Model 3 Tire Blowout Emergency Kit

[eprosenx]

I know there are a lot of threads about Model 3 tires here, but I want to ask a very specific question and I am hoping someone has already figured this out.

I am generally a very self sufficient person. I have never in my life needed to have a vehicle towed and I have always handled tire issues myself (of which I have had very few since I normally drive trucks with really good tires).

So it makes me uncomfortable not having a spare tire for my Model 3.

I get that tire blowouts are pretty rare these days, but they do happen with road debris, potholes, and such. So I am *not* looking to carry a spare around with me but I DO want to keep one at home so I can have a family member or friend bring it to me if I need it.

So now my question:

What is the minimal set of equipment I need at home to accomplish this (as cheap as possible).

I am thinking something like:

• Spare tire on spare rim (can be any old crappy RIM and just a good enough tire to drive on for a couple days while I get the other one fixed - could even be a USED tire!).
• Some kind of jacking method. (I have a floor jack at home, but it is huge, so I might invest in a smaller aluminum one or something so it could be moved by my wife)
• Some kind of jack adapter pad as needed for the M3.
• A tire iron of the right size (I probably already have this, I just have not even gone to look under the Aero covers to see what size I need).

Any thoughts are appreciated!

P.S. I have the basic 18" wheels with the Aero covers.

 

[kbecks13]

I have a harbor freight racing jack and one jack pad adapter and can easily change wheels/tires. Also grab a torque wrench cuz they aren't too expensive (129 ft-lb so get the big one). Should probably get a 12v air pump too if you don't have one already.

1.5 Ton Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RapidPump®

Reverse Logic Limited Store - Featuring Race Ramps

https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Portable-Compressor-Inflator-Protection

 

[eprosenx]

I have a harbor freight racing jack and one jack pad adapter and can easily change wheels/tires. Also grab a torque wrench cuz they aren't too expensive (129 ft-lb so get the big one). Should probably get a 12v air pump too if you don't have one already.

1.5 Ton Aluminum Racing Floor Jack with RapidPump®

Reverse Logic Limited Store - Featuring Race Ramps

https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Portable-Compressor-Inflator-Protection

Good point on the compressor, but yeah, I have several (not in the M3 yet - I should rectify that - I should make sure the 12v receptacle has enough amperage rating for whatever I get too).

Any suggestions on the tire and wheel though? What is the bolt pattern? I wonder if there is any common size take-offs from some other manufacturers vehicle I could get from a junkyard?

Thanks!

 

[ewoodrick]

I suspect that it highly more probable that you run out of energy. Maybe you should take an extra battery with you?

 

[Daniel in SD]

I suspect that it highly more probable that you run out of energy. Maybe you should take an extra battery with you?

There have been very few if any spontaneous battery failures on the Model 3 and it's more difficult to replace than the Model S battery. I wouldn't want to do it on the side of road. There have been plenty of people who have gotten flats though.

 

[gilscales]

I know there are a lot of threads about Model 3 tires here, but I want to ask a very specific question and I am hoping someone has already figured this out.

I am generally a very self sufficient person. I have never in my life needed to have a vehicle towed and I have always handled tire issues myself (of which I have had very few since I normally drive trucks with really good tires).

So it makes me uncomfortable not having a spare tire for my Model 3.

I get that tire blowouts are pretty rare these days, but they do happen with road debris, potholes, and such. So I am *not* looking to carry a spare around with me but I DO want to keep one at home so I can have a family member or friend bring it to me if I need it.

So now my question:

What is the minimal set of equipment I need at home to accomplish this (as cheap as possible).

I am thinking something like:

• Spare tire on spare rim (can be any old crappy RIM and just a good enough tire to drive on for a couple days while I get the other one fixed - could even be a USED tire!).
• Some kind of jacking method. (I have a floor jack at home, but it is huge, so I might invest in a smaller aluminum one or something so it could be moved by my wife)
• Some kind of jack adapter pad as needed for the M3.
• A tire iron of the right size (I probably already have this, I just have not even gone to look under the Aero covers to see what size I need).

Any thoughts are appreciated!

P.S. I have the basic 18" wheels with the Aero covers.

