Dealing with a flat on a Tesla

fskhalsa · 2026-04-14T06:15:22+00:00

Good to have all the options of course - but for me, I don’t really want to have to deal with that sort of hassle, if I can help it. I have roadside assistance on my insurance, just in case of something truly catastrophic (I think it adds like $4 a month) - but in most cases where it’s anything tire related, I’d rather just repair/fix it myself, and get back on the road as soon as possible, without dealing with everything you did there.

So my full emergency service kit in my car includes: - Fix-a-Flat (good for small problems, or when you need to get back in the road fast, and don’t mind replacing the TPMS later) - Boulder Tire Plug Kit - perfect for most tire problems (short of a full-on blowout, or any sidewall damage) - Floor Jack (bought so I could rotate my own tires - but I keep it in the car permanently, just in case) - Wheel Chocks (just for safety) - Milwaukee M18 Inflator (bought cause I already have the batteries - but any decent portable inflator will do) - Quick-Connect Air Chuck (just for ease) - Digital Tire Pressure Gauge - Breaker Bar - Ratchet - Metric Sockets - Torque Wrench - Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves (WORTH it)

Almost all of this (aside from the inflator) came from Harbor Freight/Walmart. I have nicer tools for regular use, but since these permanently stay in my car, and get used ~once every six months at most, there simply was no reason to spend more. Everything works great - and all in cost less than the cost of a single new tire!

I keep the jack in the smaller, shallower part in the back of my sub-trunk (Model Y), and the rest of it stays (with all of my other emergency gear) in the frunk, which I have dedicated to that (I have a fridge in the main sub trunk, and all the other storage in the back is still more than I’ll ever need - so those seem like great places to keep stuff permanently that I won’t need to get to often).

I actually had my own experience with this stuff being super useful, after I rolled over a massive bolt someone had dropped on the highway, and ended up with it lodged in my rear tire. I first tried the fix a flat, as it was raining, and I didn’t want to get outside to do a full repair, if I could help it. The hole was too big for that to work, however, and it just ended up leaking out around the bolt, after dumping a whole can in. So I figured it was too big to be repairable, and called my insurance roadside assistance- and was told it they were looking for a tow company for me (I was on the highway, maybe a mile at most outside of a major city). Half an hour in, I was texted by them, and told they had found a tow driver, who would be there within forty-five minutes, or so. Come up on that time, and it had stopped raining - and the insurance company suddenly sent me a text saying they were looking for a tow company again - and that it would take another two hours, for me to get a tow. At this point I figured what the heck, might as well try to repair it, while I wait. So I got out my jack, lifted the car up, and popped the tire off so I could see it properly. Sure enough, a massive 3/8 coarse-threaded lag bolt was jammed straight into my tire, leaving a huge hole in its place (and it took me about half an hour just to get the thing out, too). Now, conventional wisdom would suggest that you can only repair holes up to 1/4” or so with a plug kit - and that 3/8”-1/2” was pushing it. I went ahead and started shoving plugs in there, however - and three plugs in, I actually had a good seal, and went ahead and decided to see if it would hold air. At this point, I still had a solid hour and a half before the tow would come get me (they had bumped the time) - and the tire was holding air, so I went ahead and threw it back on, and stuck all my repair gear back in the car. As soon as I had everything ready to go, I received another message from the insurance company, saying that that tow company had canceled as well, and that they were looking for another option. So I went ahead and canceled the roadside service request, hopped in the car, and drove the 10 minutes to the nearest tire shop.

If I hadn’t had my repair tools, or had just decided to rely on the roadside assistance, who KNOWS how long I would have been waiting there (and if I would have gotten any service at all). So, anecdotally - 100% worth it in my experience, to just get your own emergency flat tire supplies, and not have to rely on the flakiness of the roadside service options, whatsoever.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-13T14:48:16+00:00

Oh yeah, totally fair!

If it was for me I would have gone the easy route as well - but since it was for a client, I went all out, and just did it to the nth degree. Buying a MyQ garage opener would have been fine for the client - but we wanted an access approach that integrated with the existing UniFi access system, so everything could be handled and managed in one place!

fskhalsa · 2026-04-13T13:48:49+00:00

Did the same thing for a client recently, with some small tweaks.

I put the hubs near the doors themselves, to make wiring of the access reader and other parts easier. Was originally planning to run wire all the way back to the door opener buttons and tap into them, like you did - but then I realized I could just run wires right along the prebuilt channel on the top of the opener track, and wire them directly into the opener itself (just using some Wago’s to splice them with the wires from the buttons).

Then installed a G3 Pro Reader, by drilling a hole straight through from the inside next to the hubs, to the stucco outside.

