My "No Spare Tire" Kit

[Feathermerchan]

I have learned that I do not have to remove the tire (less danger) to plug it most of the time. Patching after plugging is OK but I have worn out so many tires with plugs in them that I don't bother.

The vice grips are a great addition to your kit. People tend to forget that you have to remove the foreign object before you can plug.

 

[mswlogo]

Well my number finally came up... after more than 35 years of driving, I had my first flat tire last night
I was on my way to pick up my son from his robotics competition and heard a whap-whap-whap sound from the driver's side rear wheel. I figured it was just a stone stuck in the tread and quickly pulled into a parking lot to inspect it. As soon as I opened the door I heard the hissss and then saw the bolt head sticking out of the tire.
I jacked up the car, removed the wheel off, pulled out the bolt with my Vice-Grips (yes, there was a nut was on the bolt and yes the nut went through the tire carcass!), shoved 2 plugs through the hole, refilled the tire, reinstalled the wheel, and was on my way in 20 minutes flat. Definitely faster and more convenient than waiting for Tesla Roadside to fix it.
The tire hasn't lost any pressure over night, but as a rule I don't trust plugs. I'm gonna drop the wheel off at my favorite local shop this morning to see if they are willing to proper patch put on the inside... but the hole is on the shoulder so it may not be repairable. Boooohooo

Holy smoke, I can't believe that bolt punctured the tire. You are lucky it didn't puncture the rim.

Nice work and thanks for posting.

My plug kit included Needle Nose but vice grips are a good idea.

 

[siminoff]

!DRAT!
The tire shop said that the damage is in the shoulder, and they won't patch it (I'm not arguing, my kids ride in the car with me).
Maybe I'll use this as an excuse to buy some new wheels (always looking for a silver lining). Anybody have a recommendation for a summer performance tire other than the (awesome) Pilot Sport 4S?
-Mark

 

[Feathermerchan]

I'm not aware of a better tire for performance.

 

[tvad]

Anyone try these Bridgestone Potenza run flats?
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ne&tireModel=Potenza+RE050A+Pole+Position+RFT

 

[Feathermerchan]

I have never heard a good thing about run flats.

 

[tvad]

I have never heard a good thing about run flats.

I have never heard a good thing about vegemite.

But that’s not particularly helpful either.

I asked specifically about personal experience with one particular model of highly rated (from customers) run flats.

BTW, I have experience with run flats on four cars (factory equipped), but not with this tire model.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Check Tire Rack. They usually have a lot of customer reviews and they also test many tires.

In the above post I was relating that I have not seen any positive posts on the various forums I frequent. They are usually about replaciing them with 'regular' tires and seeing immediate improvement in ride quality and handling. ie they are not worth the benefits.

 

[tvad]

Check Tire Rack. They usually have a lot of customer reviews and they also test many tires.

You mean like the Tire Rack link I originally posted...ranked #1 out of 18 run-flat tires with 33 customer reviews resulting in an 8.7/10 overall satisfaction score and an 8.5/10 ride quality rating?

They seem worth a look as an option to waiting for a tow truck, or buying and carrying a spare tire, jack, tools, tire plugs, and air compressor for those interested in an alternative.

 

[ceekz]

[/QUOTE]
oooh, nice jack adapter there!

 

[DaFunGuy]

I also got my first Tesla flat tire this week. I was able to plug it with my tire repair kit without jacking up the car / removing the tire. Then used my Kobalt air inflator for the first time. It worked great! Was able to use the car’s 12V plug without tripping any “fuse/breaker”. Here’s information for it:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-12-...tage-Air-Inflator-Power-Source-Car/1000092575

I decided to get this inflator because it has the 2 power source option (12V/120V), valve stem quick connect/release, digital pre-set with auto shutoff, flashlight, and it looks pretty cool. It pumped tire quickly and pressure was also pretty accurate (about 4-5 psi off). Only negative is that it doesn’t come with a carrying case ... but no biggie, I just keep it stored in its box.

 

[PRLM3]

Everyone here who assembled or purchased the Tesla sealant kit or a Slime sealant kit and still has their OEM tires on the car, return them for a full refund. They will NOT WORK on your car, and it will prevent professional repairs to the tire unless you rip out the sound pad from each tire and throw it away. Jedi2155 is 100% correct!

Man, a lot of conflicting information on this topic. Why would Tesla sell a sealant/pump/rescue kit that: 1) didn't work, and 2) made the punctured tire unfixable??!!

Can we get a Tesla comment on the use of their kit with OEM tires? Is there an official recommendation on this? Seems like if selling cars without spares, it would be a nice service to provide!

