21 replies to this topic

[iNath]

I’m not sure if the compressor supplied by Ford works without the bottle attached, if it does great, if not I would recommend anyone to consider spending around £10 or less at Halfords, Argos etc on a small compressor and keep it in the boot of your car.

I can confirm the Ford compressor works fine without the gunk

[Magenta]

Looking at things from a different view

Most punctures are caused by
1) not maintaining the correct tyre pressure
2) nails or other debris in the road
blow outs due to side wall damage is very rare, unless the tyre is old or you constantly hit kerbs while parking etc and most punctures are a slow deflation of the tyre over a period of hours rather than an instant.
With this in mind and before you grab the bottle of ‘gunk’ or even the wheel jack you should try to re-inflate the tyre.

Several years ago I bought a cheap 12v compressor from Argos that plugs in to the power outlet/cigarette lighter and has come in handy on several occasions to inflate the tyre to enable me to drive home or to a garage where the puncture can be fixed – I’m not sure if the compressor supplied by Ford works without the bottle attached, if it does great, if not I would recommend anyone to consider spending around £10 or less at Halfords, Argos etc on a small compressor and keep it in the boot of your car.
I’ve been driving for over 20 years and only once have I had need to change a wheel.

I have been driving nearly 50 years now so that included driving on the old cross-ply tyres! I don't know if these were more puncture-prone than radials but if you have only had one puncture in 20 years then you have either been extremely lucky or have covered hardly any miles. Punctures are very rarely, if ever, caused by incorrect tyre pressure.
I used to do around 25,000-30,000 miles a year. For about 10 years I frequently had to drive around factory roads where the incidence of debris had to be seen to be believed. This is the main cause of punctures. I scrapped many tyres through large bolts etc being embedded in the side of the tread ! As I said earlier. I became an expert in whipping off the punctured wheel and fitting the spare. I have had one of the cheap Halfords-type compressors for about 10/15 years now and have used it many times for topping up but it is just not man enough to inflate a nearly flat tyre and they are only short-rated and overheat quickly. I agree, worth getting one though.

I think the jury is out on these gunk-filled canisters in place of a spare, even a space saver, - Condemn them !

[Early-1800]

I got my Fester at 6 months old. I'm glad the original owner specified a proper spare. Just after xmas we visited friends and I clipped the kerb on their drive. Left at 1:00am to get about 10 yards down road before realising I had a puncture, not only a puncture but a gash in the side wall. So there we were 1:00am Sunday morning in the dark in January in a part of the country that wasn't familiar. Becasue the car had a spare I could swap wheels and drive home. Without the spare I would have had to wait for the AA and then still have the problem of what to put on my car until I replaced the tyre.

I too have gone years without a puncture but woudld't want to be without a spare wheel.

[cyb]

…if you have only had one puncture in 20 years then you have either been extremely lucky or have covered hardly any miles. Punctures are very rarely, if ever, caused by incorrect tyre pressure.
I used to do around 25,000-30,000 miles a year. For about 10 years I frequently had to drive around factory roads where the incidence of debris had to be seen to be believed. This is the main cause of punctures. I scrapped many tyres through large bolts etc being embedded in the side of the tread !

I have had one of the cheap Halfords-type compressors for about 10/15 years now and have used it many times for topping up but it is just not man enough to inflate a nearly flat tyre and they are only short-rated and overheat quickly. I agree, worth getting one though.

I think the jury is out on these gunk-filled canisters in place of a spare, even a space saver, - Condemn them !

Just to clear up a couple of points…
I average 12–15 thousand a year x 20 would be well over 300,000 plus travelled miles.And whilst I think that is a lot of miles to lug a never used, heavy spare tyre around I have to agree there is some comfort in knowing there’s one 'in the back of the car'
I agree with you about the debris around factory roads, and I would add building sites/new housing, not sure if it’s since the invention of the nail gun but these places seem to have loads of nails laying around.

As for incorrect tyres pressures, an under inflated tyre will give you a bigger foot print therefore more tread area to pick up debris. Not only that I think you’ll agree the correct pressure keeps the air seal between the wheel and the tyre in place, if the tyre is under inflated the side walls will be soft and more liable to kerb/pot hole damage and deflation.

Incidentally I initially bought the compressor in 1998 when I used to do some serious 4x4 driving/off-roading where it was sometimes necessary to under inflate the tyre to improve grip and then use the compressor to re-inflate. I bought a cheap one as I expected it to get damaged, although (fortunately) it doesn't see as much use these days it still works fine and as I said earlier has save me (and a couple of friends) from having to change a wheel by a busy road side on several occasions.

[briggsy]

The tyre is not always ruined after using foam, (depending on foam used) it just needs to be taken off the rim and cleaned out after its used. There is a Global shortage of tyres right now so space saver wheels are becoming less and less common on modern cars.

[Motocrossmad]

I definetly agree that a tyre is not ruined after gunk has been used, but alot of garages will charge for a cleaning of tyre and wheel, plus if the gunk has not been completly removed it can cause the patches not to stick.
Also on motorbike tyres they use a plug patch rather than just a normal circular patch, so that it fills the hole made by the object in the tyre. We would strongly recomend against repairing a bike tyre once it had been filled with foam due to the success rate of puncture repairs. It is all down to the garage at hand if they would or would not chance a repair.

The main reason i hate the sealants are that alot of people see them as a perminant repair rather than temporary.

[Magenta]

Just to clear up a couple of points…
I average 12–15 thousand a year x 20 would be well over 300,000 plus travelled miles.And whilst I think that is a lot of miles to lug a never used, heavy spare tyre around I have to agree there is some comfort in knowing there’s one 'in the back of the car'
I agree with you about the debris around factory roads, and I would add building sites/new housing, not sure if it’s since the invention of the nail gun but these places seem to have loads of nails laying around.

As for incorrect tyres pressures, an under inflated tyre will give you a bigger foot print therefore more tread area to pick up debris. Not only that I think you’ll agree the correct pressure keeps the air seal between the wheel and the tyre in place, if the tyre is under inflated the side walls will be soft and more liable to kerb/pot hole damage and deflation.

Incidentally I initially bought the compressor in 1998 when I used to do some serious 4x4 driving/off-roading where it was sometimes necessary to under inflate the tyre to improve grip and then use the compressor to re-inflate. I bought a cheap one as I expected it to get damaged, although (fortunately) it doesn't see as much use these days it still works fine and as I said earlier has save me (and a couple of friends) from having to change a wheel by a busy road side on several occasions.

I absolutely agree with you about correct tyre pressures, it's just I don't believe the chances of a puncture are significantly greater because of the 'bigger footprint'. Low pressures can, of course, cause all sorts of problems though, not the least premature wear,wall damage,overheating and poor handling. It's surprising how many people drive around with soft tyres and can't be bothered to check. Over-inflation is usually caused by a lot of tyre fitting outlets just not checking when they inflate a tyre.
I have made a point on cars I have owned (and company cars)and on my son's cars to put a sticker with manufacturer's tyre pressure figures on the inside of the glove box lid or door pillar. I got this idea from a VW Beetle I had in 1968. Not many manufacturer's do this even now.