Tyre repair kits

I'm wondering if there's still a place for the old tyre repair kits like this one.

XtremeAuto® CAR VAN TYRE TIRE PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT WITH 10 STRIPS

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I've never used one but imagine that it could be a useful "backup" if one is anywhere remote or stuck without a spare.

Anyone got any experience?

Tim

Reply to
Tim+
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Certainly they can work on a puncture, not a recommended repair, though it could get you out of trouble, you do of course still need an air supply to blow it back up. I would prefer a spare wheel. Or a tin of finilec, or a mobile phone and the RAC.

The quickest way to plug a small hole (something gone in and come out) is to put a suitable fatness self tapper in the hole. But punctures like that are rare in normal use.

Reply to
MrCheerful

My missus had a bad puncture, and called out the AA. It cost her £50 to register her car (she'd forgotten for the last two years to replace her old one with the new one), and a £110 bill to call out a mobile tyre bloke to fit some anonymous brand tyre and destroy a wheel locking nut. He couldn't find the nut key in the glove compartment because the dealer had put it in a black velvet pouch. She still won't let me show her how to change a wheel for a spare.

I'm not sure that we'll renew the AA this year - it's costing a fortune. Maybe there are alternatives?

Reply to
Dan S. MacAbre

Ehem, the 'quickest way' (to plug a small hole, something gone in and out) is:

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Again, I think they are less rare if you have (or something like, but I recommend (no connection)) Punctureseal.

Because the gel is just inside the tread, as soon as something penetrates the inside of the tyre, the movement of the tyre and the air pressure inside it tend to force the sealant out around the object, lubricating it and allowing it to come out quicker / easier than if there was no such stuff in the tyre (and before any further damage is done).

From those who have had Punctureseal in their tyres pre-puncture, generally never see what cased the puncture, just a small tell-tale dot, indicating where the gel has plugged the hole.

I really is good stuff and I'm (we're) especially reassured that all our vehicles are treated with it, because the people driving them aren't always ready, willing or able to deal with a puncture (especially in a difficult / dangerous location, at night and / or in the rain etc).

To me it's just as important as having AA etc.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m
[...]

What sort of AA cover has she got that requires her car to be registered?

Standard AA cover if for you; it doesn't matter what car you are travelling in, even if you are not the driver.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

And ... do you haggle? I normally get ~50% off after a quick haggle ... partly because I've only rarely called them out over the 30 years I've been with them and even then it was for other peoples or family members cars (mates SL65 with a failed alternator or daughters van with a failed FI CPU).

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

I just used inner tube patches stuck on the inside of the tire.

Reply to
Graham T

My RAC membership went up a lot, so I rang and complained and they knocked it down by 60 quid. so mine is about 70 quid for wife and me.

Reply to
MrCheerful

Done well, that works great, and in the past I often did exactly that. But bead breaking and tyre removal, suitable abrasion, patches, glue and compressed air are going a bit far for putting in a corner of the boot. The modern version of the patch includes a rubber spike that goes through the puncture hole, that stops water and muck getting in the hole and rusting/rotting the cords and generally causing grief.

Reply to
MrCheerful

I had a look and it looks interesting, especially as I have two vehicles with no spare. It ain?t cheap though and I expect one of them to chew through front tyres pretty darned quickly (Mini Cooper S) it could be a fairly regular ongoing expense. (No room even for a spacesaver before anyone asks. Well, other than the back seat.)

Possibly more useful for the motorhome which is unlikely to wear out its current set of tyres in our ownership but as they?re pretty big tyres, it?s going to be pretty pricey again. Still, as it?ll be a ?one off? cost hopefully, easier to justify.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

I think my ratio is about 1 repair to "sorry, that tyre's scrap". And this is not for tyres which have been driven flat.

Reply to
newshound

It is, it's good stuff and works very well, even when used retrospectively. ;-)

Yup, a reason enough on it's own.

I think you need to extrapolate the cost compared with the inconvenience (of dealing with a puncture conventionally) and the risk incurred when you get a puncture in the first place (other than when you come out your house and find it flat there).

Sure, but when it only adds say £7 / tyre for it's life and that life could be extended over a tyre without.

;-)

Again, possibly not if you offset the cost to the inconvenience of a puncture or the consequences or running a slowly deflating tyre over a long period and having it overheat and blow out?

Quite, and although it's not specifically 'recommended' by the manufacturer, you can (and I have), scrape the stuff out of a tyre and put it into another. ;-)

It doesn't freeze, it doesn't corrode the rims, it's water soluble when unset (so you can just wash it out with a garden hose and it leaves the tyre completely clean) and is self balancing.

