Has “Punctureseal” gone belly up?

Did you reply OOI and did you say 'no' to the puncture question? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

snip

Smashing, thanks.

Car tyres don't get very warm in UK (unless under inflated). I've got an IR temp measuring gun and even after 100 miles of M-way they are less than 45°C. (I was interested in changes to partial vapour pressure in wet 100% RH tyre air from a compressor with faulty drier v's dry air / N2). Same goes for a fast twisty but only 10 mile drive.

They might get over 60°C on a hot road in a warm climate.

I've not had opportunity to measure truck tyre temps.

F1 tyre temps are somewhat different. 180 mph, 5 or so fast bends every lap with high down force and pedal to the metal acceleration/braking will see them approach 100°C.

No, I don't believe they do, just that the warmth they do gain may go towards 'curing' the sealant.

I guess they would have come to that temperature much quicker than the

100 miles though?

And what did you find OOI Peter?

Ok. We were on the tandem on a cycle camping trip (in the UK) and heard some popping sounds as we cycled along. The road surface was actually bubbling and we were bursting the little bubbles as we cycled over them. ;-(

I'm not sure (if at the correct pressures) they would get that much hotter as they have a pretty large surface area to dissipate the heat? Interesting to find out though. ;-)

Ouch! I saw Richard Hammond driving a F1 car and it was a catch 22. Going fast enough to get some heat in the tyres but you couldn't go fast (round the corners particularly) till you had some heat in the tyres. ;-)

Daughter bought me an 'Extended Rally Experience' at Brands for my

60th (nearly 2 years ago, has to extend it twice) and I only just got round to doing it this week. I'm not sure if there was much heat in the tyres but I was sweating after the 40 minutes of manicness!

I don't consider myself a fast driver but I do like to make 'good progress' ... but that doesn't normally involve going from full throttle to loads of brake (or as much as you can apply 'on the marbles').

I also wish it was explained that the handbrake was hydraulic and therefore very efficient (so not like the Meriva where you have to pass it to the rear passengers to get enough effect to stop it blowing down the road with the wind). In fact I think I would have liked half an hour on a big gravel car park to get used to the car before they pushed me hard round two different circuits over 40 minutes! ;-)

"Power power power brake handbrake power easy full lock hold it hold it hold it dab handbrake power easy power power power ..."! ;-)

Did I enjoy it? Yes, without a doubt but at the same time this 60year old with no real track / racing experience was way outside his comfort zone! Apparently I didn't do too badly though ... 3rd out of the 4 of us and I was the oldest by quite a way and the only one who had no experience etc. Combined timed lap times for the 4 of us on our two timed laps went something like 110, 102, 101 and 98 seconds.

I couldn't have gone back out till I'd had a cuppa an a lie down. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I'd like to do it again with our daughter as then she would get a better feel of exactly what you can do with the right car under expert supervision / tuition and then also have someone else who is confused by what it feels like IN the car compared with what it looks like watching the car(s) from the outside!

This was my instructor with some lady ...

You are very welcome Rob and whilst I don't want to be responsible for endorsing a product to / for someone else (should it not work for them etc) I am an advocate [1] for the Ultraseal now Punctureseal products for me and my family because of my practical experiences with it over a fairly long time now (20+ years).

The thing is, it's one of those things that if it works as hoped, you never know about it. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] As I am equally for Leatherman and Garmin stuff ... used both for years and they have never let me down. ;-)

The 'chemistry' of this stuff is interesting. I'd expect it to, eventually, 'go off' (set) within the tyre and become ineffective (ie no longer effective if you get a puncture) but your 7 year experience suggests this doesn't happen in the life of a tyre. (I doubt many tyres last longer than 7 years before being replaced due to wear.)

If you think of paint in a tin, once you've used most of it, what is left tends to 'go off' due to the ratio of paint to air in the tin- the solvent can evaporate into the air above the paint (I assume). I'd assumed that, over time, a similar situation would develop with this gunge but, either it doesn't or the time is much longer than 7 years.

