Spare Tire

[CHG-ON]

I got a screw in my rear 21 just yesterday. Luckily I had the tire display up on the IP and noticed that the tire was down to 36. First time that has happened. No warning from the car at all, when I think there should have been. Losing 8lbs is a lot and can definitely affect handling. That's 20%.

I bought a plug kit a while back, just in case. Used it last night. Couldn't have been easier. This AM, the tire had dropped from 42 to 24 PSI. I figured I did it wrong, being my first time plugging a tire. I pumped it up and made an appt at my tire guy for a repair. Unfortunately, once I "repaired" the tire, he isn't allowed to do a "real" repair. Bummer. Two new rears on order. Fortunately, they are near end of life. But today after work, expecting the tire to be low again, it is completely fine, sitting at 42.5. So I guess it took time for the plug to bond. Maybe driving helped seat it. Now I am vacillating on whether to wait the two months before they are ready for replacement or if I should just get it done and not worry about it.

 

[green1]

You do need to drive to properly set the patch, though shouldn't take much. As for not being able to fix it, that's complete BS. They take the tire off, pull out the patch, and treat it like any other hole. It's not hard. I think he just wanted the sale of new tires.
If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with the "proper" repair, I've never had one of these patches fail, and even if it does, the worst case is the same hole you started with.

 

[jerry33]

As for not being able to fix it, that's complete BS. They take the tire off, pull out the patch, and treat it like any other hole. It's not hard. I think he just wanted the sale of new tires.

^^^^This. There's no reason why removing the plug and putting a patch can't be done.

 

[StaceyS]

Since I have a "summer" set on 21s and an "all season" set on 19s, I carry one of the out-of-season tires in the frunk. No "D" so that is easily accomplished in the frunk space.

Does your 21" summer spare fit in your frunk? I tried putting one of our summer 21" wheels in our frunk and it wouldn't fit. I feel like I could sit on it and get it to fit, but it would break all the plastic trim at the front of the frunk. Its a relatively new Continental tire on 21" Turbines. I've heard other people have gotten them to fit, so I'm thinking ours is just too new, tread not worn down enough. We've got a P85.

 

[Drucifer]

Does your 21" summer spare fit in your frunk? I tried putting one of our summer 21" wheels in our frunk and it wouldn't fit. I feel like I could sit on it and get it to fit, but it would break all the plastic trim at the front of the frunk. Its a relatively new Continental tire on 21" Turbines. I've heard other people have gotten them to fit, so I'm thinking ours is just too new, tread not worn down enough. We've got a P85.

I have exactly what you have (21 factory turbine rim with Continental tires with maybe 3k miles on them) and a P85. The trick is to lower the tire pressure down to about 35-38 psi (from the normal 45) and then when you put it in, push it as deeply into the microwave spot as you can and then press it down in the front. Close the frunk slowly the first time to make sure you don't dent it in the event you don't have the tire totally flat.

 

[CHG-ON]

I totally agree. It's the company that would not allow it. Wheel Works (Howard Tire). But these guys have never done me wrong. They are a great bunch, with the employees working there for years. I did decide to just replace the rears. They were low enough that I was worried about wet traction while we are in our rainy season. Yes, I could have squeaked more life out of the tires. But two months in the grand scheme of things: I'm just not going to worry about it. But now that I know more about plugging my tires, I bet I'll be less cautious in the future. It only took 18mi for it to take. It certainly could not have been easier. That's for sure.

You do need to drive to properly set the patch, though shouldn't take much. As for not being able to fix it, that's complete BS. They take the tire off, pull out the patch, and treat it like any other hole. It's not hard. I think he just wanted the sale of new tires.
If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with the "proper" repair, I've never had one of these patches fail, and even if it does, the worst case is the same hole you started with.

 

[bhzmark]

Car gave me a low tire pressure warning at really low pressure. About 20? Wish it gave warning sooner. Pulled over, called tesla and also took the plastic off the Tesla tire sealant and compressor kit I had.

Put the regular airhose on the canister nipple, and the cannister hose on the tire and let it rip. It eventually pumped up the tire and I continued to destination ~1 mile away. It still leaked but slower and i made it no problem.

The sealant was coming out of the hole so made it easy to see where it was. I then also remembered that I had a plug kit in the car . Oh well.

Tesla dispatched the towing Co with a replacement tire and they did the swap quickly and I drove to the service center at end of day to get my wheel with a fresh $300 primacy on it. I could have told the tow Co to take the wheel to a tire place to patch.

Overall having a compressor with plug kit and sealant and tesla RA is a pretty good substitute for a spare.

The sealant is a little messy and wish I had remebered I had the plug kit.

 

[crikescrikes]

Low priced spare tire:

 

[Nevek]

Here is the thread, and here is a link to the Bimmerzone site where you can buy the BMW kit. BMW X3 F25 Spare Tire Kit : Bimmerzone.com

Compact Space Saver Tire/Wheel Solution - Page 14

It's actually the BMW X3 kit that you want. The X5 tire is too big in diameter.

I bought this spare for peace of mind on long road trips after damaging a tire sidewall and spending a long time waiting for a flatbed to get me to a shop where I could get a replacement. Before taking it on my next trip, I tested it by putting it on the car and driving a couple of blocks. This also gave me a chance to check out my scissor jack and torque wrench. Everything seemed OK, no rubbing or error lights.

I do strap it down in the back using the child seat tether rings with an adjustable strap so it doesn't become a UFO in an accident. It gets taken out when around my home area.

Originally I looked for a 19" OEM wheel and tire but most people want to sell a set of 4 and new ones are $600+ each. This cost less and takes quite a bit less trunk space.

 

[johnnyS]

I bought a 19" wheel and tire from Tesla. Deflated a little it fits in the frunk. I have had 2 flats on my 21" rims and tires. Waiting for a flat bed is very inconvenient. I do not carry any tools to change to the spare. Calling AAA to come change a tire is more convenient. We drove to the Tesla rally in Custer S.D. a couple of weeks ago. While in Estes Park Colorado I realized I had a slow leak. I called AAA and a local guy met where I was charging in the municipal lot. Instead of changing the tire, he had me follow him to his shop about a mile away and repaired the tire.

He told me that he gets AAA calls for tire service from luxury car people. He shows up and they ask him to put on the spare. He tells them "Dude you don't have a spare" and he watches the look on their face. I am sure if I had a flat in Wyoming I could have waited at least overnight for a replacement tire.