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Spare tire necessary?
- Thread starter Linus1
- Start date
I have a Modern Spare and a set of pucks for my M3 with 18" Aeros. I put it in the car for trips. Flats are rare, but not unheard of. My wife's Leaf got a flat at home in a two week old Bridgestone. It had picked up an allen wrench which worked its way through the tread inside the tire. I borrowed a floor jack and took the tire into Costco. The tire guy was laughing when he told me the cause of the flat. They replaced the tire at no cost and gave me the wrench as a souvenir. If we are driving in town, AAA will take the car on a flatbed to a tire place. If I'm on the road, I want to get moving if I have a flat, so I want a spare. I probably would call AAA to change the tire, because I'm getting old and that's what I pay them for. The Modern Spare will not fit in the frunk of my 3.
Regarding flats, on a road trip from Ma to FL, near Jacksonville FL.
I used the TESLA app and was back on my way in 4 hours.
Not much fits in the fronk, I dont think that a bare rim would fit.
A tesla tire for the M3 is HUGE. If you do that be sure and chain it down,
it could become deadly missile during quick deceleration.
I've had thoughts of adding a luggage carrier, and putting one
up there, but there is a lot of glass up there.
Glass, heavy tire, what could go wrong ? Never did it.
I used the TESLA app and was back on my way in 4 hours.
Not much fits in the fronk, I dont think that a bare rim would fit.
A tesla tire for the M3 is HUGE. If you do that be sure and chain it down,
it could become deadly missile during quick deceleration.
I've had thoughts of adding a luggage carrier, and putting one
up there, but there is a lot of glass up there.
Glass, heavy tire, what could go wrong ? Never did it.
fholbert
Active Member
I don’t think so and I’m on my second car without a spare, about 180k miles. I’m often on the road and more than 100 miles from home. With that much driving I’ve had my share of flat tires.
Almost every road flat I’ve had has been a run flat. The tire was slowly loosing air and I didn’t know it until the tire had destroyed itself and I heard it howling. With today’s TPMS that should never happen. I also carry a small compressor and plug kit in the frunk.
I can only remember hitting road debris once that caused an immediate and unplug-able flat. I do carry towing on my cars paying extra for 100 mile tow range. Not often I’m more than 100 miles from an American / Discount Tire.
I road trip to San Carlos Mexico from Phoenix twice a year for vacations. I take a Modern Spare tire and jack kit. It’s narrow and fits in the trunk with still plenty of room for a large suitcase on top of tire and two carry on size luggage.
The wheel and tire they supply will let you drive at least a couple hundred miles at highway speeds.
The wheel and tire they supply will let you drive at least a couple hundred miles at highway speeds.
I was thinking about getting a spare before buying my MYLR, but most of the time it was just a slow leak and i could fill it up with my tire inflator and goto Discount Tire for repairs. I've only had 1 time (20 yrs ago) where the tire went flat very quickly on the freeway and by the time I pulled over the rims had cut through the tires and the threads were gone.
Today I'm seriously thinking about getting a spare. This morning about half way to work at 0530 I had a very fast flat, the warning came on at 34psi and quickly dropped into the 20s then the teens, and by the time I pulled over and got out I heard the loud hissing of air escaping. And the tire was completely flat within a few seconds. I was on the tollway and Tesla roadside said they could not get to me b/c it was "restricted" and I was a few miles from the next exit. They told me to contact Highway Patrol to get me to a location where they can bring me a loaner spare. I called Allstate roadside and they said the earliest they could get a flat bed tow truck would be about 0745. So I sat there through morning rush hour on the side of the highway with vehicles going 70-80mph until about 0805.
He took me to the nearest @Discount Tire about 5 miles away, I gave him a $30 cash tip. I bought four certificates for the four factory tires (only 3266 miles) for $250. Waited a while, and when they took the tire off the wheel there was a second nail that had gone through the inner side wall and the tire needed to be replaced. So paid $62.50 for a certificate for a new tire. By the time it was done it was 0935.
