Anyone remove their spare tire if they're not driving a long distance? Possible to save gas? The pressure looks high!

[mikex7]

Did anyone remove their spare tire if they're not driving a long distance? Possible to save gas? The pressure looks high!

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[Roysleight]

The pressure was high in mine because it still had the shipping pressure in it and the dealer didn't adjust it during the prep.

 

[Hacksaw]

Yes, my spare was ~54psi. I have an ORP (the spare is the same as the mounted wheels) so you can't access the valve stem without lowering the spare about half way so you can let some air out. It's pretty easy to do with the lowering tool that is in one of the side rear compartments. You insert this tool with the liftgate up, pull off a small rectangular plastic cover at the top of the bumper, insert it and turn. Only takes a few minutes.

 

[xraytekca]

To be honest, I will leave the spare tire pressure as is since time will lower it naturally.

 

[bakutheleo]

Save gas??? How? If you are thinking weight, that small amount is not going to make a significant difference. Then, on that long distance, you have a tire problem, and you are stuck for a long time.

 

[02SE]

It would be difficult to find a measurable difference in MPG between having a spare and not.

If you're that concerned about fuel economy, you bought the wrong vehicle.

 

[Hacksaw]

To be honest, I will leave the spare tire pressure as is since time will lower it naturally.

That might take quite some time for a static tire like a spare.
I don't really know whether overinflating a spare tire more than 50% above recommended pressure has some negative impact on the tire life. Maybe, maybe not.

PS I really appreciate the real-time TPMS system on the 4runner, and that it doesn't require any user intervention or menu of resets. Add air to a tire and the on-screen psi number reflects it within a minute or so. Run over a nail (happened to me) and you can accurately watch how fast that one tire is losing air and whether you need to stop and boost it so you can make it to the tire shop.

I do wish you could set an audible alert if any tire drops below user-selected psi, rather that just a small orange warning icon on the dash that already has too many icons.

 

[bakutheleo]

I'd guess (yep, guess) that this high of a pressure will not be a problem for a static tire (that is, hanging there with no weight on it). And, it is much easier to lower the pressure if you need it than having to pump it up if it is too low (especially if you do not have an air compressor with you...happened to me once on my Sienna).

I expect you would get a notification in the Toyota app for low air pressure if you have that connected.

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