Spare Tire Carrier

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TonyWilliams

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
10,107
Location
Vista, California USA
Here are some pics of the positioning of the my spare tire carrier. I have two spare tires; one from a Nissan Altima (years 2002-now) and one from a 2004 Nissan Quest Mini-van (not sure the range of years). All the wheels must be the 5 lug, 4.5 inch / 114.3mm mount, and are typically a 16 inch by 4 inch rim. Tires vary, with the Altima tire being a 135-90-16, and the Quest tire a 135-80-16. The larger numerical aspect ratio (90, vice 80) has a larger diameter than the latter.

I hope to have this project completed in the next 10 days.

Stock tire to the left, Quest spare tire on the right:

LeafSpareTireLeafSpareTireIMG_0723.jpg



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LeafSpareTireLeafSpareTireIMG_0719.jpg



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With the plastic rear under-body cover attached:


LeafSpareTireLeafSpareTireIMG_0732.jpg
 
Awesome Tony!!

Let's see... We've got a spare tire mod, a trailer-hitch bike rack mod, a couple of license plate mods, some pretty jacked-up speaker mods, and we're already hearing of a Gen2 EVSE mod! (What am I forgetting??)

Our people are responsible for Wet Okole, Yakima, and Eclipse product additions. (Are there others??)

Our uber-geeks have spec'ed nearly everything that can be spec'ed.

If we could just take over Distribution and Customer Service, we could probably get a seat on Nissan's board.

Way to go folks!!

Glenn
 
How about a place to bolt-on a towing hitch?.. for a small trailer.

Tony, you plan to reinstall the rear underbody shield after you mount the spare?
 
It would seem he does, since his last picture shows it in place. The "bottom pan" is important for aerodynamic drag, I suspect.

Question is, can one remove the rear "bottom pan" in the field to be able to acccess the tire in roadside conditions?

Are you thinking of using a "standard" crank-down mechanism installed in the floor of the cargo area?

Or, add a "tire well" and cut an access hole (and add a "lid") into the floor of the cargo area?

From the pictures, it looks like the Quest tire is narrow enough to fit, but that the stock LEAF tire is a bit too wide, even though the LEAF tire's slightly-larger diameter would be OK?
 
nader said:
Does the spare clear the front brake caliper?


Yes. Any 16" Nissan (or virtually any other manufacturer with a 5 hole x 4.5 inch / 114.3mm pattern will probably fit) spare wheel in 16 inch rim diameter should work.

The two spare wheels that I have will work, and are both from Nissan. I'm also working with a wheel manufacturer for a lightweight aluminum wheel.
 
Herm said:
How about a place to bolt-on a towing hitch?.. for a small trailer.

Tony, you plan to reinstall the rear underbody shield after you mount the spare?


Trailer hitch is in the plan !! Mostly for bike racks, wheel chairs, rack for hauling bags of messy stuff that you don't want in your car (like fertilizer, gasoline cans, dirty camping stuff, etc).

Mine will be "aerospace" inspired for the lightest weight. Virtually anything else offered is typically a HUGE, overbuilt hunk of steel, and they're always heavy. You're never going to haul a heavy trailer with the LEAF.

I do plan to reinstall the rear under-body panel.
 
garygid said:
Question is, can one remove the rear "bottom pan" in the field to be able to acccess the tire in roadside conditions?


No, the rear under-body panel would stay in place, but modified.


Are you thinking of using a "standard" crank-down mechanism installed in the floor of the cargo area?


Yes, standard crank-down. There's no need to reinvent the wheel :mrgreen: The actual crank access will likely be the right rear corner of the car, under the bumper.


Or, add a "tire well" and cut an access hole (and add a "lid") into the floor of the cargo area?


Yes, a simple "wheel-well", just like an airplane. A 30 inch diameter tub and a cut-out in the rear under-body panel. Super simple. No lid, or "gear door", as the airplane world calls it. There are plenty of fast airplanes without gear doors in a low drag area.


From the pictures, it looks like the Quest tire is narrow enough to fit, but that the stock LEAF tire is a bit too wide, even though the LEAF tire's slightly-larger diameter would be OK?


There's no intention to carry a spare full size tire, but you could, I guess. It would hang a bit out the bottom (not a big deal... look at mufflers hanging out the bottom of ICE cars!).

I just included the picture to show how the sizes compare. The Altima spare tire will be slightly larger in diameter than the stock tires. I just needed to know the LARGEST diameter likely spare tire to spec out the diameter of the wheel-well.
 
With care cutting out the "30-inch hole" in the rear under-body panel, the cut-out piece could be used as a "cover" for the hole. It could be fitted back in nicely, perhaps using "clips" to hold it onto the rim of the new "wheel tub".

Then, lowering the tire/wheel might be enough weight to pop the clips out, and the "cover" (and clips) could be replaced later when the car is on a rack.

The airflow under the car will be faster than the speed of the car, and buffeting (caused by the edges of the large cutout) could be a problem, possibly ripping off the remaining part of the rear under-panel, or causing severe buffeting noise.

It might also create substantial drag, possibly by changing the carefully-designed turbulant airflow at the high-drag back-end of the car.
 
TonyWilliams said:
Herm said:
How about a place to bolt-on a towing hitch?.. for a small trailer.

Tony, you plan to reinstall the rear underbody shield after you mount the spare?

Trailer hitch is in the plan !! Mostly for bike racks, wheel chairs, rack for hauling bags of messy stuff that you don't want in your car (like fertilizer, gasoline cans, dirty camping stuff, etc).

Mine will be "aerospace" inspired for the lightest weight. Virtually anything else offered is typically a HUGE, overbuilt hunk of steel, and they're always heavy. You're never going to haul a heavy trailer with the LEAF.

