My "No Spare Tire" Kit

[Eno Deb]

Correction, Audi A4-6 jack, not BMW... my bad!

I don't have the equipment to make custom adapters. Seems this might be a business opportunity for someone who does (not necessarily only for the Audi jack, but also the common saddle jacks). There appears to be no good portable emergency jack for the Tesla currently ...

 

[RIP->OPEC]

I don't have the equipment to make custom adapters. Seems this might be a business opportunity for someone who does (not necessarily only for the Audi jack, but also the common saddle jacks). There appears to be no good portable jack for the Tesla currently ...

Fully agree but be rest assured there are many working on the problem as we speak. The way I see it there are three considerations:

1) The portable jack must be structurally capable of securely supporting 1200 lbs at each corner (disregard manufacture claims, they're mostly BS) as the Dual Motor versions top out at around 5K lbs. But unlike the Audi jack that Siminoff posted, It must also accommodate readily available jack point adaptors such as the one made by Reverse-Logic. (Hint... Hey Siminoff, you may wish to buy up these A4-6 jacks, start mass producing your custom lift-point adaptors and make the kit available for sale on ebay...!!! Elon did sell nearly 80,000 M3's last quarter! )

2) Size and weight must be considered in order to securely fit it all (along with all other supporting hardware, ie extendable lug wrench, temporary emergency tire repair kit, hazard reflectors, flashlight, a small air pump and portable wheel chocks etc ) into the Frunk.

3) It will all be dependent on the chosen temporary tire repair kit, otherwise there are some out here discussing a completely new custom made front tub capable of securing a collapsable space-saver spare tire and all the necessary hardware. Dual motor M3's will sadly be excluded as there isn't enough room up front, so this idea may sadly be DOA I feel.

Let's see what happens!

 

[Eno Deb]

1) The portable jack must be structurally capable of securely supporting 1200 lbs at each corner (disregard manufacture claims, they're mostly BS) as the Dual Motor versions top out at around 5K lbs.

The dual motor Model 3 is a little over 4000 lbs.

But unlike the Audi jack that Siminoff posted, It must also accommodate readily available jack point adaptors such as the one made by Reverse-Logic.

Why not make a different adapter for readily available jacks like the Torin? Shouldn't be too difficult to design (instead of the "hockey puck" base for round jack pads, it could have a U-shaped metal base that you could place over a saddle pad). Heck, even a simple scissor jack with a round jack pad instead of a saddle would be fine.

3) It will all be dependent on the chosen temporary tire repair kit, otherwise there are some out here discussing a completely new custom made front tub capable of securing a collapsable space-saver spare tire and all the necessary hardware. Dual motor M3's will sadly be excluded as there isn't enough room up front, so this idea may sadly be DOA I feel.

I don't necessarily want to take a spare wheel. I mainly just want to be able to take off the wheel so I can use a tire plug (which is difficult with the wheel mounted, especially on the rear wheels). My only requirement is that the jack needs to be reasonably compact and lightweight. I have no need for some "all in one" kit.

 

[RIP->OPEC]

"The dual motor Model 3 is a little over 4000 lbs."
According to Tesla Motors, the GROSS weight of the DM Model 3 is 4,801 lbs.

"Why not make a different adapter for readily available jacks like the Torin? Shouldn't be too difficult to design (instead of the "hockey puck" base for round jack pads, it could have a U-shaped metal base that you could place over a saddle pad). Heck, even a simple scissor jack with a round jack pad instead of a saddle would be fine."
We found the cheaply made Torin and Big Red scissors models to be too weak, and dangerously flimsy in our tests. We also discovered they both required major customization, such as the permeant installation of a jack-point adaptor and the addition of ratchet gear crank rather than the std. crank handle. (Not enough leverage) They both would work on the front of the single motor Model 3's but not the Dual Motor 3's.

"I don't necessarily want to take a spare wheel. I mainly just want to be able to take off the wheel so I can use a tire plug (which is difficult with the wheel mounted, especially on the rear wheels). My only requirement is that the jack needs to be reasonably compact and lightweight. I have no need for some "all in one" kit."
I fully agree, but so far our tests have found that there is no safe solution, neither the mushroom nor rope plugs work because of the sound pad inside the tire, and the Tesla and/or Green Slime sealant kits fail as well for reasons stated earlier.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Hey RIP - Check with Reverse Logic. I sent him pics of a jack I found. It is only 5lb and really sturdy with a wide base. It needs 1-1/2" "shim" underneath it to lift the tire off the ground but it's better to have it a little short than too tall. It is expensive but beautiful.

