Stranded by a flat tire?

A lot of us carry a spare tire with jack and tools, as well as repair plug kit, so we don't have concerns about a flat tire stranding us. Here is a long thread that talks about the spares that work well, the hub centric adapter ring usually needed, and that different lug nuts will probably be needed for the spare.

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/spare-tire-that-fits.2579/

 

Stranded? On a 1-10 scale, I’d give it a 1.

Delayed or inconvenienced, I’d give it a 1.

 

I may be wrong on this, but I think the original factory warrant covers towing the car to have the tire repaired.

I think the Honda Care extended warranty also covers the towing, but I can be wrong (please correct me if I am wrong). I also have a yearly membership in AAA. So I don't care to fiddle with it, I want the car to be repaired by people in the know. Also, when you ask AAA or Honda Towing to tow your car - Make sure you specify a flat bed. As the owner manually requires. Flat bed only - no 2 wheels towing.

 

The “need” is a personal choice. We’ll all have a different answer.

The kit is adequate to repair a puncture in a repairable area of the tire. Essentially the tread.

 

If you develop a slow leak, then you can use the compressor that comes with the car to be able to re-inflate and perhaps get home or to a shop.
Beyond that, the kit has some 'goo' that it can inject into the tire and possibly seal a small leak / puncture (but that is just temporary too).

Personally, I would try to avoid using the 'goo' because it is never a real fix, and the tire shops hate the stuff because it is a pain to clean it out when installing a new tire.

 

I never have had a problem with the space used by the spare. I keep the jack, two 6 point deep well sockets and extensions, 10 extra lug nuts, a 1/2 inch ratcheting torque wrench, an additional air compressor (yes, that means I carry 2 in total with the OEM one mounted in the side of the trunk), a 12V battery jump start kit, a set of jumper cables, 2 wheel chocks, 2 sets of tire plugs (different sizes) and tire plug repair tools, a pretty good first aid kit, a pair of pliers, a good screwdriver, and a full 1/4 and 3/8 ratchet/socket tool kit. Everything except for the spare tire stores neatly in the storage space below the OEM trunk cargo mat in the trunk.

The aluminum 17" Infiniti spare I keep loose in the back of the trunk with the outside of the wheel down. When we go grocery shopping, we will put frozen/cold food in it first and then pile any fragile items on top of the cold stuff (bread, chips, produce etc). Then we load all cans and other bulk/heavy stuff around the tire. This helps keep the cold stuff cold and keeps from crushing the fragile stuff.

If I do need the trunk space, it is easy to remove the tire and leave it at home for a short trip. On longer trips where I need luggage space, It is normally just me and my wife traveling. I will lay the back seats down (for more room, move the front passenger seat forward a little, put the spare tire in so that the hollow space fits over the headrest of the downed back seat, cover the tire with a beach towel, and then let the front seat back until it is snug with the headrest inserted into the tire hollow area. Takes up very little useful room and secures the tire so it doesn't slide around.

I'll never use the sealant goo stuff. It just makes a mess and I think it would be a real pain to try to clean from the noise reduction resonators inside the wheel.

 

@Robert_Alabama ,
I will hazzard a guess that you were a Boy Scout earlier in life !!!
I do like the idea of carrying a spare, and would likely procure one if a substantial road trip were to come up.

 

Not a Boy Scout. Just grew up on a farm in a pretty remote area. We were raised to expect to have to get ourselves out of any trouble we got ourselves into.

 

While on this topic, in trying to interpret all the great facts in the detailed thread mentioned in Post #2...
Is it fair to conclude that a 'best' choice would be?:

• The Infinity G35 T145-80D17, along with
• A 66.1 mm to 64.1 mm hub centric adapter, and
• The appropriate lug nuts (either Acorn or Mag type, depending on the wheel).

I would like to ask this... It seems that there are 3 different types of wheels that fit this description:

1. Spoked style (they are aluminum):



2, 3. Solid style (Available in either Aluminum or Steel):



Is it safe to say that any of these three would work fine?

