Flat tire

[LTLFTcomposite]

Ebay is loaded with compact spares, no doubt from people who were afraid of them and replaced them with full size spares. Some as little as 10 bucks, including the wheel. How standardized are bolt patterns these days? Would a compact spare from, say, a Civic work on the Leaf? Is the Leaf 4 bolt or 5?

 

[IBELEAF]

I hope OP will let us know the cause of the two flats.

 

[mwalsh]

Ebay is loaded with compact spares, no doubt from people who were afraid of them and replaced them with full size spares. Some as little as 10 bucks, including the wheel. How standardized are bolt patterns these days? Would a compact spare from, say, a Civic work on the Leaf? Is the Leaf 4 bolt or 5?

A whole slew of Nissans use the same bolt pattern and PCD. I can't see any reason to go to another brand's compact spare.

 

[Clippy]

They are run flats.

My beef, historically, with run flats is that they get you 50 miles closer to a tow truck (with a conventional vehicle). As the LEAF, and most EVs for some time, is really an in-town car, run flats probably make sense.

Two caveats with run flats - rolling resistance will likely be increased, reducing potential driving range. Also, sidewall stiffness is greatly increased (if there is no air in the tire, the sidewall has to hold the car up) resulting in generally harsher ride quality.

These are allegedly LRR run flats, the existence of which is news to me. I figured if you're going to pop $200 for an extra factory wheel plus about $125 for a new tire and installation, you may as well spend the big bucks for LRR run flats and sell your Ecotopias for $150 to get close, cost-wise.

Of course this begs the question of why Nissan didn't blah, blah in the first place.

Poor Nissan, no good deed, etc.

 

[IBELEAF]

Do you have the link to those tires that are LRR and run flat?

 

[Clippy]

Do you have the link to those tires that are LRR and run flat?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Cinturato+P7+RFT&partnum=055VR6CP7RFT&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

They are V rated, could be good or bad. I haven't cornered fast enough to scare myself yet, so I don't know. But they have a lot of pictures and junk printed on the sidewalls and they even say "Ecosomething" on them, so how could we lose?

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I hope OP will let us know the cause of the two flats.

No kidding. Two flats, if they're both SIDEWALL damage, indicates something more than bad luck, IMHO.
Vandalism, curb hits, Severe Tire Damage...

These are rare. Two, more so.

 

[IBELEAF]

Ah ok, They are summer tires. I wonder how well they'll do in WA rain.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Run flats might be fine and dandy but I'll be looking for a solution that doesn't involve chucking the 4 new tires that come on the car. I'm very concerned about my impact on the environment you know.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

the first one obviously happened away from home. unusual to have one if its a slasher, but i guess some might have a "conscious".

the 2nd one in that short a period of time is suspect. is it same side? i might consider security cameras

 

[Redleaf2]

Red Leaf 2 is back, $300 plus and close to a full days involvement later. The two flat tires were the result of operator error. Wife tangled with a Front Street Market curb and punctured the side walls Nissan overnighted at no charge a new tire from Texas. But there were four of them 3 miles away, which was good once I figured out that I needed two.

The leaf wheel bolt pattern is very common. Most any 5 bolt Asian 16 inch wheel, or temporary spare, has a chance of fitting. $20 should be a good price.

 

[EVDRIVER]

They are run flats.

My beef, historically, with run flats is that they get you 50 miles closer to a tow truck (with a conventional vehicle). As the LEAF, and most EVs for some time, is really an in-town car, run flats probably make sense.

Two caveats with run flats - rolling resistance will likely be increased, reducing potential driving range. Also, sidewall stiffness is greatly increased (if there is no air in the tire, the sidewall has to hold the car up) resulting in generally harsher ride quality.

These are allegedly LRR run flats, the existence of which is news to me. I figured if you're going to pop $200 for an extra factory wheel plus about $125 for a new tire and installation, you may as well spend the big bucks for LRR run flats and sell your Ecotopias for $150 to get close, cost-wise.

Of course this begs the question of why Nissan didn't blah, blah in the first place.

Poor Nissan, no good deed, etc.

The factory tires are very good LRR tires and cost about $80 each, Costco sells them for that plus $70 off on four at the moment and many Prius owners are getting them. Run flats ride poorly and are heavier tires and less desirable over a standard tire let alone a LRR tire.

The Ecopia EP422 is one of Bridgestone's ecologically oriented Grand Touring All-Season tires initially developed in sizes for drivers looking to combine year-round traction, handling and comfort with reduced environmental impact for their fuel-efficient cars, hybrid coupes and sedans, as well as electric vehicles, beginning with Original Equipment use on the 2011 Nissan LEAF. Ecopia EP422 tires are designed to enhance vehicle fuel economy by reducing tire rolling resistance along with the vehicle's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during operation while delivering year-round, all-season traction, even in light snow.

"The Ecopia EP422 uses an all-season tread compound featuring Bridgestone's unique NanoPro-Tech (Nanostructure-Oriented Properties Control Technology) to reduce rolling resistance and energy loss while maintaining dry, wet and wintertime traction.

This compound is molded into a symmetric tread design that combines notched shoulders and intermediate ribs with independent center blocks for dry road tracking and traction. Four circumferential grooves are designed to help water flow from under the footprint to resist hydroplaning and enhance wet traction while notches and sipes increase the edges that bite into light snow. The tire sidewalls feature Bridgestone's Fuel Saver compound to further increase efficiency.

The tire's internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wrapped nylon on top of a polyester carcass to blend ride comfort and durability."