FWIW I try to plug tires without removing them from the car if possible. It is safer. Sometimes you only need to lift the car a few inches.

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Hey RIP - Check with Reverse Logic. I sent him pics of a jack I found. It is only 5lb and really sturdy with a wide base. It needs 1-1/2" "shim" underneath it to lift the tire off the ground but it's better to have it a little short than too tall. It is expensive but beautiful.

FWIW I try to plug tires without removing them from the car if possible. It is safer. Sometimes you only need to lift the car a few inches.

Hi! Are you talking about the low profile unit from California Car Cover? Yes, great piece of engineering! Fred and I spoke about it a week ago or so, In fact I called CCC to see if they would make a slightly larger version to raise the limit to 8”. Waiting to hear back. Thanks for the great find BTW!

 

[Eno Deb]

"The dual motor Model 3 is a little over 4000 lbs."
According to Tesla Motors, the GROSS weight of the DM Model 3 is 4,801 lbs.

Uh, obviously nobody would want to lift a car with the passengers inside.

We found the cheaply made Torin and Big Red scissors models to be too weak, and dangerously flimsy in our tests.

I don't understand. There are other cars that are just as heavy as a Model 3 and it doesn't seem to be an issue?!

I fully agree, but so far our tests have found that there is no safe solution, neither the mushroom nor rope plugs work because of the sound pad inside the tire, and the Tesla and/or Green Slime sealant kits fail as well for reasons stated earlier.

I have never trusted the mushroom plugs, but why would rope plugs not work? Wouldn't you just rip the foam off where the hole is when you use the reamer and the insertion tool?

 

[RIP->OPEC]

You’re right about that, but I believe I was stressing the need to properly patch repair any punctures after using rope plugs due to the stresses & loads from driving a “nearly 5T DM Model 3” on blacktop. Nonetheless, like I said we found it nearly impossible to raise the rear with either scissor jack using the standard equipped hand crank. There was simply not enough leverage to overcome the weight in the rear of a PM3. (Both jacks were modified to accept the R.L. Jack Point Adaptor). Only after we custom added a ratchet head to the screw shaft were we able to get the scissors to lift the car using an 18” extendable breaker bar. (Seen above) Both the Torin and the Big Red struggled and were compromised in our opinion, with the latter nearly failing from the load. ( Please remember, scissor jacks are typically rated when at 2/3’s of their extended height. But getting up there, their load rating is much, much lower even though the tire and suspension are still providing some limited support. )

When rope plugs are properly installed on regular radial tires (Using a fresh, warm self-vulcanizing folded & lubed rope) the length that enters the tire is then forced back and crushed against the inner surface by both air pressure and centrifical forces causing a big glob to form on the backside of the tire, thus aiding in sealing the puncture. If you were to remove that tire after the rope plug was properly installed and driven on, you would notice the glob diameter to be approx .35” - .50”. The sound pad found on Model 3’s will prevent this from occuring properly as no amount of reaming will help.

Therefore after the rope plug gets you safely to your destination or to a service center, have the tire dismounted and properly patched from the inside (after removing a small section of sound padding from around the puncture) is the safest sure-bet way to drive with confidence. (Note: If you used sealent kits on OEM tires with sound pads, the tire is possibly destroyed and will probably need to be replaced unless your service tech agrees to remove all the sealant contaminated sound padding, then patching the puncture from the inside thus allowing proper rebalancing of the wheel/tire assembly. )

 

[siminoff]

So <snip>is there any kit I should have with me just in case?

IMO the most important piece of "kit" to have with you is your mobile phone. If you haven't already entered Tesla's toll-free number into your contacts, this is as good a time as any (877) 798-3752

Here's a pic' of what I currently have in my "No Spare Tire" kit:

I keep this stuff in a nylon pouch in the lower trunk (see below). It all fits except the jack and breaker bar, and the total weight of everything is 9lbs.
The green bag on the right has my charge cord in it.