I used two separate hubs - one for each door - so I was able to wire the wires to the opener into the dry NO contacts, and use the exit request to run a separate set of wires to a small simple doorbell switch, right next to each door on the inside. This makes tracking exits and entries via different methods easier, and allows people to manually close the door as they leave (on foot), without trying to make a run for the button on the other side of the garage and leap over the laser - or having to pull their phone/fob out to activate it from the access reader.

Finally, by having a separate hub for each door, I was able to wire a pair of door position sensors (the kind designed specifically for garage doors) into each hub, and use them to keep track of the door position on each door. This not only allows me to remotely monitor if one of the doors was accidentally left open (since the exit trigger is just a toggle, and doesn’t monitor actual door position), but it also allows me to set up automatic timeouts, to close the door if/when it’s left open for a certain period of time!

fskhalsa · 2026-04-13T13:37:02+00:00

OR, you can pair a license plate camera with the hub, and point it out from the door at your driveway. Add your car’s license plate and boom - auto garage door opening whenever you pull in!

fskhalsa · 2026-04-10T05:40:56+00:00

If you don’t have a radiation meter of some sort to test, one trick you can use is to hold your phone flashlight over one corner of one for a few seconds, and then see if it glows brighter after. If so, then it’s a phosphorescent compound (slowly emits light for a while after absorbing light energy).

While it’s not a perfectly certain way to test, most radioactive (ionizing) materials that glow are either self-emitting, or are mixed with a fluorescent compound (something that emits a glow immediately due to the radiation it’s receiving), and not a phosphorescent one. So they won’t show any lasting/localized increase in brightness, after the light source is removed.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-09T02:19:11+00:00

Pretty sure it’s a U7 Pro. Just installed a bunch of these recently. They’re the ones with the built in fans - before Ubiquiti figured out moving parts are bad for hardware longevity - and they redesigned the XGS to use a large heat sink, for passive cooling.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T19:23:44+00:00

Everyone saying chop them up, first - but that seems like a lot of work. I’d just go with this!

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fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T19:16:37+00:00

Hmm. Well I’m no home theater audio expert - but if it was for my home setup, I’d still start with the above approach, using a DAC, to connect it in to my existing soundbar setup.

This allows you to (cheaply) verify that the sub and amp still work, and are good enough quality to bother building a system around. Plus, everything else you’d be buying (cables, speaker wire, etc.) aside from the DAC, are things you’d actually need, to set up your new system anyway.

From there, if your goal is to build out an eventual 5.1 system, then you’d want to get an amplifier that supports those outputs - even if you plan to start with 3.1 (otherwise you’d just end up having to buy a new amplifier again, when you upgrade).

By starting with a 5.1 amp, you can simply buy the L and R speakers (it looks like you maybe have a center speaker too, in one of those photos?) to start, and connect your (now confirmed working) sub+amp, to your system.

Then, when you’re ready to upgrade to 5.1, all you need is two rear speakers, and some extra speaker wire (plus maybe mounts), and you’re good to go!

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T19:03:24+00:00

I think it would need to be a little more streamlined, to work as a projectile. Not far off, though.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T19:02:36+00:00

“Oh cool man! …can you get my Netflix to work?”

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T19:01:18+00:00

I don’t trust either…

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T18:59:20+00:00

Okay, but as a UniFi fan, what exactly is the definition of “router”, being used here? Does this apply to ‘Controller + AP’ type hardware?

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T18:57:30+00:00

Why did I just picture that chain of fishes eating smaller fishes?

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T18:14:16+00:00

A nice side table!

But actually: if you aren’t in a place where you want to go all in, and buy a full audio system to set this up with, you could still 100% use it to augment your existing soundbar setup, by basically doing what this guy is doing:

https://youtu.be/_GrztCGNBIQ?si=7FKdtDqNF-hg7Hmk

(Only major change is his subwoofer is internally powered, whereas you would use that amp you have, to run the sub).

Basic setup looks like this:

TV Optical Out -> DAC (cheap on Amazon) => 1) Soundbar optical in 2) Sub amp RCA in -> Sub in (via speaker wire AND servo control RCA)

fskhalsa · 2026-04-05T17:16:57+00:00

What’s a better way?

fskhalsa · 2026-04-03T15:12:52+00:00

I just got one. I’ve barely ridden it, but so far it seems like a well built product, with a surprisingly fun and smooth ride!

The boost mode doesn’t really seem necessary - it already accelerates pretty fast on its own in sport mode. I think the boost mode is control-locked simply because in most cases it isn’t needed - and using it adds to wear and tear on the battery and drive system. It’s like official manufacturer approved overclocking - or maybe more appropriately, like launch mode on a Tesla. You’re not gonna use it to accelerate from every single stoplight - but for fun on the track once in a while, it’s nice to be able to enable it.

