It's inevitable, you've just jinxed the whole forum! Ha ha ha. But in all seriousness, no I try not to think about that. Although I did come across a mounted fix-a-flat can in the boot one day when cramming my Wal-Mart bagged clothes into the corners before a long road trip. Never used the stuff.

 

Thats funny, because I had all those same thoughts before posting. During my lotus's maiden voyage home I managed to be the second person running over a beer bottle in a parking lot. I immediately pulled over, picked all the (thankfully) small shards out of the A048's, and then as I was pulling the plastic walmart bags (packed with clothes) out for my hotel stay that evening, also noticed the fix a flat. That moment made me wonder about what everyone else is doing.

I've only had one "couldn't make it home" flat (knock on wood) and it was an incredibly frustrating experience. One of my tires was super low on air, and when it got up to freeway speeds it went KAAPOW! If you're wondering why I drove on an incredibly flat tire to begin with, thats where the frustrating part comes in. It was passenger side rear wheel and when I left work I didn't know it was flat. Next day I come in to work and a co-worker says "oh you got a flat? I noticed that tire looked awful low." Of course he didn't say anything to me all day or AS HE WAS OUTSIDE WATCHING ME LEAVE THE PARKING LOT. Wasn't his fault but still...

Anyway, I was able to put on a donut in that situation and drive home. Not possible in the lotus right now. And regarding how long those donuts are built or how long they last, I think they must be tough guys - I drove 70 mph everyday for 3 weeks on a ten year old donut until I could afford some new tires!

 

I have a spare.
Michael

 

Is that the base Elise rim + Porsche inflatable spare tire combo I think I read about in another thread?

 

I bought

1) A tire repair kit for $6 (contains two tools and 5 strands of something gooey)

2) A tire pump that runs off of the car's power jack, on sale for about $20

This all fits nicely just behind the passenger seat.

 

A VERY Lightweight Solution: a AAA card.

 

The car comes with a can of "fix-a-flat" attached to a bracket in the upper right side of the rear clam.

But the reality is that flats seldom happen any more. In the last 20 years of so, I've only had a couple of flats, and they have bee slow leaks caused by a nail puncture. Easily fixed on the driveway by jacking up the car removing the tire and taking it to the tire shop. This goes for all the cars in the family. The last "blow out" I had was nearly 25 years ago when the sidewall of a tire was punctured by debris on the freeway.

For my regular cars i've never even had the spare tire out of the trunk (I wonder if a 17 year old spare tire is still any good?)

 

I guess it is a different reality here in S.Florida. With lots of construction going on and nails/screws laying around it is not uncommon to get a puncture :shrug: Hell, I got a screw in my tire on my Lotus dealer's property.
Michael

 

Had a screw puncture a front A048, but it was a slow leak. Since it was a road tire I had it patched from inside and it was good enough to drive on the street.

 

i went to a car GTG and when there noticed a nail in the left rear tire.
i carefully drove home and then removed the wheel and had it fixed.
the next thing, i bought some wheels on the forum and marked a front tire (will go on either end ) and got and marked a jack and wheel wrench set so the wife could bring the changing set to me.
i don't know what i'd do if i were on the distant road. probably use the AAA like kestrel.
sam

 

I keep two large fix-a-flat cans in a bag in my trunk. Why two? Well, one sometimes isn't enough, and sometimes they break as you're using them.

When I've had a flat or a puncture on the A048s, I use the fix a flat and get over to Globe Tire on the Westside of L.A. to get it repaired/replaced.

The fix a flat works really well...it sealed a really large puncture I got once.

You don't need a spare tire (though it's a cool idea)..you need your trunk for stuff. Even new Aston Martin's don't have a spare tire.

I've actually written letters to construction sites I see near my home to be careful about the number of nails they leave scattered all over the street.

A flatbed is your only choice of tow truck if all else fails. Make sure you have your tow hook (the one that came with the car) in the car at all times; the flatbed driver will need it to get your car on the truck.

I also recommend keeping a roll of painters tape and a roll of Supertape in that bag in the trunk and a couple of tools like pliers. You never know when you might have a lamp get loose or some other devilish problem.

Larry
Specialty Car Craft