K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
In theory the tire loaner program is great but unfortunately my technician wasn't very experienced
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Having a spare means carting it around for years, paying for the energy and losing the storage space. When it comes time to use it, if ever, it means exposing yourself to possibly dangerous conditions leading to injury or death..
Same can be said for airbags.
Oh, snap!
Okay, that's not quite fair. Despite some rare cases of airbags causing injury, and the danger they pose to children, they are generally considered to add safety. But still, point is, just because you don't normally use it is not necessarily reason enough to eliminate it for many folks.
I purchased a full sized spare for trips when I know that I'll be far from being able to get a replacement tire. I only load it when I know I be in places way off the map.If you are in Los Angeles or San Francisco I understand the lack of concern about not having a spare. However, what if you are in a remote place on a road trip and you have a blow out in Wyoming. I bet there are no 21" Continentals in the entire state of Wyoming. So it means getting a flat bed to take you to the nearest town with a tire shop and getting a tire overnight by Fed Ex if it is a weekday. By having a spare I can call AAA and get them to change it for me and be on my way. I had 4 flats in 4 years in my model S--two were on a roadtrip.
Honestly, there must be better roads in other parts of the country, as I tend to get about 1 flat every year. Just had an unfixable flat on my P85 two weeks ago. Before that, in the last few years, I've had 2 flats on my Chevy Volt, and 2 on my Ford Escape as well.
A couple of ideas. I'd have links, but I'm away from home, so I will have to come back later to add the links.
First -- spare tire options. Of course, you can try to get a full size spare off of someone else who has replaced his or her wheels and tires, or just buy a new one out right to keep at home or in the car. There are also some compact spares that will work. One in particular from a BMW outlet, and they note right on their web page that a lot of Tesla drivers use it as a spare. I believe it's a perfect fit and appropriate circumference, though you should also buy the hub ring (I think it's called) which they make note of for Tesla drivers right on the page. They also sell a tote for it, which is nice. It will fit in older style frunks, if you are hoping for a frunkable spare.
Second -- portable jacks. Sorry, I have nothing useful to share on this. Need to do some research.
Third -- home jacks and jack stands. Just about any floor jack will do, but I highly advise you spend some money on a set of JackPoint jack stands. They are big and expensive, but they allow you to put a stand on the same point as the jack, which is otherwise a huge problem on a Model S (you can't jack it up and then put a regular jack stand under it, as their is only a single jack point per corner and it's small).
I haven't done any of this yet, and I paid for it when I got a flat a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, it was close to home, and I had the car at home, but without a spare and without a JackPoint jack stand, I had no way to remove the wheel myself to get the tire replaced. I had to have Tesla bring in a flat bed tow truck to tow it somewhere to get the tire replaced. Ridiculous, indeed. But fixable with some money and forethought. Or just rely on road side assistance like most people probably do.
He is probably referring to this BMW spare mentioned in this link:Can you provide a link for that compact that fits?
He is probably referring to this BMW spare mentioned in this link:
Compact Space Saver Tire/Wheel Solution
However, that is a while back when the car still had the "microwave" space in the frunk. Not sure if it still fits in the new frunk.
Not run-flats, but some are special in that they have an acoustic foam liner in them. This is sometimes mistaken to be a run-flat, but it does not serve that purpose, only to reduce noise.i thought the tesla tires were run flats. Must have been mistaken
Depends on what roads you travel, but a failed engine block or spark plug generally is a lot less likely than having a punctured tire.I've never owned a car with spare tires.
What's the point of a spare tire? I don't see people carrying around spare engine blocks or spare spark plugs in case those parts fail. 99% of people will be under cellular coverage if an issue happens to them, and spare tires can be incredibly dangerous due to age and under-inflation after years of non-use and environmental exposure.
Can you provide a link for that compact that fits?
Does anyone know of a compact temporary spare tire than can be folded and stored in the trunk? The double-engine P90D has very limited space so I am looking for a spare tire option that is really compact and which I could use on both the front and rear 21" wheels.
Skotty - the BMW spare tires could be a good alternative to a full-size spare if it is already known to be used by Tesla owners. Would you happen to know the link to that BMW outlet?