I busted the rim on my frint passenger tire, and had to get it replaced before work on Monday. I went to a used tire place and got a cheap one for 35 bucks, but its a 14" rim, while the other three tires have 15" rims. I’d rather not go back to Toyota and spend the money on a new rim from the factory, but will it damage my car to drive on a rim with 1" difference from the others? Thanks!
A 15" tire won’t seal to a 14" rim. You need a 15" rim.
Tester
Its a really bad idea to mismatch rim size. Get the proper size rim, if its steel it will be inexpensive from Toyota dealer even. I recall spending $45 on a Civic steel rim. If alloy yes quite pricey but you may be able to find used on ebay or a car specific forum.
will it damage my car to drive on a rim with 1" difference from the others?
That depends on the car. It certainly will cause you some problems. First you will still need a new tyre and you will end up with a car that is not going to handle very well, maybe enough to make it unsafe to drive. Chances are the only way you will find out it was unsafe to drive is by having an accident.
No matter how you look at it, it is a very bad idea.
Exactly which Toyota do you own (model and year)?
Regardless, you should stick with matching wheels and tires. But if you have a compact spare, your “new” purchase would make a better spare than the donut (if it fits into the spare tire well), so all is not lost.
Great idea…Check POWERDOG out to match overall diameters on tires that fit on different size rims.
This is the second one this week. How can anyone think a 15" tire will fit on a 14" rim. If you have a 15" tire you MUST get a 15" rim. If you have a 17" tire you MUST get a 17" rim.
You CAN replace the rim AND tire, but I don’t recommend that unless you replace ALL 4. It would be far cheaper to buy a NEW 15" rim.
This is an extremely bad idea. Please do not do this. This is definitely a safety issue.
And in addition to matching the rim size, make sure you also match the tire size. Different tire sizes will fit on the same rim but their traction and handling characteristics can be vastly different as well as their overall outside diameter.
Are you saying you bought a complete used wheel assembly WITH a used tire and this is why you’re motoring onwards today???
Or is the intent to put your current tire on this wheel??? None of this is a good idea at all and if it’s the former then you should avoid whoever sold you this assembly and actually installed it on your car.
if your 15" rims are steel rims with hubcaps, you should be able to head over to the local junk yard and pick one up that should match your current vehicle