It is Brian. ;-)

It doesn't seem to ... in fact, if I remember correctly the shelf life of Ultraseal was stated as being 7 years but the owner of Punctureseal has stated to me that it's now nearly indefinite.

Quite. That said (and I have no way of confirming such) is that adding Punctureseal to your tyres actually prolongs their life by several means. I understand that the plasticisers in tyre rubber need to be kept moving to ensure the tyre retains it's flexibility and that might explain why an old tyre, left unfitted would go hard, whereas the one on the vehicle would still be flexible over the same timescale. I was told that some of the chemicals in said sealant help this flexibility function and hence increases the tyre life? It's 'lubricated' from within etc?

Check.

Seems to be the case Brian.

In the same way a half used tin of grease might still retain most of it's original properties after being stood for 10 years or in an unused sealed bearing (maybe a better comparison than with paint and it's solvents etc)?

Cheers, T i m

As a point of interest, I had to replace two very expensive near new tyres due to screws close to the edge of the tread. So not repairable. My assumption being that sort of damage makes the tyre dangerous.

So how come some gunge made to seal a leak strengthens the tyre carcass to the point of safety?

Not a worry with a lawn mower. But you don't generally see them charging up the M1.

That is one of my concerns re these sealants.

Having said that, the limit on where they can apply a normal repair is due to the process they can normally do in local tyre places. If you can find someone suitably equipped/qualified, they can repair outside the normal regions. It is all a matter of cost etc.

There is also the issue of the object doing further damage. The last puncture I had, in a new tyre on a car that had done only a few hundred miles from new!, was a Philips screw. It caused a slow leak and I was able to have it repaired before any real harm was done (the joys of tyre pressure warning systems). If I'd had used the sealing stuff, while it would have stopped the leak, the screw could have gone on to do more damage to the tyre.

The situation is, in my view, partly due to the policy of no longer having at least 'space saver' spare wheels. Our Smart Car didn't have one (although we've bought one), neither did the PHEV. Ditto my wife's previous car, a Picanto. While Tim is a fan of 'gunge', I'm not and prefer to have a spare wheel, even a space saver.

Or a tyre with serious damage being sealed but not particularly safe to drive on. A slow leak is often the first time a driver realises that something may be lodged in the tyre and going for a repair establishing what damage has been done.

I've lost a tyre which had a large bolt puncture that cut the steel banding and forced the cut ends into the inner of the tyre. Outwardly the problem was a very slow loss of air and on subsequent investigation the bolt firmly stuck in the tyre.

In the real world how many people actually check their tyre pressures or for embedded debris until something obvious such as a visibly flat occurs.

So how is that any different to a tyre that has sustained damage but not a puncture?

As long as the driver actually notices the soft tyre of course. Not so easy when it's on a caravan / trailer or you are traveling at speed on a motorway and loaded (where the tyres / suspension would be 'soft' anyway).

The Mrs was driving around in the Sierra with a soft rear tyre for an unknown period and I only noticed it when she happened to pick me up from the station. 'Luckily' she wouldn't have driven it very far or fast like that and Ultraseal fixed it when we got home (we had only used it on the motorbikes before that).

There will always be the cases that aren't ideal for any solution. Personally, I feel the odds of your bolt incident compared with the std nail or screw making a small hole before flying out (or staying in) are sill so small as to be not a big issue ITRW.

Very few ... and hence why something that may prevent a slow puncture (or seal some porosity) and / or help eject a foreign object and fix the leak instantly is worth having IOHO.

Your mileage may vary and I for one am not trying to sell the idea to anyone not interested! You don't need to try to argue with me why you don't want to use it (given you haven't and I have for 20+ years etc). ;-)

However, *everone* who has used the likes of Punctureseal retrospectively and had no further issues for the remaining life of the tyre doesn't need much more persuading as to it's merits.