I am assuming that the spoked wheel would tend to be the most expensive,
followed by the aluminum version of the solid wheel, and steel would be the cheapest?

So, cost vs. weight... Any idea how much lighter the aluminum versions are vs. steel?
Is spoked aluminum lighter than solid aluminum?

Probably don't really care about aesthetics since they are all very temporary.

 

I'm not even the least bit concerned. Been driving without a spare and nothing but the inflator and a plug kit for the 2.5 years I've owned my Clarity.

And yes I was a Boy Scout, and I often have hiked on week long trips alone.

 

I've got the Infiniti GT35 17" spoked wheel with a T165-70-17 tire that weighs 30 lbs. A friend of mine has the steel Nissan Maxima 17" wheel and it is definitely heaver. I found a 17" steel wheel with 165-70-17 on google that said it was 36.5 lbs. So I'm guessing like 6 pounds difference between steel and spoked aluminum. I'm also guessing there isn't much difference in weight between the spoked aluminum and solid aluminum.

I changed out my 145/80/17 to the 165/70/17 on the Infiniti G35 spoked wheel. Here's a post that shows the difference in the tires.

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/replacement-tire-for-compact-spare-tire.10704/#post-128278

 

I also have the G35 spoked-wheel spare (with hub adapter and lug nuts) and the necessary tools. Last month I bought a new tire for the spare (original was 13 years old), and then took the Clarity on a 3-week, 6000 mile trip (CA to NY to MD and back). I prefer to be self-reliant so I had a basic tool kit with me too. (On a prior trip in 2016, my Suburban broke down in WY in a cell phone dead-zone.) BTW, the Clarity is the most comfortable car I've ever used for a cross-country road trip (which I've done about 10 times in 7 different vehicles). It averaged 40 mpg doing 75-85 mph most of the time. I stayed in campgrounds, and had no problem carry my gear, including a big 1970s Coleman convertible ice chest in the trunk. My only worry was that the AC would break down during the trip, but it's still blowing cold (and I did install the evaporator guard prior to the trip).

 

I carry plugs. I'm not concerned at all.

 

I haven't looked into a hub adapter, what adapter do you have? I also wasn't aware the lug nut need to be changed? This forum is such a help.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Inside EVs mobile app

 

I like this idea, but from a practical standpoint, it seems like you would really want to remove the wheel in order to effectively examine the leak and gain good enough access to insert a plug.

Do you carry a jack / jug wrench?

 

Mountain and gravel bikes use similar "goo" for their tubeless tires. While not exactly a 1:1 comparison, the thinner tire definitely flexes more than a typical car tire and flats are rare.

If you look at this guys post: https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/is-the-tire-repair-kit-multi-use.217103/post-1666080 then hunt around for ITW MSD sheets it looks like honda is just using slime (glycerol, cellulose fibers and ground up rubber) without the green food coloring.

 

I sometimes travel in remote places where changing my own tire would be strongly preferred to waiting for Honda to locate a tow-truck to come help. I bought a spare, have a hand-jack and a bottle jack. I keep the stuff in the car all of the time. I have the tire in there so the hollow faces up, and I put stuff in the trunk often, and sometimes stuff inside the spare's "hollow" area. Anyway, carrying the spare has been a non-issue for me as I find the Clarity's trunk space good, and even with the spare its fine for my uses.

But yes, I care enough to find a compatible spare, bought it. It came with a hand-type jack, and I chose to augment buying a bottle jack rated for Clarity weight (about 2 tons I believe at 4K pounds). They stay in the trunk with the spare tire all the time. I keep the original 110v charger and an extension cord rated for 20 amps in the little compartment too. And as others have mentioned I do also have the Honda flat-fix not used yet.

BTW: I did have one flat in town. Someone was roofing and I hit a roofing nail. The problem with Clarity high torque is that I didn't even notice I was driving on a flat (and no the tire pressure thing didn't warn me for unknown reason). I drove it on a flat to a Les Schwab about 1/2 mile away, and they ended up fixing the tire for free. i.e. I got lucky (and it was good of them to do that).