Spare tire that fits!

[peekay]

I bought a flat repair kit, one of those tire plug kits but I still felt uncomfortable on long trips with no spare tire. So I started to research to see what donut spare tires may fit.

The various Accord models have donut spares but the problem is that they are only 15 or 16 inch wheels and the Clarity appears to have extraordinary large brake calipers and discs. By my eyeball test, it looked like it would be a really tight fit even with a 16 inch spare. The last thing I needed is a donut spare that doesn't fit, so I looked elsewhere

I discovered that many Infinities and Nissans also share the same bolt pattern as the Clarity. More importantly, for some of the Nissan 370Z and Infiniti G37 models, they come with 17 inch donut spares. One bonus is that some of them have alloy donut rims rather than the usual steel donut rims. This will save a little weight.

Another benefit is that these donuts are fairly large. They are basically the same size as our standard tires. Normally, I would be fine with a small donut, to save on space, but given the electric motors on the Clarity, I wasn't sure if sustained differences in rotational speed will be bad for the car.

So here is a G37 donut spare installed. I bought it on eBay for $97, plus an additional 15% off coupon that ebay periodically sends out. The seller, mullinsautoparts, was fantastic and shipped the spare immediately. It was also in new condition.

The spare tire was listed as:
2007 2008 2009 07 08 09 Infiniti G35 EX35 Sedan 17x4" Compact Spare Wheel

 

[megreyhair]

Great info. Having a spare would ease some minds on long trip. I wonder if there is a way to mount that under the car. I do notice quite a lot of clearance under the trunk.

 

[Gearhead]

Great find, thanks for sharing. What do you plan to use for a jack?

 

[Nemesis]

Good stuff. Thanks for your tenacity in finding this option for those wanting a spare.

 

[peekay]

Great find, thanks for sharing. What do you plan to use for a jack?

I took the scissor jack from my old Prius . There are several areas under the Clarity that can serve as jack points . I just keep the jack in that recessed compartment in the trunk.

 

[peekay]

Great info. Having a spare would ease some minds on long trip. I wonder if there is a way to mount that under the car. I do notice quite a lot of clearance under the trunk.

There's space under the trunk? You mean under the car, but below the trunk area? If so, I actually have an old spare tire holder winch that maybe I can use to hoist up the spare there.

 

[Hobbesgsr]

Great sleuthing!! Kudos peekay!

The wheel looks nice too. lol

I'm curious how much it weighs...

 

[peekay]

Great sleuthing!! Kudos peekay!

The wheel looks nice too. lol

I'm curious how much it weighs...

If you're really interested, I can weigh it. But I didn't have a baseline steel donut to weigh against so that's why I didn't do it. But it does feel a noticeably lighter than the normal steel wheel. Just as importantly, the rim spokes offer a nice handle to hold the rim without having to touch the dirty tire.

 

[insightman]

Great info. Having a spare would ease some minds on long trip. I wonder if there is a way to mount that under the car. I do notice quite a lot of clearance under the trunk.

I'd venture to say there is no car on the market with less unused space than inside the volume of the Clarity PHEV (eg. look under the seats). I believe the Clarity engineers crammed everything they needed into the car and then said, "Wait, we need to fit a gas tank in here, too." Hence the 7-gallon gas tank.

If you're talking about mounting the tire below the Clarity's underbody panels, you'll have to worry about ground clearance and taking a big aerodynamic hit.

 

[Rick Reagan]

The local parts guy looked up and we mounted and tested an accord spare 17" donut kit. I'll post the Honda part numbers and pictures soon.
Rick in Austin

 

[megreyhair]

I'd venture to say there is no car on the market with less unused space than inside the volume of the Clarity PHEV (eg. look under the seats). I believe the Clarity engineers crammed everything they needed into the car and then said, "Wait, we need to fit a gas tank in here, too." Hence the 7-gallon gas tank.

If you're talking about mounting the tire below the Clarity's underbody panels, you'll have to worry about ground clearance and taking a big aerodynamic hit.

