tl;dr version: After a flat tire, roadside service swapped a 19” wheel on my Perf. Model 3 and I was back on the road in under an hour. (Is that a special “universal” wheel or will any Tesla Model 3 19” wheel fit on the Performance 20” hubs/brakes?). Also, should I buy a used tire off eBay to fill in until I wear out the rest of my tires more fully?
Full version:
Just as I was about to exit the freeway, I hit something that made my right front tire go flat about instantly. It didn’t cause any difficult with control. When I got off the freeway and came to a stop, I could see the tire was torn on the outside sidewall. At least I knew there was no point in attempting any kind of slime and fill (which, I know, probably doesn’t work with the acoustic tires anyway). And I was glad this happened in the SF bay area, where I figured I was more likely to be able to get a solution in reasonable time.
Happily, I got hold of someone right away on the Tesla roadside service number. I told them I had a flat, they took my vehicle info, and I emphasized that my car had 20” wheels (which they would know from the VIN, but I wanted to make sure). They said they would check on options and call me back in a few minutes. It was actually about 10, but that was okay. They said “good news,” there’s a towing company that can bring a replacement wheel, either a Performance-specific wheel or universal wheel. I asked for and they gave me the name and phone number of the towing company. They said it would be 60-90 minutes, and it ended up being only about 30, which was great.
The wheel they put on was a Tesla Model 3 19” wheel with a 235/40R19 tire (larger sidewall that I think makes roughly the same outside diameter as the 235/35R20s). It had a ring of green spray paint, I think to encourage you not to keep it longer than necessary. Is that a special “universal” wheel or will any Tesla Model 3 19” wheel fit on the Performance 20” hubs/brakes? Anyway, they take your wheel and tire to the nearest Tesla service center. That one is not at all convenient for me, so I made an appointment at one closer to home, with details about the wheel. Supposedly they will give me an estimate for replacing the tire, but I haven’t heard anything yet, so I will try to reach them or maybe stop by and confirm they can get my wheel from the other Tesla service center. BTW, I asked the towing guy if I could keep my wheel (in addition to the replacement on the car, as I had signed a Loaner Wheel Agreement obligating me to get that one back to them). He called and asked and said no, he has to take it.
So that’s my experience so far, in case it’s helpful to anyone. Now I need some help with deciding what to do for tire replacement. I'm very happy with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's that came with the car. I thought about maybe replacing them with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, but I don't really need all-seasons, and I've read that they're a bit stiffer and louder than the 4S's. And of course the 4S's are even "stickier", which I like.
Anyway, the other tires, which have 17,000 miles on them, have remaining tread depths of about 3-4/32nds on the two rear tires and about 7 on the left front tire. It’s easy to forget to rotate when you don’t need oil changes!
So I will need 1, 2 or 4 new tires. Maybe the most common solution would be to get two new tires (so that you can match them on one axle). I could do that, but I’d have to discard the still-decent one and would have two almost-done tires on the other axle.
Next option is to get 4 new tires. Since one is damaged and two are nearly done, it doesn’t seem unreasonable. I’d save another trip to the tire shop in the near future (for the worn ones) and could also get the benefit of a discount for buying four tires at once.
And then my final, and maybe best, option is to buy a used tire off eBay. There’s a matching PS4S Acoustic with 8-9/32 for about $130, which seems pretty good. I could match that (close enough, i.e. within 1-2/32s) with my other decent tire, keep using them all for a while, replace the worn tires on the other axle in a little while, and rotate them all to even out the wear again. Does that sound like a good idea? Any other thoughts or different ideas? Thanks!
Full version:
Just as I was about to exit the freeway, I hit something that made my right front tire go flat about instantly. It didn’t cause any difficult with control. When I got off the freeway and came to a stop, I could see the tire was torn on the outside sidewall. At least I knew there was no point in attempting any kind of slime and fill (which, I know, probably doesn’t work with the acoustic tires anyway). And I was glad this happened in the SF bay area, where I figured I was more likely to be able to get a solution in reasonable time.
Happily, I got hold of someone right away on the Tesla roadside service number. I told them I had a flat, they took my vehicle info, and I emphasized that my car had 20” wheels (which they would know from the VIN, but I wanted to make sure). They said they would check on options and call me back in a few minutes. It was actually about 10, but that was okay. They said “good news,” there’s a towing company that can bring a replacement wheel, either a Performance-specific wheel or universal wheel. I asked for and they gave me the name and phone number of the towing company. They said it would be 60-90 minutes, and it ended up being only about 30, which was great.
The wheel they put on was a Tesla Model 3 19” wheel with a 235/40R19 tire (larger sidewall that I think makes roughly the same outside diameter as the 235/35R20s). It had a ring of green spray paint, I think to encourage you not to keep it longer than necessary. Is that a special “universal” wheel or will any Tesla Model 3 19” wheel fit on the Performance 20” hubs/brakes? Anyway, they take your wheel and tire to the nearest Tesla service center. That one is not at all convenient for me, so I made an appointment at one closer to home, with details about the wheel. Supposedly they will give me an estimate for replacing the tire, but I haven’t heard anything yet, so I will try to reach them or maybe stop by and confirm they can get my wheel from the other Tesla service center. BTW, I asked the towing guy if I could keep my wheel (in addition to the replacement on the car, as I had signed a Loaner Wheel Agreement obligating me to get that one back to them). He called and asked and said no, he has to take it.
So that’s my experience so far, in case it’s helpful to anyone. Now I need some help with deciding what to do for tire replacement. I'm very happy with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's that came with the car. I thought about maybe replacing them with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+, but I don't really need all-seasons, and I've read that they're a bit stiffer and louder than the 4S's. And of course the 4S's are even "stickier", which I like.
Anyway, the other tires, which have 17,000 miles on them, have remaining tread depths of about 3-4/32nds on the two rear tires and about 7 on the left front tire. It’s easy to forget to rotate when you don’t need oil changes!
So I will need 1, 2 or 4 new tires. Maybe the most common solution would be to get two new tires (so that you can match them on one axle). I could do that, but I’d have to discard the still-decent one and would have two almost-done tires on the other axle.
Next option is to get 4 new tires. Since one is damaged and two are nearly done, it doesn’t seem unreasonable. I’d save another trip to the tire shop in the near future (for the worn ones) and could also get the benefit of a discount for buying four tires at once.
And then my final, and maybe best, option is to buy a used tire off eBay. There’s a matching PS4S Acoustic with 8-9/32 for about $130, which seems pretty good. I could match that (close enough, i.e. within 1-2/32s) with my other decent tire, keep using them all for a while, replace the worn tires on the other axle in a little while, and rotate them all to even out the wear again. Does that sound like a good idea? Any other thoughts or different ideas? Thanks!