Cheers, T i m

How valid is that assumption I wonder? It may be that the problem lies with the repair method not being suitable close to the edge rather than the tyre being inherently dangerous.

Just speculating really but as long as the sidewall isn?t damaged I can?t really see why a puncture through the tread near the edge should automatically render a tyre dangerous. I can imagine though the a large internal patch might only be suitable to apply to a surface with a single curve. Nearer the tread edge the patch would have to be bent in two planes and would be flexed in two planes as the tyre rotate. This would put a far higher stress on the repair.

Well obviously it doesn?t but that only matters if the tyre really *is* significantly weakened.

Tim

OOI? I told them what it was. They shugged their shoulders and carried on after commenting that it seemed like a good idea, especially if you have no spare.

Tim

My car has no spare and no space to carry even a space saver without losing all the boot space (or the back seat)!

Our motorhome also has no spare and to be honest, I?m not sure that I?d be happy attempting a roadside wheel change on it anyway. Punctureseal for both these vehicles gives me considerable peace of mind and having seen how effectively it sealed my wife?s car?s puncture I?m even more reassured that it does what it says on the tin, very effectively.

I?ll probably treat my daughters? tyres (and my wife?s other three tyres) now to save them hopefully from having to deal with a puncture at the roadside.

Tim

I appreciate the problem of lack of space for a spare etc. Our Motorhome came with one but it would be a s*d to change. If nothing else, the wheels are very heavy.

The space saver sits in the gap behind the seat in Smart Car. The jack goes in the storage space in the boot lid.

I suspect my wife would call the RAC if she got a puncture, although I've shown her (and our daughters) how to change a wheel. I think they are concerned re getting the bolts/nuts done up- even though I've explained they don't need to be over tight.

Yup, with the proof very much being in the pudding. ;-)

You don't have to be do you?

There is nothing to agree or disagree on is there as I really couldn't care less if you use such a sealant or not?

From my POV (and that of the vast majority of those who have actually used it) it's like using sun cream or not ... you could be ok not using it but what do you have to lose if you do?

Ok, the odd person might be sensitive to it but in the main, it's 'a good thing'. ;-)

That's not saying that it would be a good thing for you of course, I just can't see how it's ever likely not to be (ITRW)?

But hey, you are welcome to go without ... I'm not on commission. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

;-)

Quite, even if you could etc.

Yup. Maybe everyone needs to actually witness it in action themselves before they make up their mind. That's what first drew us to it, seeing a tire 'stabbed' multiple times at the BMF show with no loss of pressure.

That's what I've done for the same reason ... because I care about them.

Cheers, T i m

You make some very good cases to support the use of such a sealant Brian. ;-)

Take just the scenario you mentioned above ... a 'common or garden' type nail / screw type puncture happening whilst they are driving or when they come back to the car after shopping or visiting friends etc.

With the sealant, they don't even know they have got a puncture and just carry on home happy and safe. ;-)

Now if you are worried about the integrity of adding such a sealant to the tyres yourself, do you think the likes of Continental would supply such a thing if it wasn't in general, better than the alternatives or was fundamentally 'unsafe'?

Again, IDC if you choose to use such sealants yourself or not (and you have no need to justify your decision either way of course), but it's not really you I would be thinking of but anyone else who might drive the vehicles and especially solo who may not be so ready to change a wheel or want to wit for someone to attend to do it for them). Not only for them (just the convenience if not the safety, directly or otherwise) but the fact that your (family) vehicles were more likely to get home safe and sound. ;-)

It would be interesting to learn how many tyres that were effectively sealed with such sealant that then went on to catastrophically fail [1] because of some other / further damage suffered at the point of the puncture.

I think for some that is about the only thing that could be considered 'a risk'?

Cheers, T i m

[1] Assuming the risk was any worse than it failing similarly at the initial point of receiving the puncture?

Out Of Interest. ;-)

Ok.

And they weren't wrong eh (so they now share our little secret). ;-)

Cheers, T i m