I do plan to reinstall the rear under-body panel.

My bike rack hitch is 13 lbs net, but I prioritized stiffness over extreme light weight (so that it wouldn't sag with 4 bikes or extra cargo loaded on).
See Christopher's post here for some video: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1552&start=20
How often do you plan on hauling gasoline cans?? :lol:


garygid said:
With care cutting out the "30-inch hole" in the rear under-body panel, the cut-out piece could be used as a "cover" for the hole. It could be fitted back in nicely, perhaps using "clips" to hold it onto the rim of the new "wheel tub".

Then, lowering the tire/wheel might be enough weight to pop the clips out, and the "cover" (and clips) could be replaced later when the car is on a rack.

The airflow under the car will be faster than the speed of the car, and buffeting (caused by the edges of the large cutout) could be a problem, possibly ripping off the remaining part of the rear under-panel, or causing severe buffeting noise.

It might also create substantial drag, possibly by changing the carefully-designed turbulant airflow at the high-drag back-end of the car.

Gary, what you suggest here shouldn't be hard to do, but will likely affect the cleanliness of the underside mechanisms (parking brake) more than the drag. I've driven around for a week with the rear under cover removed completely and couldn't tell the difference in range.

Bill
 
Electric4Me said:
My bike rack hitch is 13 lbs net, but I prioritized stiffness over extreme light weight (so that it wouldn't sag with 4 bikes or extra cargo


My bike rack is also the industrial grade 4 bike model, for a two inch receiver. I think I bought it during my 10 years in Fremont. While my hitch is still "vapor-ware", it will be plenty strong / stiff for the job.

I haven't seen your setup. I'll take a peek.


How often do you plan on hauling gasoline cans?? :lol:


As often as my many off road motorcycles, weed eater, lawn mower, etc need me to.



garygid said:
With care cutting out the "30-inch hole" in the rear under-body panel, the cut-out piece could be used as a "cover" for the hole. It could be fitted back in nicely,
perhaps using "clips" to hold it onto the rim of the new "wheel tub".
Then, lowering the tire/wheel might be enough weight to pop the clips out, and the "cover" (and clips) could be replaced later when the car is on a rack.

The airflow under the car will be faster than the speed of the car, and buffeting (caused by the edges of the large cutout) could be a problem, possibly ripping off the remaining part of the rear under-panel, or causing severe buffeting noise.

It might also create substantial drag, possibly by changing the carefully-designed turbulant airflow at the high-drag back-end of the car.

Gary, what you suggest here shouldn't be hard to do, but will likely affect the cleanliness of
the underside mechanisms (parking brake) more than the drag. I've driven around for a week with the rear under cover removed completely and couldn't tell the difference in range.

Bill


All good points and thoughts. I honestly don't believe that there will be buffeting any more than any other car. I haven't planned a cover, but your point is well taken. Certainly not much increase in cost/labor.
 
If you are looking for an aluminum spare, search for the Mazda RX-7 spare tire. Made by Enkei, 5x114.3 pattern T135/70D16. Only thing I'm not sure of is the hub bore for the wheel and load rating.
 
nader said:
Does the spare clear the front brake caliper?
Not that you'd want to put the donut spare on the front, anyway.

If a front tire goes flat, swap the good rear tire to the front and put the donut spare on the rear. If you're on a flat, solid, surface, you might want to push your luck and jack the car up high enough at the front jack point to get both tires off the ground. You'd only need to raise & lower the car once instead of four times. (I carry a hydraulic jack so it'd be no biggie to raise the LEAF that high. It might not be possible with a jack from a Nissan Altima or a Toyota Camry, if the jack does not lift high enough.)
 
dactec said:
If you are looking for an aluminum spare, search for the Mazda RX-7 spare tire. Made by Enkei, 5x114.3 pattern T135/70D16. Only thing I'm not sure of is the hub bore for the wheel and load rating.


Awesome point out. That tire would be teeny tiny in diameter, but that can be changed... or not.

The good news is that there's a WIDE range of potential tires / wheels that will work. I was trying to find the lightest weight (and this may be it).

Aren't the LEAF wheels also made by Enkei?

LEAFwheel2.jpg


LEAFwheel3.jpg
 
TonyWilliams said:
Aren't the LEAF wheels also made by Enkei?
LEAFwheel3.jpg


Assuming that is the back of an Leaf wheel, than yes. You can see the Enkei stamping on the lower left corner spoke. Enkei actually makes a lot of the cast OEM wheels for Japanese vehicles.

The Leaf wheel specifications 16 x 6.5 with +40 offset.
 
philaphonic said:
any update to this spare tire carrier?

I'm on revision #... I don't remember how many. I'm still tweaking!!

Naturally, what should have been a week project has turned into about 3 months, but it's not forgotten, and will be done!!
 
TonyWilliams said:
Naturally, what should have been a week project has turned into about 3 months, but it's not forgotten, and will be done!!
I hear ya, Tony! If I had a nickel for every project of mine that progressed like that, I'd be able to buy a Volt, too. :D
 
Just before 7002 miles, the low tire warning went off. My first thought was that those things never work right, and kept driving. Car started pulling to the right, so I knew it was the right front tire; sure enough, it had about 10 psi in it, and hissing pretty good.

I got to mount the spare tire "for real". I have two, so I tried the early 2000's Nissan Quest. There was some noise, so I took that off, but couldn't find the source of the noise. Then I mounted the 2006 Maxima spare, and put the car in Neutral (with wheels blocked and parking brake on) to check that it spun freely. Then, drove to the tire shop for repairs and tire rotation.


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