Spare tire feasibility for my use - mountain driving?

[The_Observer]

Hey all,

Since I often drive on the mountain roads nowadays, I was thinking if I should look into the possible of getting a spare tire for my car. Yes, you might see on my profile that I live in Los Angeles, but often times I don't get cell signals on the mountains, so I can't call roadside for tire flats.

With some of the shoulders on those mountain roads aren't flat/not paved/steeper hills, is it safe to replace the tire during those surfaces?

What do you guys think? Should I get a spare tire in my scenario?

 

[Petermcg]

You have to have some level of safety before you change a flat. Who wants, “Driver killed changing flat” on the news? If you can drive to a relatively safe spot, then go for it. Some mountain sections are far safer than others.

I bought the Modern Spare solution. It’s clean and easy to move around. It’s also expensive, and takes up more room in my trunk than I’d like. But any spare takes up too much space, IMO.

A small compressor could help you limp to civilization if the tire damage isn’t too great. The same caution about road safety applies.

 

[Vines]

Honestly I have 66k on my car and haven't needed more than my compressor and patch kit. The only time I needed the patch kit I was also on tires without foam so it worked out in that case.

Between the on screen TPMS warning, and the compressor I feel like I get a very good warning to when the air is low and am able to refill the tire with a hole before they are damaged from driving with low air pressure

 

[TLLMRRJ]

With some of the shoulders on those mountain roads aren't flat/not paved/steeper hills, is it safe to replace the tire during those surfaces?

Obviously, you would have to limp the car to a firm, flat surface to make the tire change. If that means a choice between some rim damage or dying, the choice is yours.

 

[The_Observer]

I think the reason why I am asking this is because of my experiences with flat tires. I already got two flats during my year of Model 3 ownership, one being a slow flat, which I can probably use a compressor and go back to civilization and get a tow. But another one was a really fast flat, which I didn't have much time before the tire lost all air, ended having to replace the entire tire because it was unrepairable.

The fast flat situation is what I am worried about, I already have a tire plug kit, but I wanted to be prepared for flats that might be puncturing the sidewall.

 

[EmOne]

I think you just answered your own question. $300 and good to go.