Depending upon what kind of tire and what kind of alloys you have, the
only difference will be in the weight of the tire/wheel together. If the
width of the wheels are the same and the offsets the same then I don't
think there would be too much of a problem with using the steel wheel.
The alloy wheel should be much lighter than the same size steel wheel. If
the rubber is the same, there is your only weight difference. From my
personal opinion I think the spare should try to be as same overall
diameter as the wheels you normally run. When I rotate my tires I usually
rotate the 4 that are being driven. I don't drive on my spare. Also
rotating pattern will be different every time, it depends on your van's
alignment, the type of tire your running, the belting in the tire, even
between tires of the same brand and model there are discrepancies
sometimes. I try to stay with a higher quality tire, eg. pirelli, nitto,
michelin, kelly, dunlop. Also the rating on a tire is sometimes
misleading, tire manufacturers have there own set guidelines and it isn't
totally uniform. Driving style and the path you take every day also will
determine how you rotate your tires. Say you make a lot of left turns on
your way to work, then the left tires will have more flat wear and the
right front ones more wear on the outside edge due to the high caster
that vanagons have, believe it or not, the vans have high caster to
maintain stability at high speeds. High caster however sacrifices turning
ability. I also wonder about tire inflation pressures, I was thinking the
other day about finding out exactly how much weight each tire is
supporting on its own. Then to set the pressures according to that.
Anyone know where you can weigh your car in that manner? Well I hope all
this input helps.

Joe

On Fri, 1 May 1998, Kevin Sullivan wrote:

> I'm sure this has been covered before I joined the list so can
> someone give me a quick rundown.All syncro related:
>
> 1.Can you have 4 alloys on a van and keep the same size tire on a
>    steel rim for spare?
>
> 2. Should you do a 4 or 5 tire rotation? What pattern? How often?
>
> 3. How many miles can one expect out of a tire on the heaviest
>     Vanagon, that being the Syncro Westy ( I know, there are alot of
>     variables in this one)?
>
>                                        Thanks
>
> Kevin Sullivan
> '87 syncro westy
> Santa Cruz, CA
>