[Audiophile]

I am seriously considering an elise very soon, and I have a few questions- I searched and could not find this information in the archives. Does this vehicle come equipped with a spare tire? I live in a some what isolated area and getting stranded could pose a big problem. If there is no spare would there be room for a temporary spare, small jack and small lug wrench?

Also does the top fit some place in the car when its not being used? I imagine it does, but I don't want to take it for granted. I would just go a dealership and check it out but there are none close and I don't want to bother them with these seemingly simple questions.

 

[LotusLust]

no spare. the soft top rolls up and fits in the boot behind the engine. if you have the hard top option there is no place to stow it in the car. the only hope for a flat is the can of goop that can be pumped into a flat tire to allow you to hobble to civilization. a cell phone would be handy (if you have coverage in your part of remote) as would an auto club membership.

 

[Stan]

Flat tires are pretty rare these days. Many folks have never had one in years of driving. You can't really fit a spare in the car and in any event the tire sizes are different front to rear. Have a cell phone and super triple A. Or you might be able to find run flats if you really want to avoid the issue. Those tend to require other compromises in ride and handling though so do that only if you just gotta have it. There are also places that inject glop into any set of tires rendering them seld healing to punctures. This has various potential draw backs too.

 

[ConeFusion]

Flat tires are pretty rare these days.

I've had two this year. None of them immediate blowouts, though. One started leaking slowly, and then got worse and worse. The leak was in the sidewall, so the goo wouldn't have helped. The other leak a couple of weeks later turned out to be a valve gone bad.

 

[Audiophile]

I own a tire shop so I see a TON of flat tires and just don't like the idea of being stuck. I agree the chances are slim and cell reception is pretty good but being stranded doesn't make anyone happy. At least it would be nice out and not on a day when it was snowing and -20°F, that would really stink.

And yes runflats could work, but there is nothing even close to the front size available. And as already mentioned runflats are heavy and would slow the car down a lot- rotational mass.

 

[ChrisH]

I average about 1 flat per year due to nails and screws in the road. Almost all are repairable.

 

[MattG]

Whenever I've gotten flats on low profile tires, I usually didn't visually notice it. I'd either notice a change in driving (squeeling around corners usually), or would catch it during a routine pressure check. The sidewalls are much stiffer than high profile tires. If you're worried about the lack of a spare, I think you should be more worried about the lack of a pressure monitoring system.

 

[Surferjer]

I had one on my Elise in Oct. The can of fixaflat and only being 1 mile from a service station helped immensely. That's my 1st flat in many years, though.