Full size Spare - What will fit in the OEM space

Does anyone know the maximum size tire that can be fit into the OEM Spare Tire Space?
I am currently running 285/50/r20 Cooper Zeon Ltz's, and keep the spare in the back when I am off the pavement. Otherwise I only keep the factory spare on hand only.
I do not have a full size spare (no HD package), So I wanted to permanently keep the Cooper in the vehicle. I just don't want it taking up space in the back.

Any ideas, besides putting it on the rack? Takes up a ton of room, which is utilized when the family goes out for an adventure.

At 31 1/4" diameter, your 20" tire will fit under the car. You may need to air it down slightly and perhaps remove the heat shield between exhaust and tire (fairly useless anyway and very easy to take off and reinstall if necessary) to ease winching it up and down. Any tire 31" and under in diameter should fit fully inflated, between 31.25 and 31.5" or so you'll have to deflate a bit / a lot to squeeze it in there. You will need to carry a small compressor with you at all times as a result. A diameter above 31.6 - 32" needs to go elsewhere: roof rack, trunk, rear carrier.

You should be able to fit that under the truck. You may have to let some air out. I have a 285/60r18 under my LR3 which is slightly larger inn diameter than yours.

Awesome!!! thanks for the fast feedback. I am a little relieved that I can keep the tire there on a permanent basis.
On a side note:
I always have a compressor on board, as it's built into my booster pack.
After being stranded for 4 hours last summer due to a flat battery (camping with kids...)
I always keep the booster pack in the vehicle, has come in handy for others a few times. Plus I can charge my cell phone all weekend when not near power with out effecting the packs charge significantly.

I had a system I built off of the air suspension system, but have since retired it since acquiring the booster pack.

Just a note though, I have seen some folks have a really difficult time removing their spare tire - especially in really hot conditions off road. For some trips, you may want to stick it on your Baja rack if you have room, but I know it takes up so much room. I used to put it in the front before I got the swing away.

I would put it on the front except that is where I put my water carrier after some modifications, because of the size of my gear totes. So there is not enough room to feel comfortable enough with the placement.
I live in Maine, and do not travel far outside of New England so the heat you speak may only be a factory 4 weeks of the year.
Until a better option comes along, I will stick with the spare tire OEM location.

Does anyone know if there is any major interference with the vehicle departure angle with an over sized spare down there? I know there will be some, but I usually keep my tow hitch in when trail driving to protect the rear bumper some. Would the tire stick out lower than the hitch?

jaguardoc504 said:

I am currently running 285/50/r20 Cooper Zeon Ltz's, and keep the spare in the back when I am off the pavement. Otherwise I only keep the factory spare on hand only..

Click to expand...

Funny you're asking about where to put it and haven't just tried it out..... Would have taken less time than the collective response posted took to write....

I guess you overlooked the size of the factory spare for use in the event of a flat...???? The diameter is too SMALL.

Remove the goofy shield and the full size should fit fine. That's the tire size I used when mine had 20's in the first several months until I sold them off. That size looks awesome by-the-way. What width are the wheels? The ones I had were from the RRsport so the offset and 9" width pushed them right out near the fender edge. The thicker sidewall and offset looked really nice. I had Toyo Proxes ST

jaguardoc504 said:

Does anyone know if there is any major interference with the vehicle departure angle with an over sized spare down there? I know there will be some, but I usually keep my tow hitch in when trail driving to protect the rear bumper some. Would the tire stick out lower than the hitch?

Click to expand...

I don't think the actual departure angle is decreased at all because that number is technically a line from the tire at the ground to the under edge of the bumper. Anything fitting within that triangle is not about the angle. However, in practice like coming off a ledge, then anything under the rear could land on the surface.

The tire will definitely but up in higher than the bottom of the tow block. If you have the older block with a black key, it is longer and will provide more of the protection you are using it for, and they aren't worth much either to worry about.

I would NOT use my newer model block though because it needs to be relied upon for towing. No amount of off-road small protection it may provide is worth any risk of failure in towing.

Personally, I would only advise what you're doing with it if it's dedicated for that purpose and NEVER sold to someone who might tow with it.

The way I see the reality though is that if you are somewhere you have to truly worry about the departure angle THAT much, then you are silly to be on 20" wheels in the first place, regardless of the tire selection. Also, do you really want to risk landing on the sidewall of your spare ...that you are more likely to need than I would... ?

If a person can afford the $ and time to go play where you are referring to things like "departure angle" and "water carrier", then you can do some sort of proper tire carrier. There are some nice simple options now that don't even replace the bumper.

Have fun!

jwest said:

Funny you're asking about where to put it and haven't just tried it out..... Would have taken less time than the collective response posted took to write....

I guess you overlooked the size of the factory spare for use in the event of a flat...???? The diameter is too SMALL.

Remove the goofy shield and the full size should fit fine. That's the tire size I used when mine had 20's in the first several months until I sold them off. That size looks awesome by-the-way. What width are the wheels? The ones I had were from the RRsport so the offset and 9" width pushed them right out near the fender edge. The thicker sidewall and offset looked really nice. I had Toyo Proxes ST

Click to expand...

I am sure that it would not have taken less time to write the post than to actually try it. Have you actually tried to remove the spare?
Also I have gotten feed back about lowering the tire pressure, and that it would for sure fit, which from trial and eroor on my part may have taken longer to determine.
Since I wasn't in a situation where I HAD to put the spare there, I did not try it out. The 1min it took to write the original post was more than helpful, than the 30min-1hr it would have taken me to find out it would/wouldn't have fit and with some possible modifications.

Thanks for the insight thought. Next time I will not ask such "silly" questions from mass of infinite knowledge here on the boards.
I mean what are the forums for if not to rely on someones else's victories, follies, or misfortunes.


Also as a side note when I wrote the original post I was over 2,000 miles away from my LR4 so trial and error was not an option at moment in time.

Ok, I realize not every Land Rover owner is a DIY kind of person I guess. I said ALL of the posts in response took more time. It was kind of a joke, but true. I do think people should first try a thing like this before just posting ... like the old days when you had no internet to save the day.

Yeah, I've "tried" to remove the spare. Sounds like maybe you haven't if you think it takes 30-60 minutes? Takes me less than 10 minutes at most including grabbing the jack parts, tossing anything out of the way from the cargo area and flipping the seats up. First week I had the vehicle I made sure I knew what was what like find the jack, pull the wheel, test it out, etc.

You can make it even quicker by using a hand drill or impact driver. Then it's like "zip dee doo done! "

Guess what though, you still need to go through "trial and error" to try sliding it up there without lowering psi unless you actually want to require airing it up a bunch when needed. Not every vehicle has exactly the same build tolerances so a tire may fit on one easily and not the other.

Remember, you may want to go ahead and remove the oem spare though. It IS useless being a smaller diameter.