Jack-pads - worth buying

[vitesse]

Just seen an ad for polyeurathane jacking-pads to protect the battery pack from damage when jacking the car up to change tyres, etc.

https://www.gumtree.com/e/2-x-tesla...jacking-pad-tool-made-in-uk/v1|254221924767|0

Come to think of it - is a jack included as there is no spare tyre? My current Mazda had no spare, not even an emergency skinny wheel, just a get-you-home emergency inflation kit. But a jack and the necessary nut-wrench, etc. were still included.

Anyway - are these jack-pads just gimmicks or a worthwhile buy?

 

[WannabeOwner]

is a jack included as there is no spare tyre?

No. Tesla sell a air-pump with a gunge-bottle that allows a roadside repair - provided you don't rip the sidewall out - but any other pressurised-gunge-can will probably do as well? (its a heavy car ...)

 

[Dapimp]

Just seen an ad for polyeurathane jacking-pads to protect the battery pack from damage when jacking the car up to change tyres, etc.

https://www.gumtree.com/e/2-x-tesla-model-s-model-x-polyurethane-jacking-pad-tool-made-in-uk/v1|254221924767|0

Come to think of it - is a jack included as there is no spare tyre? My current Mazda had no spare, not even an emergency skinny wheel, just a get-you-home emergency inflation kit. But a jack and the necessary nut-wrench, etc. were still included.

Anyway - are these jack-pads just gimmicks or a worthwhile buy?

I bought some from eBay for when taking off wheels to clean or for mobile fitters coming out to fit tyres etc. I figured RAC/AA might not have them too so wanted some for the car. So £20 we’ll spend.

For trips abroad I’ll probably take a jack too and a can of foam for temporary inflation.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

The jack pads fit nicely and look cool, but 6" sections of 2x4 lumber work just as well.

 

[GoHyperActive]

If I remember correctly there is a jack included, I think mine is in the Frunck.

 

[Akikiki]

vitesse, you can probably get by with a block of wood as Jason suggests. I believe he is right.

But I bought one of the pads for my S. I think of it as "just in case". Just in case the SC is closed and I am stuck at home or the side of the road. I don't want a road service company to show up and either don't know and try without a block of wood or pad to jack the car. And what if the difference between me getting back on the road was simply first getting the tire off to get it repaired? I at least can get it off without depending on anyone else. I hope I never need it - but just in case.

I've seen them less than $40 US on ebay. Got mine there.

 

[arg]

If I remember correctly there is a jack included, I think mine is in the Frunck.

Are you sure? Nobody else has one.... You get a towing eye and a warning triangle IIRC.

Rather than a jack, what I would carry on a long trip into the wilderness is a spare tyre (just the tyre, no wheel). You can call AA or similar to jack the car, and you can find a tyre shop to fix a puncture almost anywhere, but if the tyre gets shredded you could be stuck unless you can find somewhere that has the exact right tyre in stock.

Still, I've yet to follow my own advice and currently carry only the (extra cost) inflator/sealant kit. On the two occasions I've had punctures, the tyre has held air well enough to pump it up and limp to a tyre shop for repair.

 

[-DB-]

I'm surprised that Tesla don''t provide the inflation/sealant kit. The last 2 cars I've owned (both hybrids) didn't come with a spare wheel or anywhere to store one, but they both came with inflation/sealant kits.

Guess I'll have to add this to the list....

 

[thegruf]

not sure what those gumtree ones are but they dont look correect for a Tesla.
Lump of wood is fine, I just keep a couple of bits of old oak board appx 30x10x3cms in the frunk (missus still hasnt asked why the dip in the carpet); if you are in a tyre bay make sure they take the cups off the end of the trolley jacks so they lift with the flat part

 

[vitesse]

Are you sure? Nobody else has one.... You get a towing eye and a warning triangle IIRC.

Rather than a jack, what I would carry on a long trip into the wilderness is a spare tyre (just the tyre, no wheel). You can call AA or similar to jack the car, and you can find a tyre shop to fix a puncture almost anywhere, but if the tyre gets shredded you could be stuck unless you can find somewhere that has the exact right tyre in stock.