Ok, so this one time in band camp, oh wait that's another story.
On a trip to a remote reservoir (sly creek reservoir) where I was going to meet my brother and son who were towing the boat we were side tracked by Tesla nav system.

We went a round about way that took us through some of the most remote and poorly maintained roads where fully grown bears were crossing the road ahead of us, we were told by the nav system that we would arrive with 50 miles of range left and I did not have any 30a campground adapters for the umc, when we were 15 miles away the nav took us on a boulder strewn dirt fire road, we went a mile on that before it basically disappeared into the forest, we turned around and figured out our own route that was shorter and we arrived at the reservoir with 72 mi.range left.

We were a little freaked out about not having proper charging gear for campground emergencies but even more about not being able to even fix a flat tire as there was no cell service anywhere on that trip once we were 20 mi. from leaving.

Since that experience I am adding a ridiculous amount of emergency supplies to the frunk and it is dedicated to only that now, so far
1. various charging adapters
2. 2 plug kits
3. 2 air 12v compressors
4. 4 jack pucks
5. flares
6. 6 pack L.E.D. emergency light pucks
7. large reflective triangle
8. breaker bar, various other tools for patching, tire changing
9. can't forget the UMC is buried in there, probably gonna need that sometime
and I'm waiting on an Aluminum Scissor jack that I bought off of eBay, found out about it from this thread
The perfect Model 3 emergency jack?

Im sure I will find more stuff to put in somehow, just gotta organize!

 

[Eno Deb]

Since that experience I am adding a ridiculous amount of emergency supplies to the frunk and it is dedicated to only that now

Hopefully your frunk release won't get stuck like it has for some people when you actually have an emergency. Maybe keep a crowbar in the trunk?

 

[Dana1]

I know there are a lot of threads about Model 3 tires here, but I want to ask a very specific question and I am hoping someone has already figured this out.

I am generally a very self sufficient person. I have never in my life needed to have a vehicle towed and I have always handled tire issues myself (of which I have had very few since I normally drive trucks with really good tires).

So it makes me uncomfortable not having a spare tire for my Model 3.

I get that tire blowouts are pretty rare these days, but they do happen with road debris, potholes, and such. So I am *not* looking to carry a spare around with me but I DO want to keep one at home so I can have a family member or friend bring it to me if I need it.

So now my question:

What is the minimal set of equipment I need at home to accomplish this (as cheap as possible).

I am thinking something like:

• Spare tire on spare rim (can be any old crappy RIM and just a good enough tire to drive on for a couple days while I get the other one fixed - could even be a USED tire!).
• Some kind of jacking method. (I have a floor jack at home, but it is huge, so I might invest in a smaller aluminum one or something so it could be moved by my wife)
• Some kind of jack adapter pad as needed for the M3.
• A tire iron of the right size (I probably already have this, I just have not even gone to look under the Aero covers to see what size I need).

Any thoughts are appreciated!

P.S. I have the basic 18" wheels with the Aero covers.

If you have a nice jack I don’t know that you’d need another. Plenty of universal spares around and there’s a thread about Hyundai spares. Tesla sells the jacking pads and some of the folks are 3D printing them.

 

[gilscales]

Hopefully your frunk release won't get stuck like it has for some people when you actually have an emergency. Maybe keep a crowbar in the trunk?

Wouldn’t that be my luck, hungry bears running around, I think “hey I can patch that and be outta here before their dinner bell” then I can’t get into the frunk! Now what size crowbar to get....?

 

[kbecks13]

Tesla sells the jacking pads

They do? I've heard people say that they don't even use them (if you have a flat jack pad already)

 

[patrick40363]

I know there are a lot of threads about Model 3 tires here, but I want to ask a very specific question and I am hoping someone has already figured this out.

I am generally a very self sufficient person. I have never in my life needed to have a vehicle towed and I have always handled tire issues myself (of which I have had very few since I normally drive trucks with really good tires).

So it makes me uncomfortable not having a spare tire for my Model 3.

I get that tire blowouts are pretty rare these days, but they do happen with road debris, potholes, and such. So I am *not* looking to carry a spare around with me but I DO want to keep one at home so I can have a family member or friend bring it to me if I need it.