If I had a spare I could have just changed out the tire in about 5-10 minutes and be on my way.
For those that have a spare, do you have a way to secure it in the trunk?
Today I'm seriously thinking about getting a spare. This morning about half way to work at 0530 I had a very fast flat, the warning came on at 34psi and quickly dropped into the 20s then the teens, and by the time I pulled over and got out I heard the loud hissing of air escaping. And the tire was completely flat within a few seconds. I was on the tollway and Tesla roadside said they could not get to me b/c it was "restricted" and I was a few miles from the next exit. They told me to contact Highway Patrol to get me to a location where they can bring me a loaner spare. I called Allstate roadside and they said the earliest they could get a flat bed tow truck would be about 0745. So I sat there through morning rush hour on the side of the highway with vehicles going 70-80mph until about 0805.
He took me to the nearest @Discount Tire about 5 miles away, I gave him a $30 cash tip. I bought four certificates for the four factory tires (only 3266 miles) for $250. Waited a while, and when they took the tire off the wheel there was a second nail that had gone through the inner side wall and the tire needed to be replaced. So paid $62.50 for a certificate for a new tire. By the time it was done it was 0935.
If I had a spare I could have just changed out the tire in about 5-10 minutes and be on my way.
For those that have a spare, do you have a way to secure it in the trunk?
gtae07
Member
This is exactly why I got a spare. Having one has saved my butt a few times over the years, often in places or at hours that roadside couldn't help.
Leeclanual
Member
Tire Repair Kit
The Tire Repair Kit contains an air compressor to regularly top off your tire pressure and a one-piece sealant canister to patch punctures. Simply attach the transparent hose to the tire valve and connect the plug to your vehicle's 12V outlet to begin repairing the hole and filling the tire. The...
shop.tesla.com
If it’s bad enough that this kit won’t get you to nearest tire shop then call roadside.
Hm. In the six years the SO and I have owned Teslas, there's been one serious flat: Coming down a hill on a two-lane road, no curbs, in the dark, with a police car with flashing lights coming the other way. On my side, all the cars kind of shifted to the right, including mine, which is when the car discovered that some homeowner with some rocks bordering their yard had let some of said rocks roll into the street. The left front sidewall ended up with a hole in it.
Being in NJ and, in this case, about 10 miles from a Service Center, a run to the Roadside Assistance tab resulted in a Tesla-specific truck with a bunch of spare wheels showing up in about 20 minutes. The gent swapped wheels with me; later, my wheel got a drop-shipped tire, and I came by about a week later to get the original wheel swapped out. This is part of the warranty service, or was.
So, note the environment:
Now if the OP is living and driving mainly in a suburban/urban area, then a spare probably isn't worth the trouble.
On the other hand: My son gave the SO and I one of those Tesla air pump/flat tire goo kits for Christmas that year. After having read the directions and listened to comments, there are downsides to the idea:
There are a number of posters hanging around who swear by the needle-and-rubber-thread approach to fixing flats, at least on the belt. These kits, which are typically less than $10, consist of a thing that looks like an oversized needle, some 3/16" square rubber threads, and a tube of rubber cement. With the wheel still mounted on the car, run the needle through the hole three or four times, thread the appropriate number of rubber threads onto the needle and, following the directions, slather the rubber threads with that rubber cement. Push that into the hole, remove the needle with the rubber threads remaining behind, and everything should solidify for a permanent repair. You'll still need a pump to get the tire back up to the right pressure. After everything is up and leak-free, use something sharp to cut off the threads sticking out of the tire. It all works a bit better if one can get the wheel off the ground (see below).
Of course, having a Real Spare solves the whole problem of goop, no goop, or a hole in the sidewall. And there are compact spares that can be made to fit in the frunk (maybe), in the trunk (for sure), and there's a number of people who've figured out ways to get it below the trunk/frunk. However, even if one can live with the resulting loss of space/complexity of storing such a spare, that raises another problem: The tools to do the swap.
