I have a 22 S Plaid with 21” wheels/tires. Has anyone bought a front and rear tire or a full set in case of a tire puncture or major damage? Just concerned if I pick up a nail I will not be able to get a replacement tire for a couple of days. Would be nice to get back on the road quickly. Appreciate any advice.
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21” S owners
- Thread starter Beandoc
- Start date
A plug kit and small compressor will get you on the road in most cases, especially on trips. Spare tires could be sitting for years.
Yes, I keep 4 extra rears and 2 extra fronts . Also have 1 front/1 rear each of the 19" OEM Pirelli. I've only had the car for about 5 months and already went through 3 punctures on the rear, 2 of them resulting in needing an actual replacement. It's much easier when you can toss a tire in the trunk and go to the tire shop and have zero concerns about backorders.
As far as sitting goes, if you drive a lot, they won't sit long. Especially if you haven't addressed the uneven camber/toe wear yet.
Thanks for the reply. I appreciate Tdriver's take as well. Given that I have the 21" tires and my experiences with Michelin Pilots in the past on heavy fast cars I don't really worry either on the tires sitting around too long.
Sorry you have had so much bad luck though on the punctures.
It's just a consequence of living in Vegas, happens to everyone with wide low profile tires.
How do you address the uneven camber/toe wear? I have '22 MSP and I'm on my third set of tires already. 36k miles. I'm in the process of switching to 19" Rims and tires. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
These, and a proper alignment in the low setting.
Model S + Plaid / Model X + Plaid - Billet Adjustable Rear Camber Arm Set (2021+) - Unplugged Performance
Our advanced Model S Plaid suspension development and racing kicked off in June 2021 with our race car Dark Helmet as we set out to develop the ultimate performance handling Model S. The results have followed as we brought home to the Tesla community a Pikes Peak class victory and multiple...
unpluggedperformance.com
I also have their toe arms, which I would highly recommend, because that factory toe arm bushing allows a lot of flex under load.
Tesla Model S / Model S Plaid (2021+) Billet Adjustable Rear Toe Arm Set - Unplugged Performance
Our advanced Model S Plaid suspension development and racing kicked off in June 2021 with our race car Dark Helmet as we set out to develop the ultimate performance handling Model S. The results have followed as we brought home to the Tesla community a Pikes Peak class victory and multiple...
unpluggedperformance.com
Other brands around if you're looking for a cheaper option, and I bought a set of n2itive camber arms since they were cheaper, but the install shop messed up the install and caused the arms to be damaged. Unplugged was able to overnight a set of arms to correct that issue, so I upgraded to theirs.
<edit> I also have the 19" OEM wheels, because they hook up much better on launches, but the 21" look a ton better.
Just an fyi. Just bought a front OEM for the front which is in stock. I bought a rear OEM as well. BUT the rear is back-ordered until 2-20-2023. Would be a hot mess to have a flat tire in the rear right now especially if it could not be patched until a rear came in.
Edit: I was purchasing from TireRack. Other vendors may have a better supply but I did not crosscheck.
Thanks for the camber advice Sam1.
Edit: I was purchasing from TireRack. Other vendors may have a better supply but I did not crosscheck.
Thanks for the camber advice Sam1.
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airborne spoon
Active Member
I have a set of summer tires and a set of winter tires so if i get a hole or something i can swap it out till i get around to fixing it. I currently am looking for a good compressor and am leaning towards the Milwaukee one to just have in my car and then have a plug kit to get me going enough to get to an indy tire shop for a proper patch should i get a puncture.
Life comes at you fast.
Awoke yesterday with low tire warning. Right rear passenger tire deflated.
Found the screw in the tire.
Took the car to a local tire center. Can't patch a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Tesla T2 tire. Inner foam is present for sound mitigation. They will not plug a tire like most places. Only patch. And the inner foam lining prevents patching.
Tesla wants to flat bed my car back to the dealer. But that is in another state.
I reinflate my tire at the tire center. It will hold for a few hours. Drive it home.
Buy a tire plug kit.
But a 1/2" torque wrench.
Buy a 3 ton jack. (I already had bought the jack pads fortunately.)
Work today. Drive wife's car.
Get home and remove tire/wheel.
Plug the hole. That was a whole misadventure. But I got the plug to seal.
Replace the wheel and torque the lugs at 129 ft-lbs per spec. Tire holding air so far.
Rear tire is on back order and will not arrive for three weeks.
I hope you have enjoyed my TED talk.
Awoke yesterday with low tire warning. Right rear passenger tire deflated.
Found the screw in the tire.
Took the car to a local tire center. Can't patch a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Tesla T2 tire. Inner foam is present for sound mitigation. They will not plug a tire like most places. Only patch. And the inner foam lining prevents patching.
Tesla wants to flat bed my car back to the dealer. But that is in another state.
I reinflate my tire at the tire center. It will hold for a few hours. Drive it home.
Buy a tire plug kit.
But a 1/2" torque wrench.
Buy a 3 ton jack. (I already had bought the jack pads fortunately.)
Work today. Drive wife's car.
Get home and remove tire/wheel.
Plug the hole. That was a whole misadventure. But I got the plug to seal.
Replace the wheel and torque the lugs at 129 ft-lbs per spec. Tire holding air so far.
Rear tire is on back order and will not arrive for three weeks.
I hope you have enjoyed my TED talk.
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Find a new tire shop, because all they have to do is cut a piece of the foam away from the area and put a mushroom plug in. If you put a tar plug in a hole and did not remove the foam from the back area where the hole is, it is not repaired properly & you should get it redone. ... But a lot of shops won't repair a hole that someone else has already plugged.
The foam can cause friction on the tar plug and has the potential to cause it to come out.
Hayseed_MS
Spreader of "Endless Non Sequitur"
Worst case, if it means getting back on on the road or not, you can take the foam out all together. Will not effect the ride but may just be a little louder. Hade a rover that had foam separation and the dealer just took it all out until the replacement tire arrived - no issues.
Some shops will not touch foam tires though.
I don't disagree with any of that. I am replacing the tire in a few weeks when I get a new one in the mail. I will take note of the foam being removable in the future. But I doubt I would patch a tire on the Plaid given the power and torque. I would rather just limp by and get a new tire put on.
I keep a printed instruction made for tire shops to show them step-by-step how to patch a tire with foam. Spoiler alert: It's child's play.
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I'm not saying that's a bad choice. But, Tesla worked specifically with Michelin on the OEM tire for it to handle the torque of the Plaid.
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