(Hint... Hey Siminoff, you may wish to buy up these A4-6 jacks, start mass producing your custom lift-point adaptors and make the kit available for sale on ebay...!!! Elon did sell nearly 80,000 M3's last quarter! )

Hey Rip', you might wanna fact-check your numbers before posting...
• A long-range dual-motor Model 3 weighs in just shy of 4,100 pounds... and the 50/50 weight distribution puts ~1,025lbs on each corner. Lifting my car with the Audi jack requires very little effort.
• I don't know how many Elon personally sold last quarter, but it's safe to say it was nowhere near 80K. (Tesla only produced 53,239 Model 3's in Q3 2018).
• I do hope that somebody copies the my jack pad and sells them inexpensively.. I doubt anybody here would pay what I would charge to make 'em. Old Audi jacks are cheap and readily available on eBay or ay any auto-dismantler.
-Mark

 

[Eno Deb]

Nonetheless, like I said we found it nearly impossible to raise the rear with either scissor jack using the standard equipped hand crank. There was simply not enough leverage to overcome the weight in the rear of a PM3. (Both jacks were modified to accept the R.L. Jack Point Adaptor).

I think you probably encountered the issue I mentioned before: the jack pad adapter is about 1 inch high, and that probably prevented the jack from extending enough to reach it's full weight rating when it made contact. I don't really see a reason why it wouldn't work if the adapter was thin, like the one that @siminoff made for the Audi jack. The Torin for example is rated for 3000 lbs within its lift rage, which should be plenty to lift a quarter of the Model 3.

Therefore after the rope plug gets you safely to your destination or to a service center, have the tire dismounted and properly patched from the inside (after removing a small section of sound padding from around the puncture) is the safest sure-bet way to drive with confidence.

Sure. I would never drive around with a plug permanently. It's just a temporary measure.

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Hey Rip', you might wanna fact-check your numbers before posting...
• A long-range dual-motor Model 3 weighs in just shy of 4,100 pounds... and the 50/50 weight distribution puts ~1,025lbs on each corner. Lifting my car with the Audi jack requires very little effort.
• I don't know how many Elon personally sold last quarter, but it's safe to say it was nowhere near 80K. (Tesla only produced 53,239 Model 3's in Q3 2018).
• I do hope that somebody copies the my jack pad and sells them inexpensively.. I doubt anybody here would pay what I would charge to make 'em. Old Audi jacks are cheap and readily available on eBay or ay any auto-dismantler.
-Mark

Very cool roadside kit, nicely done and thought out! So sorry about the confusion with curb vs gross weight. Since I was addressing two main subjects, proper puncture repairs and its long term effects on a tires’ integrity along with seeking a proper roadside emergency jack, the two may have become overlapped and thus confusing. So let me try and clear it up.

The gross vehicle weight for a DM Tesla M3 is 4,801 pounds (“nearly 2.5T” Note... if I said otherwise please accept my apology for the typo again) according to my Tesla source. That number is important to consider especially if the owner intends to drive long term on a tire that was repaired only with a rope style plug somewhere along the width of the tread. I recall it was during a conversation on lateral load forces and thermal dynamics a modern tire must endure and how that may make such repairs vulnerable to failure. Of course you would ask your passengers to step out of the car if you intend to jack it up, but according to that same Tesla source, the curb dead weight at either rear jack-point is approx 1,236 pounds for the same DM car. (He may be wrong but I do know its not a simple division by 4) This is important when considering which portable jack to use. Please keep in mind that typical diamond shaped scissor jacks (such as the BigRed jacks) are usually rated at 2/3 of their lifting extension, but are rated much lower as they raise a car’s dead weight for obvious structural reasons as the bracing must change angle as it goes up. Single fulcrum units such as your Audi A4 jack overcomes some of these concerns but not entirely. Hope this clears up the weight issue.

Too bad you’re not willing to make those fabulous looking adaptors. Maybe you would like to share its dimensions then?

 

[Daniel in SD]

The weight on the jack points is way more than 1/4 of the weight of the car. Neglecting suspension it would be half the weight. When jacking the front high enough to remove the tire observe how much the rear suspension extends. Jack a few inches higher and the rear wheel will come entirely off the ground.
Anyway the Audi/VW jack is rated at 2,117lbs so it should be fine.

 

[silentcorp]

Amazing post here

Which air compressor is that (any links) and which plug kit did you get there? I'm going to compile a bag for my trip that mirrors yours. Thanks!

 

[bahree]

So I was looking at the Modern Spare kit, and I had reached out to them asking if this will work with 19" and sharing their response below. I know enough to know that I don't know enough and would appreciate feedback/guidance for the folks here. I have always changed tires using a scissor jack that came with the car itself. Had a slow leak, and freaked the wife out.

Good day! Yes, Our spare will work on all model 3 variants. It will work on 18", 19" & even 20".

