There has been some discussion over the age of the spare tires some of us have bought for our Claritys, so I thought maybe a few owners would be interested in options for changing one out. I recently purchased one of the Infiniti Spoked aluminum spares for my Father-in-law's car. When I got it, I was a little disappointed to see that it had been used and was probably half worn out. I did some research and found a reseller on Ebay that somehow had procured hundreds of new temporary spare tires. I also decided that I wanted to increase the width of the spare from the 145/80/17 by getting a 165/70/17. This tire has the same circumference, but is 3/4 inch wider. I don't think I will notice the 3/4 inch from a storage space perspective, and I'll feel a little better with more tread on the ground if I use it. The 4 inch wheel can take a minimum 135 and a maximum 165 width, so this is the maximum width recommended. Rest of the story is that I messaged the seller to see if he had this size and he did. It is a Maxxis tire and came on the Ford Escape from 2013 to 2019. He is selling his tires for $25 plus $30 shipping. I haven't yet got the tire, but thought I'd share in case anyone wants more info. Feel free to send me a pm if you want the seller's info. I'm sure he probably also has the 145/80/17 tires as well if you just wanted to replace in kind. The gross vehicle weight limit for the Ford Escape is about 4,750 pounds and our Clarity is 4,965 pounds, so I think the tire exchange should be fine. If anyone wants to see the Maxxis tire tread, here is a link to an active auction on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2019-Ford-Escape-17x4-Steel-Wheel-T165-70R17-Compact-Spare-Tire-OEM/193986335191 Do note that the wheel in this auction link WILL NOT FIT the Clarity! I just put the link in so that the tire tread pattern and width could be viewed.
Just thought I would update this thread. I really like the replacement tire on the aluminum Infiniti 17" wheel. Here are a couple of pics of the new spare with my spare. I was able to change it out for about $75 total including mounting charges. Unfortunately, I had to buy the Ford Escape wheel in the auction link from my earlier post as the reseller I hoped to use fell through.
