[obermd]

The Clarity PHEV is a really good road trip car - with one major exception. The car has no spare tire. I have remedied this for our Clarity. I purchased a fifth matching wheel and put a Michelin OEM tire on the wheel. My jack and lug wrench will arrive in a week or so. I'll put the tires into a five wheel rotation so all five tires will wear evenly. The benefit of a full size spare is that should I need to use it there will be no limitations like you get with a donut spare.

Wheel Part Number: 42800-TRT-N90/ Wheel Assembly, Aluminum (18X8J) (Enkei)
Tire: Michelin Energy Saver A/S 235/45R18 94V
Jack: CPROSP Scissor Jack Car for/SUV/MPV max 2 Tons(4,409 lbs) Capacity with Hand Crank Trolley Lifter with Ratchet
Lug Nut Wrench: any 19mm lug wrench will do

The wheel I purchased from hondapartsguys.com - shipped, they're about $200 below MSRP. The tire I purchased from Discount Tire. The jack is at https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M7YN1H3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I also bought the lug wrench at Amazon. Optionally you can purchase a wheel cover, but you have to take this cover off in order to balance the tire so I didn't see any benefit to buying this cover.

One of the things I was concerned about with the Jack was the height. The rear wheels need to hang down quite a bit to clear the fender covers and most jacks are only 15 inches or so. The one I purchased is 17.4" at full extension. I'll be able to keep the jack and lug wrench in the compartment below the low point in the trunk, along with other emergency gear.

 

[Rob43]

Quick, edit your tire size...



Rob43

 

[obermd]

Quick, edit your tire size...



Rob43

Thanks Rob.

 

[JimWoo]

Where in the trunk do you secure the spare tire you purchased?

 

[JimWoo]

Where in the trunk do you secure the spare tire you purchased?

 

[obermd]

Jim,

Normally the spare will be in the garage. When we're travelling I'll just put it in the trunk pressed up against the rear seats and pack around it. The jack arrived today and it's in the covered compartment in the bottom of the trunk. The lug wrench I ordered is a two piece item so it'll fit there as well. I'm thinking about using the EVSE bag to hold them both.

 

[lefty]

This is really helpful info and I appreciate you posting details. We now have 15,000 miles on our 2018 Clarity and not having a spare of some type has always bugged me. While not practical for some trips we take (such as a rare family trip from Denver to Estes Park and back we had 5 people and their luggage) in the future when it's just my wife & I, I'd sure like to have a spare.
Two questions for you:
1) could you give a ballpark estimate of your total cost for the wheel, tire, jack & wrench?
2) given the space limitation of the trunk, is there a specific reason you went with a full sized tire rather than a smaller donut? I would be thinking more along those lines if I went this route.

 

[4sallypat]

I am getting Run Flat Tires (RFT) when my factory tires wear out...

Always loved not having to pull off to the side of the road with a loss of air pressure.
Just drive on and get to a service station or tire shop....

 

[obermd]

This is really helpful info and I appreciate you posting details. We now have 15,000 miles on our 2018 Clarity and not having a spare of some type has always bugged me. While not practical for some trips we take (such as a rare family trip from Denver to Estes Park and back we had 5 people and their luggage) in the future when it's just my wife & I, I'd sure like to have a spare.
Two questions for you:
1) could you give a ballpark estimate of your total cost for the wheel, tire, jack & wrench?
2) given the space limitation of the trunk, is there a specific reason you went with a full sized tire rather than a smaller donut? I would be thinking more along those lines if I went this route.

$650 for the wheel
$200 for the tire (I actually spent $381 but I added Discount Tire's full road hazard/rotation/balancing to all five wheels).
$65 for the jack and lug wrench

I went with the full size spare because after four months of searching I couldn't find a donut wheel to match the Clarity PHEV's wheel hub and lug. The closest I could find was an Acura donut wheel that requires a hub adapter.

 

[obermd]

I am getting Run Flat Tires (RFT) when my factory tires wear out...

Always loved not having to pull off to the side of the road with a loss of air pressure.
Just drive on and get to a service station or tire shop....

I considered this, but after research discovered run-flats generally have the same restrictions on speed and distance as a donut spare. Run flats also have negative impact on vehicle rolling resistance. I did this research last February when I was looking for replacement tires for my Volt - I also liked the idea of not having to pull over and change a flat tire.

Now if they could perfect the airless passenger car tires... (https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/tire-talk/airless-concept-tires)

 

[JimWoo]

Thanks for the additional information about how you utilizing the spare tire and where you keeping it and the accessories. Great idea!

 

[LarryZ]

How did you determine where the jack points are on the frame? Is it mentioned somewhere I haven't found in the manual?

 

[Kerbe]

How did you determine where the jack points are on the frame? Is it mentioned somewhere I haven't found in the manual?

Here's a page from the Clarity PDI... Sorry that I couldn't shrink it down to be within the 20kb size limit - but if you search for the PDI you'll find this information.