I was thinking under the trunk like how most suv have their spare tires.

 

[insightman]

I was thinking under the trunk like how most suv have their spare tires.

I'm thinking "Continental spare" (ugh) might be your only option outside the trunk, but it might block your view through the trunk-lid window (along with taking an aero hit).

 

[vicw]

I bought a flat repair kit, one of those tire plug kits but I still felt uncomfortable on long trips with no spare tire. ...

I like your idea of a donut spare, but is there an advantage of the flat repair kit over the pump/kit that comes with the Clarity? I'm not challenging the idea, I just really don't know the answer. I just bought an extra pump since I'm apprehensive about using the Clarity one for just pumping air, rather than adding the sealant.

 

[peekay]

I like your idea of a donut spare, but is there an advantage of the flat repair kit over the pump/kit that comes with the Clarity? I'm not challenging the idea, I just really don't know the answer. I just bought an extra pump since I'm apprehensive about using the Clarity one for just pumping air, rather than adding the sealant.

In my experience (offroading, mountain biking, and atvs), tire sealant, which is what the stock kit is, can only seal small punctures, e.g., cactus spikes, staples, thin gauge nails, etc. By contrast, a plug kit (the kind with a needle insertion tool and self vulcanizing tire plugs) can handle much larger punctures, say a 3/8" bolt.

It's all about how much risk you're willing to take on. For me, a small plug kit is worth the costs/benefits.

I haven't tried the Clarity pump yet, but a backup pump seems like a good idea.

 

[peekay]

In my experience (offroading, mountain biking, and atvs), tire sealant, which is what the stock kit is, can only seal small punctures, e.g., cactus spikes, staples, thin gauge nails, etc. By contrast, a plug kit (the kind with a needle insertion tool and self vulcanizing tire plugs) can handle much larger punctures, say a 3/8" bolt.

It's all about how much risk you're willing to take on. For me, a small plug kit is worth the costs/benefits.

I haven't tried the Clarity pump yet, but a backup pump seems like a good idea.

Also, I think sealant may damage the tire pressure monitors. It definitely does on other cars, eg., Toyotas, but not sure on the Clarity.

 

[insightman]

Also, I think sealant may damage the tire pressure monitors. It definitely does on other cars, eg., Toyotas, but not sure on the Clarity.

The Clarity doesn't have internal tire pressure monitors.

 

[Rick Reagan]

The local parts guy looked up and we mounted and tested an accord spare 17" donut kit. I'll post the Honda part numbers and pictures soon.
Rick in Austin

pictures from the dealer as promised

 

[vicw]

The Clarity doesn't have internal tire pressure monitors.

Well I'll be.... Didn't know that was possible. That will be one fewer expensive repair events - presumably no battery involved, and easier recalibration after tire rotation or replacement . I wonder how low the tire pressure has to be to trigger the warning. My old Odyssey would give an error at about 28 psi.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the pictures. Is the outside diameter way different? I know the tire pressure monitoring is done by looking at the rotation speed between the tires, not that it matters it the car displays a 'low tire' warning while running a spare. I am thinking about the situation where you are running it on the front and how the differential would handle it if there was a large difference in the diameter. A friend had a bent wheel on the back of his truck and ran a car tire (somehow the bolt pattern was the same) and drove it 20 miles to town. The 'diff' was literally smoking when he got there and jacked it up. Granted it was probably a 20% difference in rotation speed but it did get me to start wondering???

 

[peekay]

Thanks for the pictures. Is the outside diameter way different? I know the tire pressure monitoring is done by looking at the rotation speed between the tires, not that it matters it the car displays a 'low tire' warning while running a spare. I am thinking about the situation where you are running it on the front and how the differential would handle it if there was a large difference in the diameter. A friend had a bent wheel on the back of his truck and ran a car tire (somehow the bolt pattern was the same) and drove it 20 miles to town. The 'diff' was literally smoking when he got there and jacked it up. Granted it was probably a 20% difference in rotation speed but it did get me to start wondering???

With my spare, the diameter is more or less the same as the regular tire.