Still, I've yet to follow my own advice and currently carry only the (extra cost) inflator/sealant kit. On the two occasions I've had punctures, the tyre has held air well enough to pump it up and limp to a tyre shop for repair.

Did this damage the tyre pressure sensor?

 

[arg]

Did this damage the tyre pressure sensor?

No, they were just simple screw-in-the-middle-of-the-tread type of slow punctures that I discovered before the tyre had gone completely flat so no damage to anything apart from the tyre. Put some more air in and drove slowly to a local (5 miles away the first time) tyre place where they patched the tyre with no trouble.

 

[WannabeOwner]

If you had, also, put some Gunge in would that have effected the outcome? (in terms to TPS, any acoustic foam, and perhaps "balance" once the tire was repaired?

Wonder if the advice should be "just use air, if it isn't begin lost too quickly" ?

 

[Lasairfion]

You can make them too:

 

[arg]

Wonder if the advice should be "just use air, if it isn't begin lost too quickly" ?

I believe that is the best advice. I had a chat with the tyre guy at the time (this was a small place with a guy who convinced me he knew what he was doing, not quikfit!). He hates the gunge - at best it gives him a really tedious job cleaning the gunge out; often he ends up scrapping the tyre anyhow as it’s hard to get it clean enough around the hole for a patch to seal properly. If you are really unlucky it gets into the TPMS sensor and you have to scrap that too.

So the applicability of gunge is quite limited- hole small enough that the gunge actually works but big enough that you can’t get by without it. Probably the one use case is when it’s the middle of the night so no tyre shops open, 100 miles from home and 5 miles after your first top-up it’s flat again. Gunge there might get you home rather than having to go for a motel and sort it in the morning - though if it scraps the tyre/tpms the motel may be cheaper...

 

[gangzoom]

Probably the one use case is when it’s the middle of the night so no tyre shops open, 100 miles from home and 5 miles after your first top-up it’s flat again

Not sure how many of you guys have jacked up a S/X and changed the wheels, these things aren't light!! These cars are also heavy, you need a proper hydraulic jack preferably one rated for 3tons, I wouldn't want to be any where near a S/X lifted by just a scissors jack.

Trying to change wheels your self on the driveway at home is hard enough even with all the right equipment (cp, trying to faff with a deflated tyre by the side a busy A road/M-way in the dark with passing traffic is mad.

This is why we still have AA membership - Just tow me home and so I can put on the spare of wheels sitting in the shed please!!

Luckily with a slow puncture the car's tyre pressure monitor usually gives you enough warning (more than 24hrs), and you usually have time to get the puncture sorted. Don't do what one of my colleague did, ignore the low tyre pressure warning and than find themselves with a totally flat tyre by the on-ramp to the M1.

 

[vitesse]

No, they were just simple screw-in-the-middle-of-the-tread type of slow punctures that I discovered before the tyre had gone completely flat so no damage to anything apart from the tyre. Put some more air in and drove slowly to a local (5 miles away the first time) tyre place where they patched the tyre with no trouble.

OK, sorry for any confusion - I meant if the emergency inflation gunge is used will it kill the typre pressure sensor?

 

[vitesse]

You can make them too:

Looks good - hopefully the fit is the same for both Model S and Model 3?

 

[arg]

OK, sorry for any confusion - I meant if the emergency inflation gunge is used will it kill the typre pressure sensor?

According to the tyre shop guy I spoke to, it is a risk but you can probably clean it up.

 

[Terry_B58]

Just to throw another spanner at the tyre gunge usage.

Does the gung actually work with the acoustic tyres? These tyres have a band of foam stuck to the inside of the tread aea of the tyre, does the repair gunge penetrate this foam to seal the hole?

 

[Lasairfion]

You might want to use a plugger kit, rather than gunge if it's just a nail hole:
ie https://www.amazon.co.uk/STOP-POCKET-TYRE-PLUGGER-KIT/dp/B003VE0ZL6