Spare Wheel?

[DaddyCool]

And so the inevitable occurred.... Low pressure alert on the dash, 25psi and a screw in the tyre.

Thankfully, had all the necessary on board to plug it, re-inflate it and get it up and running.
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Do you then put the screw in the rawlplug?

 

[MrBadger]

Is that a permanent repair or one better left to a local tyre company to do a proper permanent repair? We had a couple of punctures fixed over the years at local indie, and its been done for 'bacon buttie' money. I can see there being a time and a place for these things, but I would have thought that when possible, such as topping up and limping on, a professional repair might be better?

 

[DaddyCool]

Is that a permanent repair or one better left to a local tyre company to do a proper permanent repair? We had a couple of punctures fixed over the years at local indie, and its been done for 'bacon buttie' money. I can see there being a time and a place for these things, but I would have thought that when possible, such as topping up and limping on, a professional repair might be better?

+1 I'd leave the screw and get it repaired properly

 

[Generator]

+1 I'd leave the screw and get it repaired properly

Leaving the screw or other offending item will often cause more damage.

This is just a temporary fix until I can get to a tyre fitter this week. It uses a mushroom shaped soft rubber plug to seal the hole, so it’s very similar to permanent repairs I’ve had in the past. If I’d had a spare tyre I’d have fitted that instead, but since Tesla provides neither jack, spare wheel, or even the tie down points to store you’re own spare wheel, this’ll have to do. It seems a tad better then the gummy strings my local tyre fitter used on my van last year though...

 

[MrBadger]

This is just a temporary fix until I can get to a tyre fitter this week.

So the temporary fix can be reversed out and a permanent fix applied?

 

[Generator]

So the temporary fix can be reversed out and a permanent fix applied?

Yes. Once the tyre is off the rim the rubber bung can be pulled out with a pair of pliers. Assuming the rest of there has bonbvious defects it can then be repaired. The only thing holding the plug in currently is air pressure and friction. The permanent version is much the same design, but gets vulcanised in.

 

[Roy W.]

And so the inevitable occurred.... Low pressure alert on the dash, 25psi and a screw in the tyre.

Thankfully, had all the necessary on board to plug it, re-inflate it and get it up and running.
View attachment 506827 View attachment 506828 View attachment 506829

Interesting. How long does it take you to plug a tyre like that? And what happens to the bit sticking out?

 

[Adopado]

Leaving the screw or other offending item will often cause more damage.

This is just a temporary fix until I can get to a tyre fitter this week. It uses a mushroom shaped soft rubber plug to seal the hole, so it’s very similar to permanent repairs I’ve had in the past. If I’d had a spare tyre I’d have fitted that instead, but since Tesla provides neither jack, spare wheel, or even the tie down points to store you’re own spare wheel, this’ll have to do. It seems a tad better then the gummy strings my local tyre fitter used on my van last year though...

It seems worthwhile to have a kit onboard (I've never had to use the plug kit on my motorbike). It's interesting to note that it worked for you despite the fact that the internal "mushroom" effect is unlikely to work quite as well when the internal wall of the tyre has acoustic foam stuck to it. For that reason I would be wanting to follow up with the professional repair even though the manufacturers seem to claim that's not necessary.

 

[Generator]

Interesting. How long does it take you to plug a tyre like that? And what happens to the bit sticking out?

Including pumping it back up with the worlds slowest compressor, about 15 minutes. The plugging bit takes a minute or so. Pull the screw, ream the hole, insert the plug guide, screw on the device that compresses the plug down and forces it through into the hole, remove, pull the plug with pliers to seat it inside the tyre, and you’re done. The bit sticking out is trimmed flush with the tread with a sharp knife.

It seems worthwhile to have a kit onboard (I've never had to use the plug kit on my motorbike). It's interesting to note that it worked for you despite the fact that the internal "mushroom" effect is unlikely to work quite as well when the internal wall of the tyre has acoustic foam stuck to it. For that reason I would be wanting to follow up with the professional repair even though the manufacturers seem to claim that's not necessary.

it’s the internal foam that is the main reason to get it done properly, I pulled a chunk of it out with the reamer and it’s pretty insubstantial stuff, a lot softer than the plug, which needs to screw-jacked through a steel nozzle inserted into the tyre (otherwise the size difference would be akin to getting a champagne cork back in the bottle), but better safe than sorry. A proper repair will be done this week, but at the moment it’s holding air a hell of a lot more effectively than a screw!

 

[Roy W.]

Including pumping it back up with the worlds slowest compressor, about 15 minutes. The plugging bit takes a minute or so. Pull the screw, ream the hole, insert the plug guide, screw on the device that compresses the plug down and forces it through into the hole, remove, pull the plug with pliers to seat it inside the tyre, and you’re done. The bit sticking out is trimmed flush with the tread with a sharp knife.



it’s the internal foam that is the main reason to get it done properly, I pulled a chunk of it out with the reamer and it’s pretty insubstantial stuff, a lot softer than the plug, which needs to screw-jacked through a steel nozzle inserted into the tyre (otherwise the size difference would be akin to getting a champagne cork back in the bottle), but better safe than sorry. A proper repair will be done this week, but at the moment it’s holding air a hell of a lot more effectively than a screw!

Thanks for that. I’m going to invest in one of the kits. They’re £24.99 on Amazon, is that the going rate or do you know of anywhere cheaper?

 

[Generator]

Thanks for that. I’m going to invest in one of the kits. They’re £24.99 on Amazon, is that the going rate or do you know of anywhere cheaper?

There’s many varieties of the same kit, ranging from the type my tyre fitter used (hairy string coated in sticky semi cured rubber) to this slightly less heath Robinson affair. It was £25, but considering it’s already saved me that twice over in parking fees and taxis, it’s a bargain.