Spare tire solution

Dborn · May 13, 2014

Without adding much expense, Tesla could provide a hard point say on the sidewall of the trunk with a thumbscrew and plate. Then, it becomes a proposition for the owner to supply the spare wheel in the knowledge that it can be safely transported and will not be a missile hazard in the vehicle. While a wheel can fit in the frunk, it is my understanding that Tesla do NOT approve of that practice, probably because it has not been safety tested.
So supply your own wheel and cover and bolt to the side of the trunk to suit yourself.

Patrick W · Apr 11, 2015

Dborn said:
While a wheel can fit in the frunk, it is my understanding that Tesla do NOT approve of that practice, probably because it has not been safety tested.

I was told the same thing just yesterday. They said they've not tested front end crashes with a spare in the frunk. Said if a spare it to be carried it should be carried in the rear trunk.

jerry33 · Apr 11, 2015

Patrick W said:
I was told the same thing just yesterday. They said they've not tested front end crashes with a spare in the frunk. Said if a spare it to be carried it should be carried in the rear trunk.

I wouldn't carry it in the frunk anyway because that's where my clothes are when traveling.

kepstein · Aug 16, 2015

I am looking for a spare tire to carry when on a road trip. I'm content to use Roadside Assistance when in the metropolitan areas, but I'm worried about getting caught with a flat in the middle of nowhere when on a road trip. My plan is to have an inflated tire on a compatible rim in a zippered tire bag in the back so that it can be swapped with the flat if needed. I'm not planning to do the swap myself, so not worried about having a jack or cracking the nuts myself. I will figure out how to secure it so that it doesn't become a projectile in a crash.

I have stock rims with Michelin Primacy MXM4 245/45R19 98W. I have Air Suspension if that matters. Since it will be a spare, it doesn't have to be a perfect match to the other tires, although I don't want driving on the spare to do any damage either.
Any/all recommendations welcome.

Keith
MS70D Loaded (VIN 90980)

jaguar36 · Aug 17, 2015

If you're worried about getting a flat in the middle of nowhere, you should probably get a full-size wheel/tire. Donut spares are only good for a few miles (usually less than 100), particularly on a heavy car like the S.

Therefore you can just get another Tesla wheel so it matches, or just get whatever is cheapest at Tire Rack.

Father Bill · Aug 17, 2015

Dborn said:
W While a wheel can fit in the frunk, it is my understanding that Tesla do NOT approve of that practice, probably because it has not been safety tested.

that's strange because when I got my spare the frunk is where they put it. Keep an eye out here and on eBay. You can often find a deal on a single OEM wheel here or there.

JST · Aug 17, 2015

kepstein said:
I am looking for a spare tire to carry when on a road trip. I'm content to use Roadside Assistance when in the metropolitan areas, but I'm worried about getting caught with a flat in the middle of nowhere when on a road trip. My plan is to have an inflated tire on a compatible rim in a zippered tire bag in the back so that it can be swapped with the flat if needed. I'm not planning to do the swap myself, so not worried about having a jack or cracking the nuts myself. I will figure out how to secure it so that it doesn't become a projectile in a crash.

I have stock rims with Michelin Primacy MXM4 245/45R19 98W. I have Air Suspension if that matters. Since it will be a spare, it doesn't have to be a perfect match to the other tires, although I don't want driving on the spare to do any damage either.
Any/all recommendations welcome.

Keith
MS70D Loaded (VIN 90980)

If you are going to go to the trouble to carry a spare, you might as well carry a jack and a lug wrench so you can change the tire out without waiting for roadside assistance (or if you are out of cell range...). Jacks and lug wrenches are not expensive and can tuck in to the wheel and not take up extra space.

I'd also just get a used Tesla wheel and tire that matches the rest of your set, if you are going the full-size route. Might as well. The extra cost is not that extreme, particularly if you can find a used one.

For your use case, though, I might just go with the compact spare. Since you've got a D, the full size tire is going to take up a fair amount of trunk room. The compact will be usefully narrower and give you back some of that space for luggage.

teslasguy · Aug 17, 2015

I always carry a spare OEM Tesla 19" wheel/tire in my trunk. I also have another spare if anyone in the Philadelphia area wants it. $250.

teslasguy · Aug 17, 2015

I meant to say "in my frunk"

JST · Aug 17, 2015

teslasguy said:
I always carry a spare OEM Tesla 19" wheel/tire in my trunk. I also have another spare if anyone in the Philadelphia area wants it. $250.

That works well for the RWD cars but won't work for the Ds, because the frunk is too small.

