Suggestion for cargo area + range

[DaveinOlyWA]

Does not having a spare also mean they are also not going to provide an emergency jack and lug? I suspect so. That means if you want to be able to change a flat on the road yourself you will have to also lug around the jack and the lug wrench, so be sure to add that calculation into the space it will take up.

I have always used the jack that comes with a car to rotate the tires. I guess this means I'll have to go out and buy a jack if I want to continue to rotate the tires myself.

i also rotate my own tires but use a 12 volt impact wrench to do it with. much much faster than a regular lug wrench.

 

[lne937s]

Does not having a spare also mean they are also not going to provide an emergency jack and lug? I suspect so. That means if you want to be able to change a flat on the road yourself you will have to also lug around the jack and the lug wrench, so be sure to add that calculation into the space it will take up.

I have always used the jack that comes with a car to rotate the tires. I guess this means I'll have to go out and buy a jack if I want to continue to rotate the tires myself.

Using the emergency jack that comes with your car is dangerous- it was not built for routine use. You should use a sturdy floor jack and jack stands from a safety perspective.

 

[Rat]

I used to rotate my tires myself using only the car's jack, but gave up on that after a couple of bad episodes of muscle tears in my back (not caused by tire changing). Also, the local tire shop where I bought my last full set of tires includes free rotation for life of the tires, and even gives free rotation for oil changes on any car, which they do better and cheaper than the Speedee Lube I was using before. It makes no sense for me to do that kind of labor myself now. For someone with a floor jack and a power wrench, it makes sense, but someone with a bad back working the driveway with just that puny car jack and lug wrench - no way.

 

[garygid]

Rat, right with you there!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i have free rotation as well, but not willing to take it somewhere when i can do it myself in 30 minutes. i DO NOT use the jack that comes with my car either (the Zenn did not come with one anyway!!)

i use 2 floor jacks and a 12 volt impact wrench. it takes me about 7 minutes to jack up the car the first time. have to do it twice, once per side. i work VERY leisurely. with the impact wrench, it takes about 90 seconds to remove a 4 lug tire.

i am old, but do have a young child that i must keep up with, so i am probably in somewhat better shape than most my age.

i suppose that one day, i will have others rotate my tires, but hoping that is at least 15 years off. by then i will be retired and son will be out of high school and i should be in the market for Leaf II

 

[Yodrak]

And if we're going to add batteries, why not put also put a few under the floor of the front seats, just like in the rear?

Because the rear seats are higher than the front seats, so a few batteries under the floor in front of the rear seats still leaves enough leg room for rear seat passengers (which are more often than not children, who do not require as much leg room as most adults anyway)?

I like your ideas for the rear space, however.

 

[LEAFfan]

Nissan has wisely decided to eliminate a spare tire to save weight

What do you do if you have a flat tire? Roll on the rim?
Is anyone planning not to have a spare?

http://priuschat.com/forums/nissan-hybrids-evs/80653-no-spare-tire.html

Spare tire is not needed, given that Leaf is mostly an urban car and tires are now much better.

When I lived in the Midwest, I would rarely have a flat tire, maybe once. Out here in AZ, I've had so many flat tires from nails, screws, etc. it's too many to count. One day, I went outside and had TWO front flat tires. They found 3 screws/nails in one, and 2 screws/nails in the other. My low profile tires did pick up a lot of debris out here, but not in the Midwest. I've never had low-resistance rolling tires, so I'm wondering what they are comparable to as far as tread goes. Does anyone know what air pressure they use in those lrrts?

 

[Yodrak]

No tire is a match for an urban pothole.

Spare tire is not needed, given that Leaf is mostly an urban car and tires are now much better.

 

[TLeaf]

One could always do like I've done on my motorcycle: keep a "rope"-type plug, glue and the requisite T-handled file and "rope insertion tool" to fix things like nail punctures. You'd also want some type of air pump, but that could be a floor-type bicycle variety or a few CO2 cylinders. Lighter than a spare tire/jack/wrench combo, but admittedly wouldn't do you much good for slashed tires or pothole-dinged rims.

Certainly would fit nicely into a custom-made trunk box, or perhaps the cargo organizer accessory??

 

[evnow]

No tire is a match for an urban pothole.

Spare tire is not needed, given that Leaf is mostly an urban car and tires are now much better.

How many tires have you changed in urban area in the last decade. I've changed none.

 

[smkettner]

At least three on my truck. OK I did not change them but had to use my inflator to get to the GY store.
Any chance the safety kit has an inflator?

 

[Yodrak]

One. Last winter, when potholes are in season and often hidden by water or snow. This one appeared suddenly as my wife turned a corner. Edge of the pothole ripped through the sidewall of the tire as the wheel dropped into it. Tire plugs or inflator/sealant useless for such damage.

No tire is a match for an urban pothole.

Spare tire is not needed, given that Leaf is mostly an urban car and tires are now much better.

How many tires have you changed in urban area in the last decade. I've changed none.

 

[garygid]

Since the LEAF has no spare tire, does it also NOT have a jack (and lug-nut wrench)?

To access a puncture to attempt any roadside repair (other than a can of "Fix-a-Flat"), one typically needs to remove the wheel, right?

 

[smkettner]

With fix-a-flat you will be looking at a new tire rather than a patch.
Or just hope it holds for the life of the tire.