I understand that you might be concerned about the wheel being 18" while your stock wheel is 19". The diameter of the wheel itself is irrelevant as compared to the rolling diameter of the tire on the wheel. Essentially, the height of the spare tire needs to match the height of your wheel & tire assembly. Our wheel is installed with a taller tire to match the rolling diameter (height) of your factory tire size. Our spare has a rolling diameter of 26.5" and you factory tire has 26.4".

With that being said, I can guarantee that the spare will work best for your Model 3.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ceekz]

IMO the most important piece of "kit" to have with you is your mobile phone. If you haven't already entered Tesla's toll-free number into your contacts, this is as good a time as any (877) 798-3752

• I do hope that somebody copies the my jack pad and sells them inexpensively.. I doubt anybody here would pay what I would charge to make 'em. Old Audi jacks are cheap and readily available on eBay or ay any auto-dismantler.
-Mark

Mark, I picked up an Audi jack on eBay based on your suggestion. How do I get your specs to mill a jack pad adapter?

This might be a good fundraiser for the high school robotics team that I sponsor...

Thank you!

 

[RIP->OPEC]

So I was looking at the Modern Spare kit, and I had reached out to them asking if this will work with 19" and sharing their response below. I know enough to know that I don't know enough and would appreciate feedback/guidance for the folks here. I have always changed tires using a scissor jack that came with the car itself. Had a slow leak, and freaked the wife out.
Thanks in advance.

Its a good looking kit but there are a few red flags here.
1) Even though their Chinese made scissor jack comes with a ratcheting lift, it appears too short for proper leverage.
2) The rubber head is notched, meant for a standard car with a pinch weld jack-point. The M3 has a smooth, small and unique jack-point that requires a center pin to stabilize the car on the jack. Their product does not have this.
3) Please remember that the jack-point on a M3 is part of the battery pack and not part of the car’s frame. If their jack slips it may rupture the battery cover or worse. That’s the reason for the pin, which also must be of a certain length.
4) They do not provide any way to secure the spare tire inside the rear trunk. God forbid you are in a head on collision, that tire may come through the rear seat back and into the passenger compartment.
5) They claim it will work on all M3’s with any wheel size from 18” to 20”. That’s because the center hub and lug pattern are identical. But will it fit the larger red calipers found on the PM3?

BTW, I believe their full diameter size spare is off a Genesis.

 

[Daniel in SD]

4) They do not provide any way to secure the spare tire inside the rear trunk. God forbid you are in a head on collusion, that tire msy come through the rear seat back and into the passenger compartment.

I've always wondered whether this is a real problem. The Model 3 has a big trunk and people will be tempted to put things in it. It seems like they should do crash tests with objects in the trunk.

 

[RIP->OPEC]

I've always wondered whether this is a real problem. The Model 3 has a big trunk and people will be tempted to put things in it. It seems like they should do crash tests with objects in the trunk.

I believe auto makers do, but it may be CAD simulations, not sure. Its required for NHTSA certification. It would probably be okay in collisions of less than < 40mph but I wouldn’t want to be the test dummy... lol... Besides, a spare flopping around inside the trunk would take up way too much room for my tastes, making noise & crushing groceries and stuff as it shifted plus it would look pretty dumb as well.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Which air compressor is that (any links) and which plug kit did you get there? I'm going to compile a bag for my trip that mirrors yours. Thanks!

I think you may have been referring to another post besides mine but my air compressor is now long out of production. That's too bad because I found out in September, when it failed, that it has a 10 amp fuse, which suggests that it would work on a 12 amp Model 3 circuit without tripping it. I replaced the fuse, and now carry spares, so it continues to work fine. (By the way, the fuse was located inside the 12 V plug; if other air compressors also have the fuse located there it might be possible to look for it in a store.)

For those interested in a portable jack, I carry this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PX8BC2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It will lift my coil spring Model S60, using a hockey puck as a pad, high enough to remove a tire in garage testing. I haven't had to use it under field conditions. The jack is 3¾ inches in height when fully folded so I would guess that it would work on a Model 3, but I have no way to test that.

 

[Daniel in SD]

I believe auto makers do, but it may be CAD simulations, not sure. Its required for NHTSA certification. It would probably be okay in collisions of less than < 40mph but I wouldn’t want to be the test dummy... lol... Besides, a spare flopping around inside the trunk would take up way too much room for my tastes, making noise & crushing groceries and stuff as it shifted plus it would look pretty dumb as well.

I think bolting it to the underside of the rear deck would be the best solution.