Autocorrect does not like "frunk."

mknox · Aug 17, 2015

kepstein said:
Any/all recommendations welcome.

I might consider just throwing one of my winter tires already mounted on a Tesla rim (or a summer tire in the winter) in the frunk if I go on a long road trip. I wouldn't change it myself, but Roadside could rather than having to flatbed me off somewhere unfamiliar.

CaryS · Aug 17, 2015

I was thinking of doing the same. Obviously, the tires would be mismatched, so my question is how long could you travel before problems arise?

mknox · Aug 17, 2015

CaryS said:
I was thinking of doing the same. Obviously, the tires would be mismatched, so my question is how long could you travel before problems arise?

They would be the exact same size, but yes, mismatched. My intent wouldn't be to finish the trip on it, but let me get to a tire shop of my choosing as soon as I could. On a trip, I could see losing a day to waiting for a flatbed, hauling it off to get fixed and so on. With a spare, I could potentially travel to my destination, or end the day of a multi-day trip and try and find a tire shop in the evening some time. Maybe call ahead while on the way. My only issue is that my winter tires are "directional" so if the flat was on the "wrong" side of the car, there may have to be some juggling of existing tires first.

Is this any worse that any other car with a full-size spare that you need to use in the winter? You'd end up with 3 winters and the spare, which is typically a match for the car's summer or all-season tires.

caddieo · Aug 17, 2015

There is a thread on making a donut spare started by member JST which is quite detailed. I suppose you could look it up in a list of his postings. It fits nicely in the frunk of non-D models.

jerry33 · Aug 17, 2015

CaryS said:
I was thinking of doing the same. Obviously, the tires would be mismatched, so my question is how long could you travel before problems arise?

This is a real "it depends" question. On a non-driving axle, with the same tire size, practically forever (although handling would suffer). On a drive axle, it depends on the difference in the RPMs of the tires.

freeewilly · Aug 18, 2015

I know a lot of people hates run flat tires, but it's the easiest way to increase safety, and without carrying a spare tire.
I also see a huge price drop compare how much it used to cost few years ago.

jerry33 · Aug 18, 2015

freeewilly said:
I know a lot of people hates run flat tires, but it's the easiest way to increase safety, and without carrying a spare tire.
I also see a huge price drop compare how much it used to cost few years ago.

1. There is also a huge drop in range.

2. Runflat tires can't be runflat for very long. Thirty miles if I recall correctly.

3. They are not repairable.

4. I question the safety aspects. When tires had large sidewalls, they would really alter the vehicle attitude when flat and it was easy to lose control. Now that many tires' sidewall height approach zero, the car's attitude doesn't change much. It's still possible to lose control, but it's a much rarer occurrence.

5. Ride and handling are not the best.

jaguar36 · Aug 18, 2015

jerry33 said:
1. There is also a huge drop in range.

2. Runflat tires can't be runflat for very long. Thirty miles if I recall correctly.

3. They are not repairable.

4. I question the safety aspects. When tires had large sidewalls, they would really alter the vehicle attitude when flat and it was easy to lose control. Now that many tires' sidewall height approach zero, the car's attitude doesn't change much. It's still possible to lose control, but it's a much rarer occurrence.

5. Ride and handling are not the best.

Not so:

1. There shouldn't be a significant drop in Tesla range on run-flats, there isn't a noticeable difference in fuel economy on an ICE using run-flats.

2. Run-flat range is dependent on load, and is very similar to a donut's range.

3. They can be repaired just fine if they weren't run at 0 psi.

4. I think you are much safer driving a runflat than trying to change a tire on the side of a busy highway.

5. True dat.

Something else to keep in mind is that because of their stiffer sidewall, you're wheels take more of the abuse from pot holes and such. With 21" you'd be cracking wheels left and right if you live in an area with poor roads. Even with the 19" it wouldn't surprise me if you broke a few wheels with RFTs.

mknox · Aug 18, 2015

jaguar36 said:
1. There shouldn't be a significant drop in Tesla range on run-flats, there isn't a noticeable difference in fuel economy on an ICE using run-flats.

When I did some research a while back, it appeared that run flats didn't have as low rolling resistance as other tires. I couldn't find any that had low or ultra low rolling resistance ratings such as the Michelin MXM4 tires that Tesla now installs as standard equipment.

jaguar36 said:
4. I think you are much safer driving a runflat than trying to change a tire on the side of a busy highway.

I would agree with that.

jerry33 · Aug 18, 2015

I had an evaluation set of runflats on my S85 and they increased th Wh/mi by 30 to 60 on my regular commute. 15% to 25%. The reason ICE cars seem less is that ICE drivers don't keep records.

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