New tires… do I get all 5 or just 4

Hey everyone, I’ve got a 22’ Outer Banks 2.7 non-sas and I need new tires this summer. This is my first time owning a vehicle with 5 tires, so I’m wondering—do most people buy all 5 when getting new ones, or just replace the 4 and leave the spare? Would it look weird to have a different tire on the back? I’m keeping the same wheels for now, just changing the tires.

Appreciate all the advice. I hadn’t been rotating all five and was told at the dealership that the back tire was just a ‘spare’ and wasn’t meant to be in the rotation. Starting to feel like they gave me the wrong info.

@Peyton
They totally misled you.

@Peyton
Not completely wrong.

You can do a 4-tire rotation and just leave the spare untouched, which is fine. I think that’s what Ford recommends in the manual. But a lot of people prefer a 5-tire rotation for a few reasons:

  • Extends the life of your set by 20%
  • If one tire gets ruined, the spare will have similar tread wear and you won’t have to replace the whole set
  • Keeps all 5 the same brand, type, and age
  • The spare is exposed to the elements, so it’ll wear out eventually even if you don’t use it

The only downside is that buying 5 tires costs more than 4, but it might save money in the long run.

@Diya
Actually, Ford does recommend rotating all 5 in the manual.

@Diya
Makes total sense. Thanks for breaking it down!

@Peyton
Your dealership is clueless. Might be time to find a new one.

You should always rotate all 5, so yeah, you’d need to replace all 5. If you don’t, the spare will just sit there and eventually dry rot.

Whitney said:
You should always rotate all 5, so yeah, you’d need to replace all 5. If you don’t, the spare will just sit there and eventually dry rot.

I just rub avocado oil on my spare. Works great.

@Ari
Never heard of that… seems like extra effort. Rotating 5 costs the same as 4 anyway.

Whitney said:
@Ari
Never heard of that… seems like extra effort. Rotating 5 costs the same as 4 anyway.

Takes about 3 bottles per session, and it looks super shiny.

My wife steals some for salad dressing sometimes lol.

I rotate my spare, so I’d buy all 5. If you don’t rotate it and it’s the same size, no big deal. If you go off-road a lot, matching tread helps in case you need to swap on the trail. If you’re just on pavement, doesn’t really matter.

@Ansel
Didn’t know any of this, good info.

Different tire on the back looks weird and cheap. Just buy all 5 and rotate them.

Sam said:
Different tire on the back looks weird and cheap. Just buy all 5 and rotate them.

Or… just trade in the car when the tires wear out. New vehicle, no maintenance costs. Problem solved.

Sam said:
Different tire on the back looks weird and cheap. Just buy all 5 and rotate them.

Or just throw a cover on the spare and move on.

Sam said:
Different tire on the back looks weird and cheap. Just buy all 5 and rotate them.

This is the way.

My OCD won’t let me have mismatched tires. Had to replace a tire once and Ford had bought out the whole stock, so I couldn’t find the exact one. Ended up switching all of them eventually. Lesson learned, just buy all 5.

If you only rotate 4, your spare will have way less wear. If you need to use it, especially off-road, it’s gonna handle weird.

Also, if one of your tires gets wrecked, the spare might be too fresh to use with the others, meaning you’ll have to buy a whole new set anyway.

Just replace all 5 now and start doing a 5-tire rotation.

Rotate all 5. Buy all 5. No shortcuts.