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Flat tire- Run flat tires?
I took delivery of my Model S last March and I love it so far, it has been fantastic! Unfortunately I had a flat tire yesterday, and the Tesla roadside assistance was excellent in general. They came with a spare wheel and swapped out my wheel, took it to the nearest service center and the service center has replaced the tire. Tomorrow a Tesla service valet is bringing the tire to my house to install it with the new tire and take back the loaner wheel/tire. Talk about service.
The only complaint I have on the roadside assistance is they quoted to be there in an hour or less, then after 50 minutes they called and said it would be more like 90 minutes until they arrive (another 40 minutes). I had a meeting to get to and this was frustrating. They handled it well and sent an Uber that they paid for to get me to my meeting.
One question I have: Why don't Teslas have run flat tires? Given there is no spare tire in the car this would make a lot of sense I think. I am not very familiar with run flat tires but the service station I spoke to while I was waiting for roadside assistance said many high end cars now have run flat tires.
The only complaint I have on the roadside assistance is they quoted to be there in an hour or less, then after 50 minutes they called and said it would be more like 90 minutes until they arrive (another 40 minutes). I had a meeting to get to and this was frustrating. They handled it well and sent an Uber that they paid for to get me to my meeting.
One question I have: Why don't Teslas have run flat tires? Given there is no spare tire in the car this would make a lot of sense I think. I am not very familiar with run flat tires but the service station I spoke to while I was waiting for roadside assistance said many high end cars now have run flat tires.
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Comments
1. Noisy
2. Expensive
3. Rough ride
4. More prone to punctures
5. Wear faster
But that's just with an odyssey. Maybe other tires are better.
Just carry a spray repair kit, enjoy the quieter, better ride.
I would never get run flats again.
Plus - they only should only be driven short distances with no air. I had a flat last Sunday and needed to drive 400 miles to get home. The loaner wheel and tire from Tesla Roadside Assistance worked great and got us home with only a few hour delay. My only issue has been that retrieving my wheel and tire is taking longer than it should.
Try to avoid using the cans of sealant goop, if you can. It makes quite a mess for the service folks when the tire is repaired or replaced.
> Run flats suck. Noisy, rough riding, and don't handle as well. I had them on 2 BMW's and they were horrible.
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> Plus - they only should only be driven short distances with no air. I had a flat last Sunday and needed to drive 400 miles to get home. The loaner wheel and tire from Tesla Roadside Assistance worked great and got us home with only a few hour delay. My only issue has been that retrieving my wheel and tire is taking longer than it should.
Respectfully, while the Bridgestone RFT tires commonly used as OEM on BMW and Mini cars are notoriously noisy, rough riding, and heavier than comparable size tires, as you said, which makes unsprung weight excessive, a number of Pirelli RFT tires have none of those issues. The Pirelli P7 touring tire and the Pirelli SottoZero 3 are both available as run-flats, and no noisier, rougher riding, or heavier than comparable touring or winter tires. I've used Pirelli run-flats for years on one of my cars after the tire valve removal tool that you must have in order to use tire sealant with an air pump, crumbled in my hands at the side of the road, and like the original poster, I was stuck, waiting for hours, with my wife and daughter, trapped on the shoulder of the road. In my case, I had two flats, and no way to fix either one of them. At that point, I resolved to always use run-flats on that car, and I have, ever since.
The purpose of a run-flat is to let it be used in lieu of a space saver spare, without the trouble of having to change it. As you note, they should be used without pressure for a maximum of 50 miles at a maximum of 50mph, which is to say that you can safely get off the highway and get to a repair shop instead of risking your life to change the tire on the shoulder while cars pass by within feet of you.
I am told that Continental also makes excellent RFT tires, although their RFT tires didn't initially come in the size I needed, which is why I went with Pirelli.
> ... As you note, they should be used without pressure for a maximum of 50 miles at a maximum of 50mph ...
I wonder if that 50 miles at 50 mph holds for a car as heavy (and powerful) as a Tesla? Maybe 40 and 40 would be more appropriate?