So now my question:

What is the minimal set of equipment I need at home to accomplish this (as cheap as possible).

I am thinking something like:

• Spare tire on spare rim (can be any old crappy RIM and just a good enough tire to drive on for a couple days while I get the other one fixed - could even be a USED tire!).
• Some kind of jacking method. (I have a floor jack at home, but it is huge, so I might invest in a smaller aluminum one or something so it could be moved by my wife)
• Some kind of jack adapter pad as needed for the M3.
• A tire iron of the right size (I probably already have this, I just have not even gone to look under the Aero covers to see what size I need).

Any thoughts are appreciated!

P.S. I have the basic 18" wheels with the Aero covers.

Run flat tires.

 

[saltsman]

Run flat tires.

Skip the Reverse Logic jack pad and just get an old hockey puck for like $1. It's more than enough for emergencies as long as you know how to use it. I also think you can get an aluminum Audi jack for $40 and carry it with you. Then the wife/son/daughter/neighbor/mistress/cute-but-weird-kid-who-appears-to-only-live-at-your-hose-for-comic-relief just has to deal with bringing the tire.

 

[Brentt]

Flats happen. Picked up this three inch screw last week. Called a roll back and drove it on. The new tire was about $300. One thing that would have been handy is, if it would automatically pop up on the screen, the service number and towing instructions, when a flat is detected.

 

[saltsman]

Run flat tires.

Run flat once tires. Better to pull over and have a spare brought from home than continue on and require a full tire replacement.

 

[siminoff]

In addition to the spare wheel/tire, I think that these are the items that you should have to quickly and easily fix or change a flat:

-Mark

 

[BLKMDL3]

Flats happen. Picked up this three inch screw last week. Called a roll back and drove it on. The new tire was about $300. One thing that would have been handy is, if it would automatically pop up on the screen, the service number and towing instructions, when a flat is detected.

Ah *sugar*. You got screwed

 

[mswlogo]

Like some others. Even with no spare I keep tools to jack it up with me. Also a tire repair kit. Even with a tire repair kit it might be way easier to repair with tire removed. And I still bought a can of fix-a-flat because in winter I don’t have acoustic foam tires. Also I carry a nice compressor. Sometimes flats start as leaks that you can keep pumping up to get yourselve home or to a safer place to work.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/the-perfect-model-3-emergency-jack.136523

I have not ruled out carrying a spare.

I’ve had perhaps a half a dozen flats in 40 years. Every one was a nail or screw that was a slow leak until I pulled the nail or screw out. I’ve popped 2 beads horsing around on a frozen lake once (ice was 2 feet thick). And my wife popped 2 beads hitting a pothole adjacent to a railroad track. A compressor alone got me home in every case. Popped beads would require jacking up too. Sometimes you lose a bead if you drive much on a flat too. You might be forced to, depending on where you are.

 

[Glamisduner]

I haven't decided if I want to carry around a jack. I figure with no spare there is typically little point. And if in a case where I do need a jack hopefully tesla or AAA is available. And with no jack, then why carry a tire iron around as well.

But flats do happen, usually when it's raining and your stuck on the side of the highway. At least that;s when they happen for me!

 

[NeverFollow]

Spare tire on spare rim (can be any old crappy RIM and just a good enough tire
to drive on for a couple days while I get the other one fixed - could even be a USED tire!).​

P.S. I have the basic 18" wheels with the Aero covers.

There are several threads dealing with spare tire and finding a salvaged car with the correct wheel size,
or you can buy one for for example: Tesla Spare Tire

One issue is that the spare cannot fit in the frunk so it has to be in the trunk,
but it will take most of the trunk space available.

I didn't realized this until, using some banana boxes, I built a box the same size as one of my wheel.

So best is to have a spare at home and have some member of your family bringing it to you
if you get stranded, and take it with you when going for a long trip.

 

[eprosenx]

I suspect that it highly more probable that you run out of energy. Maybe you should take an extra battery with you?

Heh, I am not generally the type to run out of battery.

This is my adapter kit and I have the background and skills to wire in just about anywhere.