It's also good for some fairly large holes (up to 6mm I think they say) and *won't* attempt to fix a bigger hole, or a hole in the sidewall that could make the tyre dangerous (it's not magic, just science / centripetal force). ;-)

My first exposure to it was at the BMF at Peterborough, many many years ago. A guy had the front wheel of a motorbike in a stand so that he could spin it round and would stick a fairly large bradawl into the tire, spin it round a few times (as would happen if you were riding etc) and then stop the wheel and show the place where the hole was made (as seen by a small quantity of the goop that had oused out and then blocked the hole). The tyre was literally peppered with these little dots but was still holding a good pressure.

Much to the surprise, some big hairy biker leant between the people watching and literally stabbed a fairly large knife into the tyre, accompanied with 'let's see how it handles this'!

The guy span the wheel again and although there was a bit more goop seen on the tyre than before, it did indeed seal the hole.

Many of the members of the BMW club I was active with at the time tried it and most swore by it (and it either saved them suffering a puncture or saved them from a catastrophic air loss by slowing a big leak down enough to slow and get to safety).

Because there are few (if any) negatives to using it, other than the 'cost', we first used it in the motorbikes and trailers, as a puncture in either could really spoil your day (and with a trailer / caravan a slow puncture could allow you to tow the trailer quite a distance with a soft tyre before you noticed it).

Now we have it in all our vehicles, simply because. ;-)

We did start off using the smaller bottles (on the motorbikes / trailers) but more recently bought it in the bigger container as that does 3/4 vehicles and brings the price down / vehicle (and bought the plastic pump as that also makes it easier to install).

We have to get some more as daughter has just fitted a new set of tyres on her van and would rather be driving it than changing wheels (even though she can / has, when she replaced all 4 tryes recently).

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I have also used it retrospectively on about 5-6 tyres now and all stayed fine until the tyre was replaced when worn out. The first was on the Sierra Estate (that's how long we have been using the stuff) and when the Mrs picked me up from the station. As she drove off (with me in the back) I heard the anti static strap touching the road (the car was a bugger for static in the summer), which it didn't typically do. I got her to stop, and had a quick look around and noticed one rear tyre about half flat (self tapper screw stuck in the tread)[1]. I pumped it up, we drove home and I installed the sealant and took the car round the block. The tyre was still holding air many many years later when I finally scrapped it (and took the wheels off and gave them to a mate). ;-)

Similar story with our current car (about 2 years ago) and again, no issues .. and 3 fairly big motorbikes. ;-)

[1] I think I would have noticed the soft tyre but the Mrs obviously didn't so who knows how long she might have driven on it otherwise.
Reply to
T i m

Try that at the side of the road. ;-)

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Well if it was that little it wouldn't be a problem but on Amazon anyway it looks a lot more expensive. Looking nearer £70 to treat 4 tyres (440ml per tyre). That's a lot more than £7 per tyre.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Hmm. I don't remember it being quite so expensive and didn't do it so long ago?

Still, looking at the bigger container (as we were doing most of our vehicles anyway) and the size of tyres we are typically talking about on our vehicles it isn't far off the 7 quid per tyre I thought I remembered and so £32 per car for such a peace of mind is still fairly good to me (just a cheap takeaway for 4 these days)?

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4.6L / £114, so ~2.5p / ml?

A (Corsa) 175/65/14 requires 325ml = 325x2.5 = around 8 each or £32 / car and yours are more expensive at £44 for all 4.

£44 to potentially not have to be stuck on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway at night and in the rain ..? ;-)

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I did also notice they say:

"Trade buyers

If you have multiple vehicles, or you have a tractor or commercial lorry/truck, then you are a Trade customer."

... but I'm not sure if that really means what it says (can't hurt to ask I guess).

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And / or it might be worth seeing if you can split the bigger container with someone or consider it will do your car 2.6 times (and the fronts probably wear out faster than the rears)? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

I don't know, but when the bloke turned up, her new-ish car wasn't covered, but the one we scrapped two years ago was.

Reply to
Dan S. MacAbre

Okay, well when it's up for renewal, we'll have to 'discuss it' with them.

Reply to
Dan S. MacAbre

Well, it looks like I can do my motorhome and car for £120 all in which is worth it for a bit more piece of mind. The motorhome especially is a bit of a worry with the hassles of waiting for breakdown, finding the right size tyres and the frankly scary thought of a blow-out due to an unspotted slow puncture followed by some high speed motorway driving. As the tyres will probably rot off before they wear out the cost is less of a factor too.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+
[...]

Sure that was AA? It sounds much more like Green Flag cover, where the car is covered, not the driver.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Yup. She's only ever used the AA. I have the most recent renewal on my desk waiting until a time when I have the time and the energy to go through it and work out why it costs as much as it does.

Reply to
Dan S. MacAbre

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