Being in NJ and, in this case, about 10 miles from a Service Center, a run to the Roadside Assistance tab resulted in a Tesla-specific truck with a bunch of spare wheels showing up in about 20 minutes. The gent swapped wheels with me; later, my wheel got a drop-shipped tire, and I came by about a week later to get the original wheel swapped out. This is part of the warranty service, or was.
So, note the environment:
- Densely populated area with a fair number of Teslas all over in evidence.
- Three or so Service Centers in NJ at the time. And they had the "Swap Your Wheel" guys on the job, at 6:30 p.m. on a weekday, even.
- And, even if Tesla hadn't been in evidence, there'd be an available AAA truck somewhere that would've been able to take the car to a place that could fix it. Except, of course, in this case, where a blown-out sidewall means that that tire's not getting repaired, ever.
Now if the OP is living and driving mainly in a suburban/urban area, then a spare probably isn't worth the trouble.
On the other hand: My son gave the SO and I one of those Tesla air pump/flat tire goo kits for Christmas that year. After having read the directions and listened to comments, there are downsides to the idea:
- Most Tesla tires (but not all) come with some foam, sound-deadening material on the inside of the tire. If one uses the goop, getting all that junk cleaned off the inside of the felt is not an easy job. (At one time shops wouldn't even repair these kinds of tires, for fear of damaging things somehow. Turns out the felt around a hole can be cut away, the hole patched, and the felt replaced without too much trouble.)
- Any use of the goop is going to kind of kill the air pressure sensor. So, at a cost of $15-$65 (depending upon how hard, or avaricious the repair person is) is going to have to be thrown into the cost of the repair job.
- The Tesla kit isn't exactly required. One can get a 12-V powered air pump and a can of goop for easily half as much as that Tesla kit at any Auto Parts store.
There are a number of posters hanging around who swear by the needle-and-rubber-thread approach to fixing flats, at least on the belt. These kits, which are typically less than $10, consist of a thing that looks like an oversized needle, some 3/16" square rubber threads, and a tube of rubber cement. With the wheel still mounted on the car, run the needle through the hole three or four times, thread the appropriate number of rubber threads onto the needle and, following the directions, slather the rubber threads with that rubber cement. Push that into the hole, remove the needle with the rubber threads remaining behind, and everything should solidify for a permanent repair. You'll still need a pump to get the tire back up to the right pressure. After everything is up and leak-free, use something sharp to cut off the threads sticking out of the tire. It all works a bit better if one can get the wheel off the ground (see below).
Of course, having a Real Spare solves the whole problem of goop, no goop, or a hole in the sidewall. And there are compact spares that can be made to fit in the frunk (maybe), in the trunk (for sure), and there's a number of people who've figured out ways to get it below the trunk/frunk. However, even if one can live with the resulting loss of space/complexity of storing such a spare, that raises another problem: The tools to do the swap.
- A hockey-puck lift pad that goes into one of the four holes under the car. They aren't bad, I've got a set, they're like $50 or less.
- A jack that can get the car up in the air. Likely not a scissors jack, but make darn sure it can lift the weight of a Tesla. Teslas aren't light.
- Probably a jack stand. Nothing like having a 2.5-ton car land on one to ruin one's whole day.
- Big enough wrench to get the lug nuts off. Not the biggest problem, exactly, but Not Having One when One Needs One sure does leave one feeling foolish.
arrived today. i bought the kit without the carrying case, but it appears to come prepackaged with the carrying case or they sent me the wrong one?
their breaker bar is a few inches shorter than the one I already have so I will be using my old one 1/2" drive with a 22mm deep socket. also i think i pulled too hard on theirs and the ring/washer came off the bottom section, and the little retaining pin falls out.
their breaker bar is a few inches shorter than the one I already have so I will be using my old one 1/2" drive with a 22mm deep socket. also i think i pulled too hard on theirs and the ring/washer came off the bottom section, and the little retaining pin falls out.
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