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No spare tire caused a huge inconvenience
- Thread starter EricOtown
- Start date
jkoya
NA2 NSX
I had this same issue when I had my sidewall blowout with my VW R32. No tires shops on my 290 mile drive home had the size I needed in stock (stopped and called ahead to Costco, America's Tires, Les Schwab, Sears and Good Year tire shops) and drove home on the space saver spare...
dhrivnak
Active Member
You can carry a tire plug kit as they are not that hard to use. As sometimes a tire store is not an option like in Big Bend NP where I fixed a flat for a fellow camper.
I’m confused. The point of Tesla roadside assistance is to send a truck with a spare tire. The OP doesn’t explain why the car was towed to a tire store rather than just having the truck bring a spare tire and swap it out.
Maybe he originally requested it but they did not have any spare tires readily available in that location. There’s definitely a missing piece to this story.
Maybe he originally requested it but they did not have any spare tires readily available in that location. There’s definitely a missing piece to this story.
Ivan Abundance
Member
A repair kit is of course a good idea, but if the sidewall's damaged, or if a nail gets through near the edge of the tread, you're going to have to get a new tire. Same with all tires.
I do hope this new Tesla Michelin has a better market life than the Michelin TRX disaster.
I do hope this new Tesla Michelin has a better market life than the Michelin TRX disaster.
SDRick
Active Member
jkoya
NA2 NSX
I used to work at a tire center and the only set of TRX tires that were ever sold was to my classmate for his Mustang...
I was at America's Tires after Thanksgiving and all the Tesla specific acoustic Michelins with the foam needed to be ordered. They did have their own set jack pads though....
I’m sorry - that situation sucks. Unfortunately, it’s not unique to Tesla.
My last two vehicles were Cadillacs - neither came with a spare.
I had a situation years ago when we bought our GMC Acadia. It came with 18” tires in an oddball size for which there was exactly one tire - a Goodyear Fortera. There wasn’t anything else on the market yet.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Superchargers had a “spare tire vending machine”? This way you’re always within towing distance of a spare.
My last two vehicles were Cadillacs - neither came with a spare.
I had a situation years ago when we bought our GMC Acadia. It came with 18” tires in an oddball size for which there was exactly one tire - a Goodyear Fortera. There wasn’t anything else on the market yet.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Superchargers had a “spare tire vending machine”? This way you’re always within towing distance of a spare.
Yes for 18", see Tirerack.
Bridgestone Driveguard 235/45-18 all season.
There could be others. 245/40-19 might work on 19's.
Like many eng'g decisions it's a tradeoff. Corvettes come with runflats, or at least mine did, as will the 2020 mid-engine. Bolts come with 'self-sealing' tires which are a compromise too, but their economy is good.
If a car does not have the option to list the tire pressures while you drive, it's nice to know that a low-tire-pressure warning is not going to strand you. With a constant display, you will see the rate you are losing pressure, and every time you start the car you see what your pressures are. I'm currently driving a rental car, and I noticed all 4 tires were nearly to the low limit so I could add air. I would not have noticed until a warning came up otherwise.
SDRick
Active Member
Curious as to what makes them inefficient? Any idea percentage wise how much mileage would drop?
IMO, for Model 3 owners who routinely drive in areas where Tesla roadside service may take a long time to arrive (same applies to AAA roadside service), and availability of a Tesla loaner wheel is uncertain, then run flat tires are a valid option (of course keeping in mind their typical 50 mile range limit). Peace of mind is worth something. Each owner has to decide if it's worth range trade-off.
Also, one should consider range reduction due to run-flats vs. range reduction due to added weight of a Modern Spare-type wheel kit. I don't know the answer to this, but it's worth investigating.
No matter what, it's worth upgrading to AAA Premier to get 200 miles towing.
Also, one should consider range reduction due to run-flats vs. range reduction due to added weight of a Modern Spare-type wheel kit. I don't know the answer to this, but it's worth investigating.
No matter what, it's worth upgrading to AAA Premier to get 200 miles towing.
There is another option to deal with a flat (especially one with sidewall damage) that I haven't heard mentioned yet. Buy the tire,with rim, ahead of time and keep it at home, just in case. Then have someone bring you the tire (or uber/lyft home to get the tire), and you replace it or Tesla service replaces it. Most of the time your travel is going to be somewhere within short driving distance of your house. Some people may even have winter tires that they store that they could use as a spare temporarily when they get a flat.
Yup, that’s exactly what I did. I bought a set of four 18’s OEM tires and wheels from a guy who drove them 1,000 miles and then upgraded to the 19’s. I kept two of them and sold two as spares. I keep them in the garage ready to go.
Do you know if Premier will provide a flatbed tow for 200 miles? How familiar is AAA with the unique towing and jacking requirements of a Tesla? We have kept our AAA membership but I’m not really sure how useful it will be since they don’t provide spares and they don’t normally flatbed cars while towing.
Just let them know the vehicle MUST be flatbedded (or dollied).
The very few times I’ve used my AAA membership, it’s always been a flatbed. Our vehicles are all AWD (Tesla and non) - so it’s no different for those.
there really isn’t much unique about towing a Tesla relative to another AWD car.
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