A number of owners asked questions yesterday about carrying a spare tyre, before I go in to detail the Tesla owners club of WA have a free to use model 3 spare for members plus McCarthy’s in Nedlands carry at least one spare for model S cars, if you have a model X get in contact and TOCWA as we also have a owner’s spare that’s available.
So do you need to carry a spare tyre?
• For around the city and suburbs the answer is NO, in fact I would recommend getting your car flat bed trucked to a tyre centre rather than risk injury changing a tyre in a city full of distracted drivers.
• If you’re driving on the busy coastal corridor that passes through Mandurah-Bunbury-Dunsborough-Augusta there’s enough support to go without a spare tyre so the choice is yours.
•If you’re planning a drive North of Jurien Bay, East of Cunderdin or South-East towards Esperance I highly suggest you carry a full size spare tyre and jack, the chances of you getting damage to a near new set of quality tyres is low but if you do get a tyre failure the consequences can be very expensive and extremely frustrating.
Carrying a tyre repair kit is NOT sufficient, these are only useful for plugging small holes caused by tech screws, most tyre damage in regional areas is caused by a very rare but unavoidable pothole or a foreign object that’s fallen off another vehicle.
What about a space saver spare? For country roads these are crap, I can’t see the point of driving at slow speed for up to 300kms to the next town only to spend the next 3 days hanging around waiting for a replacement tyre to be transported in, best to carry a full size spare with plenty of remaining tread that will allow you to enjoy a stress free journey.
Hi, I’ve had 2 flats in my P3D+ in the last year and fortunately I was metro both times. Is the TOCWA spare suitable for the 20” wheels?
Hi Lisa
Yes, TOCWA have a spare for both 18 ad 20 inch replacements. Following on to my reply to Christian who also has P3D it may be useful to keep an eye out for a set of 2nd 20 inch wheels that can be divided amongst 4 owners, for the time being if you need a spare for a long country trip contact the TOCWA Secretary who keeps the spare wheels/tyres and cables needed. secretary@tocwa.org.au
Rob.
What about a model 3 performance if you just want to carry a spare, should 4 of us club together and by a set from Tesla or is there an after market provider in Oz or overseas that do single wheels or a set ?
Hi Christian
A number of other model 3P owners have discussed collectively buying a set of 2nd hand 20 inch wheels when they become available, keep an eye out on the TOCWA Facebook group. In the mean time if you need assistance before a long country trip contact the TOCWA Secretary- secretary@tocwa.org.au
Rob.
Question: Is there another car brand wheel that will fit the Tesla 3. I hae seen posts that suggest its a common fitting size and the HRV or Jackaroo wheel will fit? It would be nice to have confirmation.
We don’t want to tackle a lengthy country trip without a spare.
Cheers,
Chris
A space saver spare kit is available in the US. Google “Modern Spare” .Why not here? Has anyone inquired?
Yes – the Club has one of these for loan
Hi, are there any 19inch tyres for loan? T3LR
We don’t have a 19″, but we do have an 18″ which will fit as a spare, and also a spacesaver
I have a 2015 Model S. Is it possible to buy/use a non-Tesla made full size wheel (19”) as a spare for country trips?
Yes – there are a number of rims that will fit a Model S – they share the same pattern as Holden Commodores, so many rims will fit.
Hi. I’m looking to buy a spare wheel for my new Model 3 with 19″ rims. I’m only planning to carry it on country trips so anything that fits will do.
McCarthy’s in Nedlands is mentioned in the discussion on spares but an online search doesn’t find them.
We’re heading down to Busselton on the 21st for the weekend so hoping to have something organised by then.
Any assistance much appreciated.
Thanks, Dave.
The Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia have spare wheels available for long trips if you are a member. In the TOCWA Facebook Group there is a subgroup called TOCWA Trading Post (beta) which sometimes have wheels for sale. I believe McCarthy’s in Nedlands has loaner Model S wheels, not sure about Model 3. Regards, Rob
To be on the safe side I decided to go with a full-size spare for travel out of Perth. You need a 19″x8.5″ 5/114.3 rim. I got mine from Jax; they have a good rim selector. You can get them anywhere though.
It does take up a lot of room in the boot but with only 2 traveling that’s not a problem.
What type of jack would you recommend? Can not see much on the web other than the workshop trolley jacks which are going to be too big to carry. Bottle jack, scissor jack? How do they interface with the pucks or get a jack that can marry into the jack point?
Hi James, due to the low clearance a minimum 2000kg scissor jack is the best option, although if you can get a low clearance trolley jack and have the room I would carry that. Jacking up a car on hot day on a busy country road needs to be done as quickly as possible. For a busy road in the city, using roadside assistance is safer.