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What do you do if you have a flat tire?

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This may be a stupid question but what about taking one of the winter tires that I have on rims as a spare?

That what we've done, on road trips, for as many years (must be more than a decade now in UK ...) as the cars we have bought have come with no spare tyre. Since that date we've always had both compressor and a bottle of Gunge in the car too.

Spare wheel takes up a huge amount of space being an awkward shade amongst the rest of the (cuboid) luggage. Somewhat smelly too - we wrap it in a large plastic bag, also helpful if you get a flat to put the (then dirty) one into. Pity the cars, with no spare, don't have a wheel-shaped well that fits a spare nicely for folk that want to carry one.

I don't know whether car manufacturers over here are saving money, not providing a spare, or saving weight, which translates into a better Eco Rating. One flat tyre that necessitates a call-out for a flat-bed, or whatever, probably negates any possible Eco benefit of the weight-saving over the lifetime of the vehicle!
 
I did buy the tire repair kit from Tesla during my last maintenance visit. Drove it for a year before I realized there was nothing for a flat included with the car, it was only while looking for the Jack that I realized it.


Yep, agreed. I'm probably gonna get flamed to hell by saying that I think Tesla should've provided us with run-flat tires (contrary to a lot of others, I actually had a great experience with the latest generation RFTs on a 2013 model year BMW)... and I don't even want a full size spare in the car. Even the Audi Q5 comes with a can of slime and dinky inflator and a card for the roadside assistance number.


My plan is for small manageable leaks I'll at least be able to use the inflator and get to a tire shop on my own accord, and I'll use the slime as a last resort. For anything more dramatic, then that's what roadside assistance is for!
 
Yep, agreed. I'm probably gonna get flamed to hell by saying that I think Tesla should've provided us with run-flat tires (contrary to a lot of others, I actually had a great experience with the latest generation RFTs on a 2013 model year BMW)... and I don't even want a full size spare in the car. Even the Audi Q5 comes with a can of slime and dinky inflator and a card for the roadside assistance number.


My plan is for small manageable leaks I'll at least be able to use the inflator and get to a tire shop on my own accord, and I'll use the slime as a last resort. For anything more dramatic, then that's what roadside assistance is for!
There's lots of threads on this but people who have tried them didn't like them because a) bad tire wear b) noise c) weight d) co$t.
 
There's lots of threads on this but people who have tried them didn't like them because a) bad tire wear b) noise c) weight d) co$t.
I have run flats on my BMW. I got a puncture in one from a large screw and no tire shop would plug a run flat or had a replacement. I could only get one at BMW. Fortunately they are very reasonable on price. I agree they are hard riding and noisy.
 
Just had my first flat yesterday - in my first month of owning my 2012 Model S. This literally deflated my high from getting my HPWC installed the day before! Two houses down from my house, I got the warning of low air pressure, so turned around and went home. My brother, who I bought the car from, suggested buying a small air compressor, which I did, and inflated the tire and was able to drive the mile or two to my local Discount Tire. After a close to two hour wait, they got it on the lift, knowing to put it in the Jack mode - something about the air suspension - and found a screw in the tread. Quickly took it out, they said drilled a hole and put in a patch, sanded it down and I'm good to go.