Tesla and punctures

[phatmanace]

I had a near miss yesterday. MY parked in Gatwick while we were away, obviously drove over something on the way out of the car park and caused a slow puncture. managed to limp home to kent after stopping at clackett lane to top the air up

what do people generally carry to fix ? I've seen that Tesla will sell you a kit with a 12v compressor and tyre plugs, but are there better options ?

[NDA]

I had a puncture when I first had mine. All a bit of a nightmare... had to be flat-bedded to a tyre shop. The whole thing took hours.

I bought a space saver spare, which I carried around for a couple of years - never used it and it took up a lot of space in the boot.

Now I have a compressor and gunk kit from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BP5E7KI?ref_=ppx_hz...

My ICE car doesn't have a spare either, so punctures would be a pain - thankfully quite rare though.

[alfabeat]

First thing I do on any new car is buy a space saver tyre. I just tend to stick it in the boot for long journeys. The thought of a ruined weekend for the sake of a puncture is most depressing.

[vikingaero]

alfabeat said:

First thing I do on any new car is buy a space saver tyre. I just tend to stick it in the boot for long journeys. The thought of a ruined weekend for the sake of a puncture is most depressing.

I wouldn't have a car without putting at least a spacesaver in. You can buy them from Facebook Marketplace if you're on a tight budget.

But my preferred initial response is tyre plugs and an inflator. Far easier than changing a tyre and better than the gloop supplied with new cars.

[RizzoTheRat]

I asked the dealer to fit all seasons on my new car, the originals were runflats, the all seasons aren't so they threw in a Ring compressor and sealant kit like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/306700659390?chn=ps&amp...

Having used plug kits on motorbikes, I suspect they're quite a lot of hassle on a car. First you need to find the hole, which isn't always obvious without pumping it up a bit, then you need to get it to a position you can access. On a bike that's easy, less so on a car on busy a motorway hard shoulder.
The relatively easy to fit glue in strip things aren't supposed to be a permeant repair, if you want to go DIY get one of the mushroom kits, which are more hassle to fit but are supposed to be permeant.

Sealants have their own problems too, even though many are water soluble and can be washed out and the tyre repaired, I gather a lot of tyre places are reluctant to do this.

A space saver is probably the best option as it's quick to change but takes up a load of space.

Personally in 35 years of driving I've only actually had punctures on the car about 3 times so I'm happy with a nice compact sealant and compressor kit.

[NDA]

vikingaero said:

But my preferred initial response is tyre plugs and an inflator. Far easier than changing a tyre and better than the gloop supplied with new cars.

I have some tyre plugs in both of my cars, but I've never tried to use them. Trying to find the hole with the tyre on the car looks tricky.

[Glosphil]

I won't consider buying a car unless it has a spare wheel or the dealer supplies one within the price. Last month I bought a 2024 Skoda Karoq. It has a 'full size' spare. The wheels/tyres are 215/50-18s and the spare is a 215/60 on a 16" steel wheel - same circumference within 1% but limits car to 50mph as not a match.

I'm considering buying a non-Skoda alloy 18x7 wheel & fitting a matching 215/50 tyre. I keep my cars for 5 - 8 years. To my mind a spare wheel should enable you to continue your journey with no compromise.

[TheDeuce]

NDA said:

vikingaero said:

But my preferred initial response is tyre plugs and an inflator. Far easier than changing a tyre and better than the gloop supplied with new cars.

I have some tyre plugs in both of my cars, but I've never tried to use them. Trying to find the hole with the tyre on the car looks tricky.

I've used the 'gloop' three times on different cars and each time it's worked perfectly - I don't really see how it can fail to work unless the hole in the tyre is so drastic that nothing other than a spare will make the car driveable.

[P675]

I've considered getting a full size wheel on ebay, taking my decent jack and pads with me if I go on a long journey. There's no good place to put it all though.

I've got a crazy plan to sleep in the car on a weekend to Scotland, but if I'm in boot with my camping stuff there's nowhere for a wheel. Or if I wanted to drive through Europe it's a serious luggage impediment.

[TheDeuce]

P675 said:

I've considered getting a full size wheel on ebay, taking my decent jack and pads with me if I go on a long journey. There's no good place to put it all though.

I've got a crazy plan to sleep in the car on a weekend to Scotland, but if I'm in boot with my camping stuff there's nowhere for a wheel. Or if I wanted to drive through Europe it's a serious luggage impediment.