 

[Kevy Baby]

Patching after plugging is OK but I have worn out so many tires with plugs in them that I don't bother.

FWIW, Costco will not patch a tire that has been plugged, even if the part that needs a patch is not the same as the area that plugged. While I am sure it is a safety/liability matter, I'm not sure why Costco takes it to this level.

Can we get a Tesla comment on the use of their kit with OEM tires? Is there an official recommendation on this? Seems like if selling cars without spares, it would be a nice service to provide!

I appreciate your optimism, but I doubt you will get anything like this from Tesla. They're not exactly know for being forthcoming with recommendations like this.

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Man, a lot of conflicting information on this topic. Why would Tesla sell a sealant/pump/rescue kit that: 1) didn't work, and 2) made the punctured tire unfixable??!!

Tests that we and others have done, along with numerous owner postings across many platforms have shown that the foam insert within the tire can prevent full penetration of the goo/sealant into the puncture. (Remember its a temporary repair anyways) Thus it will fail to properly fill and seal the flat tire almost immediately or soon thereafter. Other tests have shown that even if a full-seal is achieved, it will soon fail anyways as the nail flexes when driven upon, thus opening another tire leak. (You must leave the nail in place according to the instructions) Once the goo is injected into any quiet-run foam tire, it will solidify within the foam like a sponge making the tire completely useless, unable to be repaired and thus unable to balance unless all the hardened sealant goo along with all the foam are first completely removed from within the tire, then patched/repaired from within, remounted on the wheel, rebalanced then installed. However most shops will not be willing to this and will prefer to sell the owner a NEW tire instead. $$$ In fact Tesla is betting that owners will never think of getting on the ground in order to fill their flat tire with goo anyways. Tesla is confident that 99% of owners will use Tesla's roadside assistance program instead. $$$

State regulators don't care either, the law is poorly written and has a wide latitude of compliance, thus they don't conduct any tests instead they simply accept the manufacturer's word on whether their car needs a spare or not.

A Tesla owner waited 4 hours on a dark cold mountain pass before help arrived. Not me, my kit got me confidently back on the road within 30 minutes last month. Don't leave on a long trip without one. Good luck!

PS: Oh ... I removed all the foam from within my tires. I did not notice an increase in road-noise... it's a scam. I did this so that tire rope-plugs would work better when needed. We found that foam inserts can also adversely prevent rope-plugs from properly sealing as well.

 

[KenC]

Tests that we and others have done, along with numerous owner postings across many platforms have shown that the foam insert within the tire can prevent full penetration of the goo/sealant into the puncture. (Remember its a temporary repair anyways) Thus it will fail to properly fill and seal the flat tire almost immediately or soon thereafter. Other tests have shown that even if a full-seal is achieved, it will soon fail anyways as the nail flexes when driven upon, thus opening another tire leak. (You must leave the nail in place according to the instructions) Once the goo is injected into any quiet-run foam tire, it will solidify within the foam like a sponge making the tire completely useless, unable to be repaired and thus unable to balance unless all the hardened sealant goo along with all the foam are first completely removed from within the tire, then patched/repaired from within, remounted on the wheel, rebalanced then installed. However most shops will not be willing to this and will prefer to sell the owner a NEW tire instead. $$$ In fact Tesla is betting that owners will never think of getting on the ground in order to fill their flat tire with goo anyways. Tesla is confident that 99% of owners will use Tesla's roadside assistance program instead. $$$

State regulators don't care either, the law is poorly written and has a wide latitude of compliance, thus they don't conduct any tests instead they simply accept the manufacturer's word on whether their car needs a spare or not.

A Tesla owner waited 4 hours on a dark cold mountain pass before help arrived. Not me, my kit got me confidently back on the road within 30 minutes last month. Don't leave on a long trip without one. Good luck!

PS: Oh ... I removed all the foam from within my tires. I did not notice an increase in road-noise... it's a scam. I did this so that tire rope-plugs would work better when needed. We found that foam inserts can also adversely prevent rope-plugs from properly sealing as well.

I wonder if an extra long tire reamer would help with the foam preventing the plugs from seating properly? Is there such a thing?

 

[RIP->OPEC]

I wonder if an extra long tire reamer would help with the foam preventing the plugs from seating properly? Is there such a thing?