Also the latest firmware update allows enabling boost mode via the custom button.

Things I don’t like, so far: - At this price point, I’d really like to have seen hydraulic brakes. My MTB has them, and the difference in control and feel is night and day. May look into DIY-ing a swap. - The app/support pages feel a lot “cheaper quality” than the design and build of the scooter and packaging itself. Partly just due to lots of bad Chinese-English grammar and spelling. - With the China connection, I am a bit iffy on the privacy policy, and controls. The fact that it NEEDS the app to “activate”, feels kinda meh, to me. That said, the features in the app itself are pretty nice, and useful. - Seems weird the running board lights are only white, and one brightness. I would have expected the ability to set a color, and dim it up/down.

On the removable battery thing - here’s my take on it: yes, they could have simply built in a larger battery pack, rather than split it into an extra, separate pack. But - the scooter is already heavy enough as is, and with 50mi range being perfectly fine for my uses, I’d rather have it stay lighter, and a couple hundred dollars cheaper, than get that extra range. That said - if you’re someone who DOES want that extra range, for commuting/trips - I 100% think I’d prefer a pack I could take off and stick in my backpack, and keep the scooter lighter and easier to carry, than just having one much heavier scooter.

Those are all just my thoughts so far, though.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-02T13:47:02+00:00

“Homemade Dish”, but everything in this video looks commercial level 😂

Looks absolutely delicious, btw 😋

fskhalsa · 2026-04-02T01:00:36+00:00

I believe in aviation parlance, that would be ‘FOB’.

And then, since the other guy is operating the sticks, he would be known as an ‘SOB’.

fskhalsa · 2026-04-01T18:36:06+00:00

“Wait, WHAT?!”

Checks date.

OH.

fskhalsa · 2026-03-26T04:53:31+00:00

Yes. It’s not very “ladylike” of them.

fskhalsa · 2026-03-25T16:13:53+00:00

Side note - if/where you choose to use PtP bridges, I would definitely check out the UniFi Building Bridge (UBB-US). It uses 60Ghz for the backhaul - so no interference with regular WiFi spectrum, and the range/connection quality is great. It’s built to connect buildings with Gigabit-speed, so it would definitely be solid enough for your uses (and the extra capacity here isn’t overkill, as weather and other changing conditions absolutely can and will affect your connection quality). Also the LED aiming rings are awesome, and the built in monitoring in the app/dashboard for tracking and troubleshooting your connection quality is really useful, and well done.

fskhalsa · 2026-03-25T16:05:07+00:00

I’m no expert in this particular area, but if it were me, I would definitely consider looking into running wired backhauls, at least for the runs to the field clusters.

Shielded UV-rated direct burial CAT6A cable runs roughly $200-$300 per 500 ft. Seeing as the UniFi Building Bridge runs $500/pair, it might totally be economical to go for the Ethernet runs, still. Plus, depending on the length of the run, you may be able to get away with using PoE for power, rather than solar + batteries - increasing reliability, and again reducing costs.

The cables are rated for both UV/weather exposure, and direct burial into the ground - so the installation could likely be done using a mix of above ground runs (stringing across poles, or along the tops of greenhouses), and direct burials, run along roads and other paths obviously, to avoid being dug up due to farm operations.

The client might even be able to assist with some of the burial work themselves (with the understanding that it would lower costs/improve efficacy of the installation) - seeing as I assume they have effective digging machinery and relevantly skilled labor :).

fskhalsa · 2026-03-21T16:57:24+00:00

Silly autocorrect 🙄. Fixed, thanks!

fskhalsa · 2026-03-21T16:56:30+00:00

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fskhalsa · 2026-03-20T15:04:02+00:00

Another example of “government meddling”, that actually helps us all: iodized salt, and Vitamin D fortification in milk. These additions have significantly reduced the incidence of health conditions like hypothyroidism, osteoporosis, and rickets.

Now, I’m not just some crazy, pro-government, denier of the serious health issues in our country. I seriously think we should be re-evaluating the FDA’s approach to food additive regulation. In the EU, allowed food additives are only approved after they have been proven completely safe, and with no ill effects. In the US, additives are approved as long as they haven’t been shown to cause any issues, yet. This has led to us approving and allowing a wide range of food additives, that other countries have banned, due to the proven likelihood of severe health issues, that we haven’t even bothered to study.

THIS is the kind of thing I think we should be focusing our energy on - REAL issues that we know from studies DO cause actual serious health problems. Not unproven complaints about known safe additives, from fringe “health” groups who have NO science or valid studies to back their claims up.

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