This is why we've ended up with cars without a spare tyre anymore - the self seal repair gunk is good enough for 95% of punctures and if you somehow tear your tyre to shreds, roadside replacement is pretty quick and easy to arrange these days - or at least roadside rescue to take you and the car to a tyre place.

[P675]

TheDeuce said:

This is why we've ended up with cars without a spare tyre anymore - the self seal repair gunk is good enough for 95% of punctures and if you somehow tear your tyre to shreds, roadside replacement is pretty quick and easy to arrange these days - or at least roadside rescue to take you and the car to a tyre place.

I'd rather have a spare though. Could lose many hours to a puncture waiting for recovery and what if it's outside working hours? Plans could really be wrecked.

[Pica-Pica]

P675 said:

TheDeuce said:

This is why we've ended up with cars without a spare tyre anymore - the self seal repair gunk is good enough for 95% of punctures and if you somehow tear your tyre to shreds, roadside replacement is pretty quick and easy to arrange these days - or at least roadside rescue to take you and the car to a tyre place.

I'd rather have a spare though. Could lose many hours to a puncture waiting for recovery and what if it's outside working hours? Plans could really be wrecked.

I tend to agree, but in 10 years with run-flats, I have had 2 punctures (screws) and never lost more than 3 or 4 psi; enough to trigger the TPMS, but OK to drive on.

[TheDeuce]

P675 said:

TheDeuce said:

This is why we've ended up with cars without a spare tyre anymore - the self seal repair gunk is good enough for 95% of punctures and if you somehow tear your tyre to shreds, roadside replacement is pretty quick and easy to arrange these days - or at least roadside rescue to take you and the car to a tyre place.

I'd rather have a spare though. Could lose many hours to a puncture waiting for recovery and what if it's outside working hours? Plans could really be wrecked.

Yep, it would suck - but like I said, 95% of punctures you would be fine. Your choice is to lug a spare around or take a small but real risk of one day being inconvenienced. Tricky one...

[Whataguy]

I've had cars in the past with space saver tyres, and latterly the tyre gloop either in manufacturer compressor/gloop packages or just cans of compressed air and gloop.

I'd thought about getting some gloop and the compressor to pump it into the tyres, except on a Tesla tyre the gloop reacts with the foam liner that EV tyres have so you have to throw the tyre away.

Plus you also need a new tyre pressure sensor afterwards - not too expensive when bought direct from Tesla shop, but still hassle.

With RAC/AA cover some of the patrol vans carry a temporary spare that can fit most cars, so that's what I'll do. Otherwise they can take the wheel/car to the nearest tyre place to have a new tyre fitted.

[GT6k]

Based on my 45 yr record of various tatty cars I would carry a spare alternator first as that has stranded me several times whilst I have never had to change a tyre on my own car away from home. And I no longer need an alternator.

[nordboy]

Hmmmm, interesting. I may invest in a compressor and some plugs then, just in case. Chuck them in the car, when I eventually get mine.

[TheDeuce]

GT6k said:

Based on my 45 yr record of various tatty cars I would carry a spare alternator first as that has stranded me several times whilst I have never had to change a tyre on my own car away from home. And I no longer need an alternator.

Indeed. I changed a tyre roadside only once, but only because back then cars carried spares and I don't think the self sealing gunk had been invented!

EV's do seem to like getting punctures on our increasingly potholed roads though, but even the most recent nasty gash that fully deflated the tyre was fixable with the gunk and held long enough for me to get booked in for a replacement at a reasonable price.

[Cobnapint]

I've always carried a reversible screwdriver, a couple of short self tapping screws and some super glue. If the slow puncture is due to a screw and the screw is still in it, I squib some glue on the thread and just screw it into the tyre. It holds for long enough to get to a safe refuge, and it doesn't write the tyre off.

Although just recently I've purchased a mushroom plug kit off Amazon. I've yet to practice with that yet though.

[nordboy]

Anyone tried the self tapping tyre repair screws?

I know they're temporary, but just having a pack of them, a compressor and a screwdriver in the car wouldn't take up much room.

[lost in espace]

My son had a puncture on the A1M and had no breakdown cover, spare or repair kit. Of course he called me to sort it out. I had a plug kit with me but couldn't see a screw or hole in the dark so I used an inflator and gunk, it worked for a minute then gave up but it allowed me to see the hole which I plugged. He has breakdown cover and a spare now. I have a Tesla now, tricky to house a spare most of my work is long distance with a boot full of kit.