Actually that will not make any difference and may in fact remove the anti corrosion coating on the inside wheel surface. A normal rope plug kit works just fine. Its the foam pad that’s glued to the inner surface of the tire that’s the problem. If its left in place it will prevent the sticky rope plug from sealing the tire from the inside. You see once the plug is inserted and trimmed on the outer tread, its the centrifugal force the flattens the plug that’s inside the tire against the inner surface, thus making a proper seal. But if the foam is in the way, that won’t happen and the plug will prematurely fail. This is the reason I removed the foam from my tires when they were new... I need new tires soon anyway. You can bet I will not be buying foam filled run-silent (not to be confused with run-flat tires) ever again. (You do know that rope plugs are not to be considered as a permanent fix, right? Its only a temporary fix until the tire can either be properly repaired or replaced ... that means the plugged tire will need to be dismounted from the wheel and patched from the inside.)

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Well my number finally came up... after more than 35 years of driving, I had my first flat tire last night...Boooohooo

Oh geeezzzz, I missed this! For that flat head carriage-bolt thingy to puncture your tire, it must have made some real freaking noise! Lucky it didn’t crack the wheel.... Glad to see see you made it home in one piece.

 

[PRLM3]

Tests that we and others have done, along with numerous owner postings across many platforms have shown that the foam insert within the tire can prevent full penetration of the goo/sealant into the puncture. (Remember its a temporary repair anyways) Thus it will fail to properly fill and seal the flat tire almost immediately or soon thereafter. Other tests have shown that even if a full-seal is achieved, it will soon fail anyways as the nail flexes when driven upon, thus opening another tire leak. (You must leave the nail in place according to the instructions) Once the goo is injected into any quiet-run foam tire, it will solidify within the foam like a sponge making the tire completely useless, unable to be repaired and thus unable to balance unless all the hardened sealant goo along with all the foam are first completely removed from within the tire, then patched/repaired from within, remounted on the wheel, rebalanced then installed. However most shops will not be willing to this and will prefer to sell the owner a NEW tire instead. $$$ In fact Tesla is betting that owners will never think of getting on the ground in order to fill their flat tire with goo anyways. Tesla is confident that 99% of owners will use Tesla's roadside assistance program instead. $$$

State regulators don't care either, the law is poorly written and has a wide latitude of compliance, thus they don't conduct any tests instead they simply accept the manufacturer's word on whether their car needs a spare or not.

A Tesla owner waited 4 hours on a dark cold mountain pass before help arrived. Not me, my kit got me confidently back on the road within 30 minutes last month. Don't leave on a long trip without one. Good luck!

PS: Oh ... I removed all the foam from within my tires. I did not notice an increase in road-noise... it's a scam. I did this so that tire rope-plugs would work better when needed. We found that foam inserts can also adversely prevent rope-plugs from properly sealing as well.

Hey sorry, that leaves me even more confused. The first paragraph describes all the bad things that happen from using the kit, then the parapraph further on describes how you're all good --you have your kit. Maybe if we can just get some simple facts clarified it would help ...

1) Are all OEM tires from Tesla "noise reducing" and so have the foam insert?

2) Does the "slime" render such a tire "unrepairable" ???

Yes/no answers to these basic questions will help people make good decisions.

Thanks in advance to anyone...

 

[RIP->OPEC]

Hey sorry, that leaves me even more confused. The first paragraph describes all the bad things that happen from using the kit, then the parapraph further on describes how you're all good --you have your kit. Maybe if we can just get some simple facts clarified it would help ...
1) Are all OEM tires from Tesla "noise reducing" and so have the foam insert?
2) Does the "slime" render such a tire "unrepairable" ???
Yes/no answers to these basic questions will help people make good decisions.
Thanks in advance to anyone...

You are confused .... The first paragraph speaks only to the Tesla/Slime sealant problem. Later on the “My Kit” refers to the topic of this entire thread, how some Tesla owners like myself have assembled Frunk tire repair kits with everything one would need to properly repair a flat OEM Tesla tire without ruining the tire for reuse if possible.(See previous pages and pix) Nevertheless, the ONLY way my kit & recommendations would work best on OEM tires is if the inner foam pads were first completely removed from each OEM tire. That would mean complete dismounting from the wheel, removing the foam pad along with its adhesive, remounting the tire back onto the wheel, rebalancing, and reinstallation,.. yup a huge hassle. Because I own my own shop that part was easy for me, but admittedly its not for everyone.

1) Yes, as far as I know.
2) Yes, unless like I said earlier the foam pad and the hardened sealant within it are manually removed from the tire, then properly repaired and remounted. This way the tire can be saved.

 

[PRLM3]

Hey great post thanks. Since I don't own my own shop I certainly will not be removing the foam insert, so taking from this that I should not use the slime in the event of the dreaded flat tire. Unfortunately, still leaves me a bit confused on a truly effective option. Saw one person speaking to buying the kit just to have the pump, but that seems like it leaves a lot to chance. Maybe the hassle of a full spare is the best option, but that's not cheap either and of course takes a lot of room ...