Spare tire questions

[Joe248]

Hi all,
My model 3 is currently using 19inch sport wheels. I can only fine 18inch spare tire in my area. If a flat does happen, will it be ok to run 3 x 19 inch and use the spare 18 inch?
Thank you

 

[Tam]

Hi all,
My model 3 is currently using 19inch sport wheels. I can only fine 18inch spare tire in my area. If a flat does happen, will it be ok to run 3 x 19 inch and use the spare 18 inch?
Thank you

That should be fine as long as you know the limitation of crookedness.

Deleted out: Please see the answer from @ChadS

 

[ChadS]

Doesn't the 18" wheel have a thicker tire, so the circumference is the same? Well, similar enough anyway. I'm assuming OP means a full-sized 18" spare, although I guess there are 18" spares that are not full-sized.

I agree that leaving them mismatched in any way is not a good plan, but I would think a full-sized 18" spare would be just fine until you can get your 19" fixed.

 

[Tam]

...the circumference is the same...

Thanks for the correction. I used to think they have different diameters but that is false. They handle differently because one wall is higher than the other and the other has a shorter wall: thick and thin looks.

 

[Joe248]

Thank you

 

[E.Potter]

it's really simple...think of a regular car with a donut....it's not the same size at all...you will be fine for a while with an 18" wheel...just fine

 

[tilman85]

Modern cars with ABS and traction control systems should keep tire diameters close to each other. This is one of the reasons the donut spares are going out of style. As long as the wheel clears the brake calipers it can change diameter and still have a tire size that is the correct height to match the other tires. sparetire.com has a lot of info on choices of spare tires for matching diameters, as well as some spare tire/wheel combo solutions.