 

[HIOJim]

The factory tires are very good LRR tires and cost about $80 each, Costco sells them for that plus $70 off on four at the moment and many Prius owners are getting them. Run flats ride poorly and are heavier tires and less desirable over a standard tire let alone a LRR tire..."

I got Ecopia EP422's from Costco for my Prius under the deal EVDRIVER mentions. They are great tires; quieter, handle well, etc., and I highly recommend them. I suspect they will be just as good on a Leaf.

 

[Clippy]

The factory tires are very good LRR tires and cost about $80 each, Costco sells them for that plus $70 off on four at the moment and many Prius owners are getting them. Run flats ride poorly and are heavier tires and less desirable over a standard tire let alone a LRR tire.

I agree. One of the many things I've noticed that are upscale about the Leaf are the tires. My experience with run flats has been that they ride differently, a bit harsher. The big noise come when you get a flat. Many places won't repair run flats, so you'd better have a spare on hand or be prepared to pop for all four. And my tool shed and garage are full up, thanks.

That said, my Costco has the Ecotopias for $106. And they say they are USA made as opposed to Japan made. Which in the case of my 2010 Mazda that had a flat at 400 miles, meant the USA made tire that I ordered had a slightly different tread pattern. Had to order from Japan for >$200.

http://tires2.costco.com/product.aspx?ItemNo=571785&SearchID=201f0a38-2733-4e3a-a560-55929d2bc97f

 

[electriclarry]

Please read below
I'm guessing this applies to the Leaf including the $94.00 bottle of flat tire stuff. Should a $35,000 car be minus a spare tire. I ask should an $18,000 Elantra be minus a spare?

Yes I guess you could buy a tire,rim , jack+parts and have the tire mounted, at $250.00. Worse than that where you going to put it? and have any hatch space.

Shame!

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/05/hyundai-elantra-leaves-me-flat-tire.html

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

having driven since June 2004 with car equipped with TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) i have had no flats due to this system, but have had a slow leaks on my 2004 Prius, 3 on my 2006 Prius, none on my 2010 (knock on rubber!!)

so in 7 years i have carried the extra weight of a spare that has never been used. i am seriously thinking of taking the spare out of the Prius except for long trips to save gas mileage.

i am also seriously thinking of getting a spare for the Leaf that WILL REMAIN IN GARAGE. i have a 12 volt air pump (weighs about 3 lbs) that runs around in the Prius, will probably get one of those for the Leaf. they are or were cheap. think i paid like $15 for it and it was cheap and yes it takes a good 5 minutes to pump the tire up from say 25 lbs to 40 so not fast but it does the job. i think you can get faster ones for like $25

 

[planet4ever]

i have a 12 volt air pump (weighs about 3 lbs) that runs around in the Prius, will probably get one of those for the Leaf.

But you already have an air pump in the LEAF, don't you? They make it sound like it's for pumping that goop into the tire, but it's a real air pump, and you don't have to attach that expensive can of stuff to it when you use it.

Ray

 

[LEAFfan]

having driven since June 2004 with car equipped with TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) i have had no flats due to this system, but have had a slow leaks on my 2004 Prius, 3 on my 2006 Prius, none on my 2010 (knock on rubber!!)
so in 7 years i have carried the extra weight of a spare that has never been used. i am seriously thinking of taking the spare out of the Prius except for long trips to save gas mileage.

I was happy that I had a 'donut' spare the other day while driving the Corolla. I hit some debris with the front tire and it slit the sidewall on the back tire. The last time I had to change a tire was '98 with my '90 Toyota Celica GT-S. It saved me $50 (reimbursement is only $25) because the cheapest tow for only 5 miles was $75. But with the LEAF, if the sidewall gets cut, I'll just use their free roadside assistance.

 

[lemketron]

The two flat tires were the result of operator error. Wife tangled with a Front Street Market curb and punctured the side walls.

Heh... My wife tangled with a curb once, and blew my mind when she called to tell me she got TWO flats on the way to work. Fortunately my awesome Honda/Acura mechanic (Foreign Affair in Santa Clara) loaned me two mounted tires to take to her. That was when we found out that her (used) Integra was not only missing a spare but was also missing the oem jack (and tool kit). I figured it was no big deal, until I realized that the jack in my CR-V wouldn't work as it was (in its most compact position) too tall to fit under the Integra. So we ended up calling (and waiting for) AAA to come and swap the tires.

Incidentally, and more related to this thread, the topic of flat tires in the Leaf came up at a recent EAA-SV meeting, and the general consensus was to call Nissan Road Service or whatever, but do not (if at all possible) use that Nissan-provided can of fix-a-flat to fix a flat. The gunk in that can will allegedly destroy the tire pressure sensor, which will cost you about $500 to replace since failure from tire gunk is allegedly NOT covered by the Nissan warranty.

So call road service, keep a spare at home, carry a spare, or whatever, but don't use the tire gunk unless you really have no other possible choice.

 

[Rancher]

So I got my Leaf (aka the "Roadster") mid June. I've been traveling so to date I only have put on about 400 miles. However, today driving back from rural north east San Diego to my home in south Orange County (64 miles, lots of freeways with little range anxiety!) I get on the 5 north from the 76 and start looking for a truck to draft for my 30 miles on the freeway and BAM the damn car starts shaking. The rear passenger tire is totally flat. I didn't know I could call Nissan and instead called AAA (long term member). I get the car towed to the dealership who just called me and said I ran over a nail and my rim needs to be replaced. $500 for the rim, $90 for the tire, $150 for the tow (flatbed)...geez...Adding insult to injury, the rim "should arrive in 5 or 6 days"....ug...

I do not think I ever had a flat while driving (31 years behind the wheel)....