toyota for a ford ranger ( I KNOW HES STUPID! ) but the ford ranger has a 32x11.5 on the passenger side and a 33x12.5 on the driver and i was like HELLL NOOO !!! but my uncle said altho its not good at all for hte axles or diff but because it is not locked in the rear he can drive it that way. BUT if it was locked then the diff would go out rather quickly cuz it has ONE tire spining faster then the other and the diff cant counter act to one or the other and cant slow the one side down much like a OPEN diff does. SO I WOULD GET A FULL SIZE TIRE!

 

Thanks for the info and insight. I guess when you go by tires you have to think 5 or 6 not 4