Do you carry a tyre pump

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Scott3

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#2935958 29-Jun-2022 14:00

I don't carry a pump one in my SUV which has a full size spare.

I do have one of the below (85L/min 12v comperesser, 40A fuse) in my garage which I will put the boot along with recovery boards, snatch strap, shackles etc if I plan to go on the beach, or somewhere where I may need to air down the tires (the AWD system in my SUV is very weak so it needs all the help it can get). My boot space is too important to me to carry this kinda stuff all the time.

https://www.repco.co.nz/en/4x4-adventure-escape/4x4-offroad/12v-air-compressors-portable-air-compressors/repco-12v-heavy-duty-air-compressor-single-cylinder-150psi-rac085/p/A1236710

My Leaf doesn't have a spare (or run flats). Came with a jack and tire iron for some reason, but the factory compressor / goo were missing. I replaced these with used ones from trade me (Continental ContiMobilityKit). Suits the factory Velcro straps.

Goo is well expired, and doesn't available in NZ (but I could have one shipped from the UK for NZ$125 if I really wanted).

Would really rather not use the goo anyway. Hear it takes a lot of time for the people at the tire center to clean out of the tires.

Personally don't consider tire deflation vandalism a huge risk. Think that a very small number of incidents have attracted disproportionate media attention as it is highly emotive (hence attracting a lot of clicks and $$). So I don't think it is work defending against. And a little compressor will do nothing to a tire with a slashed sidewall, or a tire so flat the bead has unseated.

I have done a lot of driving and have never needed to change a tire on the roadside. Have once in a previous car notices a tire a bit flat on returning to it, and pumped it up with a cheap 12v compressor I had in the boot, but I could have just driven to the petrol station as the tire wasn't too bad, or alternatively fitted the spare tire.

Only time's I would have insisted on having a spare was when i needed to enter a massive private forestry block to go to a power station, and when I when I was on Chatham island (both work related).

I do have tow ropes, shackles, tire gauges (for deflation to get unstuck), and lithium jump packs in both cars (plus jumper leads in the SUV).

Reminder to everybody to check / top up pressure in their spare tires if they carry one (and not a compressor). A flat spare tire is no use. Note that space savers spare tires often need really high pressures (cira 60psi), will be marked on them.

[edit] - as a side note many newer car's have tire pressure monitoring system's. My car's don't, but if yours do, it gives a useful early warning of a soft tire, hopefully allowing you to keep the tire with a slow leak inflated, rather than letting it get so soft that the sidewall gets damaged.

Scott3

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#2936008 29-Jun-2022 15:16

on 12v stuff in general, not to much issue running it on any car.

Turn the car on, and the alternator (or DC-DC converter on electric / hybrid cars) will be boosting the voltage, and will be able to supply far more current that most 12V accessories will draw. As such the size / chemistry of the 12v battery doesn't really matter.

There is a cross over around 10 - 12A where stuff goes from a cigarette lighter fitting to crocodile clips. Note that many cars cigarette lighter fittings on fuses that are less than cigarette lighter accessories max out at, so this is something to check.

Obviously running of the car's 12v system gives a near endless energy source, compared to battery powered stuff.

Other than a compressor (manual tire pump's are bulky and take a very long time), I personally would favor manual jacks / wrenches for emergency use. Cheap, highly reliable & very rarely used.

jonathan18:

Thanks for all the comments (and opinions!); I'm still kinda keen on this (if it's suitable) as it kills two birds with one stone.

In regards to stability: as I'm no off-roader, I imagine the most likely non-flat area I'd be needing to lift the car would be the side of a rural road, so I get that could be a potential issue. Would carrying a (relatively small) flat sheet of ply or similar to put under it potentially help with stability?

As for height, yeah it's hard to know if this would provide enough without actually testing it; it's not helped by the specs in the manual, which actually provides two sets of measurements (whatever is an 'update item'? New version of the product?):

I've read reports of ground clearance for the Model Y of 167mm, so I'd have hoped that would have been adequate, even on the 'common item' measurement?

https://assets.kogan.com/files/usermanuals/CT3TRTKEJWA_CT3TRTKEBKA_UG_V1.1.pdf

Note that the jack specifies "Max. loading car weight 1500kg", the model Y is around 2000kg Empty (for the RWD), also note, like most uni-body cars it has very specific jacking points.

In regard to the model Y, the key question is what you are trying to achieve.

Car does not come with a spare tire

Lug nut specified torque is abnormally high (156Nm) - for comparison a 200 series land-cruiser is 131 Nm

Most cars without spare tires come with either run flat tires (most BMW's, excl i3), or a fix a flat kit (little 12v compressor and goo). I think tesla no longer does, so if you want that ability you would need to buy it individually.

Without a spare tire, most people would have a crack at pumping the tire up (most leaks are slow, so simply pumping at regular intervals will get you to a workshop). If this fails most people would made a decision between calling for help and trying the goo (may not work, but will can damage tire pressure sensors, and create a lot of work to clean the tire out, if even possible on tires with acoustic foam inside).

If you are calling for roadside rescue, no need for any tool's as they will bring what is needed (or a tow truck to take the car to a workshop)

A jack and appropriate wrench (need to be big for a Tesla due to the lug nut torque), gives you the flexibility to remove the wheel, and call a taxi / friend to take you to a tire repair shop, which could work out cheaper and faster than calling a roadside rescue service. But that is about the only advantage. Would need to weigh this up with the cost / space loss / extra weight of carrying a jack and wrench.

does also give the option of attempting a temporary tire repair like the one below, but generally such kit would only be used with off road driving.

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/sca-sca-8-piece-tyre-repair-kit/130242.html?cgid=SCN01040703#start=2

Of course buying your own spare wheel & tire is an option, but consumes quite a bit of cargo space if you are going to carry it inside the carry. (likely a prudent option if you are going to spend a lot of time on forestry roads etc)

A left field option is to get a spare, jack & wrench and keep them at home. Means no extra weight or loss of storage space, but you have the option if catching a taxi home to get it (if urban), or getting a friend / family member run it out to you in the rare event it is needed.

Longer term I expect to see nationwide coverage of roadside puncture repair services. These are allready common for big rig trucks (which rarely carry spares as they add cost and cut into payload - many big rigs run multiple tire sizes, and obviously need very large jacks & tools to change tires).

Something like roadside Tirepowers roadside puncture service, but with nationwide coverage. I imagine they turn up in their van to the road side, jack up, remove wheel, take into van, identify leak, demount wheel from tire, do a permanent puncture repair (from the inside), remount tire and refit wheel. Truck version of the service carries a bunch of common tire sizes in case the tire is beyond repair.

https://www.tyrepower.co.nz/stores/otahuhu-tyrepower-mobile-tyre-service/#

richms

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#2936053 29-Jun-2022 16:40

I bought a fitting that screws onto the scissor jack where the stupid stock handle goes and has a nut on it for the uggadugga to be able to make it go up/down. Of course sods law says it would be a different nut size to my wheel nuts, which is different again to the locknut adapter size so need to have all the sockets with me in the car too.

Richard rich.ms

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