From the floor to the jack point on the Clarity is 6 1/2 inches. However, if you have a flat tire, that distance might be closer to 4 inches. When jacking the car up, the tire comes off the ground at about 10 1/2 inches, so a jack capable of 11 or 12 inches of extended height is needed. I tried using a scissor jack, but the car is so heavy (especially the front) that getting the car jacked up takes a lot of effort and trusting some of these scissor jacks to not fail concerns me. I looked for a bottle jack that would work, but most of them I could find that were short enough would not jack up high enough. I finally settled on a small 2 ton Floor jack. The floor jack is a lot heaver than the scissor jack, but it can lift the car with ease and is very stable, and it fits easily in the storage area in the trunk.
As an aside, Harbor Freight has some very good deals on floor jacks of all types, with regular discounts off of already low priced. Aluminum would be a good way to go if weight is a concern.
The floor jack I am using is the Powerbuilt 2 Ton Trolley Floor Jack for $39.95 at this site: https://www.powerbuilt.com/collections/jacks-and-lift-equipment?page=1#pexf3TgwAUUiXzHd.97
I mentioned investigating using a hydraulic jack in my thread about a spare: https://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/mini-spare-luggage.5184/ and reading this one gave me one of those "doh" and "aha" moments at the same time. LOL I have an old, small 2ton floor jack in my tool room that I mainly use on motorcycle projects. So, I dug it out and this is what I found this afternoon. First it will fit nicely in the lower well in the trunk! Perfect for a trip. First aid kit left for size perspective. OK, then. Let's see if it will work on a flat front tire. So, I let all the air out for realistic simulation. Next, is there enough clearance? Yup, close but no problemo'. No issues with lifting the big girl either. Approx. 20-25 pumps. THANKS for the idea!
Hmmm. Interesting you would trust a super-cheap floor jack and yet not trust a good good scissor jack. I admit there is a big difference in quality and ease of use among scissor jacks, but a good one will work well and be safe. I bought OEM Honda and it works well. The Clarity is within the weight range too. A couple light plastic wheel chocks make any jack safer to use, especially a trolley jack that’s on wheels.
