Viable Compact Spare Options?

C

css28

Active Member
I drive a 2013 Chevy Volt and when I got it I decided to find a compact spare that I could carry on long trips. I figured a major tire failure would be very inconvenient on a trip and I was willing to surrender some cargo space for this kind of insurance.
I ended up picking up a mounted compact spare from a 2007 Cadillac DTS from a salvage yard (as well as a scissors jack and lug wrench).
Does anyone know of a compact spare from another car that would work on a Clarity?
 
I think as long as the bolt pattern matched, it should work. Just be sure to keep under suggested speed and avoid long distances.

Be great to hear other opinions about this.
 
The Volt situation got more complicated than that because its stock wheels were 17" and many of compact spares that would work with the hole pattern couldn't mount to the front because of interference with the brake caliper.
 
I would contact Honda about this. I looked on Tire Rack and a few other places and the Clarity doesn't come up. Not sure if one from an Accord would work, so probably better to ask first.
 
This would be a good find. With the Prius, it was easier because there were older models with donuts. Also, it so happened a Yaris donut worked with the Prius so there were several options. Clarity, not so much. We might assume Accord or Civic, but it'd be a major assumption. Is there any data on how many new cars are not coming with donuts these days? Seems like more and more drivers of new cars may depend on a tow - or ruining their wheel's TPMS by filling their flat with goop and refilling it - if they happen to get a flat.
 
The Hyundai Ionic hybrid has a spare tire well and apparently they sell a spare tire kit with jack.

Even using a donut spare, I found it takes up a lot of luggage space on road trips in the Volt (which doesn't have a tire well).
 
I haven't decided to carry a spare, but wouldn't a donut tire from a Civic work? The lug spacing is the same, although of course the Clarity is much heavier. I do plan to carry a jack, lug wrench, and repair kit. Then I'll at least have the option of not using the spare-in-a-can provided by Honda. Once the can has been used, is the tire even repairable?
 
You can always replace the OEM tires with run flats. Run flats are not that great but they are OEM on some of the most expensive cars out there.
 
As you imply, your ride really suffers with run flats. I'd hate to compromise the nice ride of the Clarity.
 
Rob_v1 said:
I haven't decided to carry a spare, but wouldn't a donut tire from a Civic work? The lug spacing is the same, although of course the Clarity is much heavier. I do plan to carry a jack, lug wrench, and repair kit. Then I'll at least have the option of not using the spare-in-a-can provided by Honda. Once the can has been used, is the tire even repairable?
Click to expand...

Regarding the Civic spare, it would have to depend on whether the spare wheel diameter is large enough to clear the front brake calipers.

That was my big challenge with the Volt--it has 17" wheels and spares made for cars with smaller diameter wheels (even if the bolt pattern matched) could not successfully be mounted on the front, over the calipers.
 
Might a donut from an Accord be larger inside? I know that an option for the Civic is wheels that match in diameter, width, and offset. I know that still doesn't speak to the size of the spare.
 
From all the concerns expressed here, it looks like whatever spare you choose, you'd better try it out in advance to make sure you don't get stuck with a non-functional spare when you really need it.
 
Rob_v1 said:
...I'll at least have the option of not using the spare-in-a-can provided by Honda. Once the can has been used, is the tire even repairable?
Click to expand...

The way they repair a hole in a tire these days is just to stick a cylinder of rubber thru the hole. I haven't used that sort of repair myself; we used to patch them on the inside back in the long-gone days of inner tubes. However, since all the spare-in-a-can does is coat the inside of the tire with some sticky goop, I don't think that would interfere with a more permanent fix.
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Sharing my recent experience. Had a tire blowout on my two week old Clarity (Front passenger). Very upsetting - filled with latex/glcerol stuff Honda supplied. Honda dealership was not of much help, no warranties. I have HondaCare but will deal with that stuff later. Decided to call Costco Tire center, they said yes they will look at it. Fortunately, they were able to patch it up - all in all for 11 dollars. So far its looking OK. Of course, now I have a empty sealant bottle and no recourse, should another one gives in (at least till I find the "solution"). Its made by ITW global tire repair (who also make Slime range). Would love to hear of people's solutions.
 
Just in case you missed the thread pertaining to other compact spare options, you might want to check this one out. I bought the one mentioned by the OP.
 
Science said:
Sharing my recent experience. Had a tire blowout on my two week old Clarity (Front passenger). Very upsetting - filled with latex/glcerol stuff Honda supplied. Honda dealership was not of much help, no warranties. I have HondaCare but will deal with that stuff later. Decided to call Costco Tire center, they said yes they will look at it. Fortunately, they were able to patch it up - all in all for 11 dollars. So far its looking OK. Of course, now I have a empty sealant bottle and no recourse, should another one gives in (at least till I find the "solution"). Its made by ITW global tire repair (who also make Slime range). Would love to hear of people's solutions.
Click to expand...
Here is a post by @zbartrout on how to just buy the “slime” refill instead of the whole kit:

We had our first (and hopefully last) flat on our Clarity PHEV last month. My wife had the car and used the tire repair kit (pump and sealant) to temporarily repair the damaged tire.
The dealer told me that I needed to order an entirely new kit even though it appeared to me that just the sealant cartridge could be replaced. After some research I ordered the Slime 10179 refill kit from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073...F8&qid=1521277634&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65
While looking almost identical, the knob and valve are slightly different shape. Easy fix was just to swap those parts with the ones on the used component and now it’s good as new. Highly recommend this solution. I actually think the OEM is a Honda branded Slime unit. Chemistry and test of parts seem identical.
 
Thanks everyone for your inputs. I will order the Slime 10179 refill kit and hope all works out well. This transition from a "donut spare" to a "repair kit" will take some getting used to :-).
 
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