 

[LarryZ]

Thanks!

 

[JimWoo]

Many, many kudos to Obermd for doing all this due diligence and posting this great information. I thought I had copied this information a long while back when it was first posted, but when I went looking for it tonight I discovered I couldn't find it. Thank goodness for this site's great search feature as I was able to retrieve on the first attempt. Again, I really appreciate Obermd for doing all the legwork on this project because hardcore Clarity lovers will greatly benefit from this information. Many thanks and Happy Valentines.

 

[Clarification]

I bought a doughnut on eBay. I have put it on and it fits correctly. The scissors jack I bought on Honda Parts and it's for an Odyssey. I figure if it will lift an Odyssey it will lift the Clarity. I added an adapter to the jack for a 1/2" ratchet drive and tested it as well. Works great with my cordless drill. The tire is in the trunk permanently and is connected with stiff rubber bungee cords to the child seat anchors under the back seat pulled tight against the seat. The owners manuals and a few other small items rest in the top opening saving me some space elsewhere. Everything else is in the opening at the back including a plug kit and some chocks. Had to clean the tire, but it's in like new condition. When the OEM tires need replacing I'll buy run flats. Losing some range is not that important considering the way we drive.

2008-2013 Infiniti G35 SPARE TIRE RIM WHEEL DONUT OEM 08 09 10 11 12 13

Total: $119.00
Item ID: 323788131439
Seller: nextlevel4434

 

[TooBusy]

Thanks Obermd. I used your information and was able to get all the spare tire items. Great work and I appreciated the time you put into the research you posted. TooBusy

 

[Barrett]

The Clarity PHEV is a really good road trip car - with one major exception. The car has no spare tire. I have remedied this for our Clarity. I purchased a fifth matching wheel and put a Michelin OEM tire on the wheel. My jack and lug wrench will arrive in a week or so. I'll put the tires into a five wheel rotation so all five tires will wear evenly. The benefit of a full size spare is that should I need to use it there will be no limitations like you get with a donut spare.

Wheel Part Number: 42800-TRT-N90/ Wheel Assembly, Aluminum (18X8J) (Enkei)
Tire: Michelin Energy Saver A/S 235/45R18 94V
Jack: CPROSP Scissor Jack Car for/SUV/MPV max 2 Tons(4,409 lbs) Capacity with Hand Crank Trolley Lifter with Ratchet
Lug Nut Wrench: any 19mm lug wrench will do

The wheel I purchased from hondapartsguys.com - shipped, they're about $200 below MSRP. The tire I purchased from Discount Tire. The jack is at https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M7YN1H3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I also bought the lug wrench at Amazon. Optionally you can purchase a wheel cover, but you have to take this cover off in order to balance the tire so I didn't see any benefit to buying this cover.

One of the things I was concerned about with the Jack was the height. The rear wheels need to hang down quite a bit to clear the fender covers and most jacks are only 15 inches or so. The one I purchased is 17.4" at full extension. I'll be able to keep the jack and lug wrench in the compartment below the low point in the trunk, along with other emergency gear.

I got a flat tire Sunday night and wished that I had a spare tire to fix it as I had to wait 3 hours to be towed home. The side wall of the tire had a gaping hole in it, so the repair kit was useless.
A friend even brought the donut from his son's Honda, but the lug pattern didn't fit the Clarity, so that didn't work either.

I would love to see a photo of the full size spare tire in the trunk to see if this is a practical solution.

Not having either a jack or a donut is a big hassle that I would rather not have to go through again.

 

[obermd]

I got a flat tire Sunday night and wished that I had a spare tire to fix it as I had to wait 3 hours to be towed home. The side wall of the tire had a gaping hole in it, so the repair kit was useless.
A friend even brought the donut from his son's Honda, but the lug pattern didn't fit the Clarity, so that didn't work either.

I would love to see a photo of the full size spare tire in the trunk to see if this is a practical solution.

Not having either a jack or a donut is a big hassle that I would rather not have to go through again.

The full size spare takes up about half the trunk space. I also rotate the tires every 3,000 miles to ensure even wear across all five tires.

 

[4sallypat]

I got a flat tire Sunday night and wished that I had a spare tire to fix it as I had to wait 3 hours to be towed home. The side wall of the tire had a gaping hole in it, so the repair kit was useless.
A friend even brought the donut from his son's Honda, but the lug pattern didn't fit the Clarity, so that didn't work either.

I would love to see a photo of the full size spare tire in the trunk to see if this is a practical solution.

Not having either a jack or a donut is a big hassle that I would rather not have to go through again.

Sorry to hear that your flat was a stressful one.

When it comes time to replace all 4 tires (actually 3 due to the 1 replaced under tire warranty), I am looking into winter run flat tires.

I have run flats on my BMW and love that I can drive it up to 50 miles even with zero air pressure.