tyre sealants...any good? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Wed 9 Aug 2006 14:47

tyre sealants...any good? - steveo3002

ive been watching a liquid tyre sealant on a shopping channel

basicly you put a small amount of the liquid into your tyre and then pump it up....this sloshes around the tyre and if you pick up a nail or whatever the liquid seals that hole

sounds like a good idea...i can imagine the tyre fitter would be angry when it comes to changing the tyre

anyone use it?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 14:54

tyre sealants...any good? - massey

Useless if you get a large cut in the tyre

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 14:54

tyre sealants...any good? - Armitage Shanks {p}

Certainly causes balance/imbalance problems SFAIK plus, as you say, tyre fitters don't like it or recommend it. There was a post here a while ago where somebody had used it and had to take the tyres off the rims and wash the whole lot out. Over all probably more trouble than it is worth. If it was any good tyre depots would sell it, rather than it being sold on TV, don't you think?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 14:59

tyre sealants...any good? - cheddar

Depends on the damage to the tyre, can stop slight air loss that can otherwise lead to low pressure induced overheating and a blow out. On the otherhand it can mask structural damage sustained at low speed (where sudden air loss would be relatively safe) allowing the vehicle to be driven at high speed at great risk of structural failure of the tyre.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 15:44

tyre sealants...any good? - Hamsafar

I used some orange goop with what appeared to be finely chopped fibres mixed in. (I forget the make)
I put it in the rear tyres after a spate of screws and nails.
Well, it didn't work very well, one already had a small puncture, but it would repeatedly leak and reseal, so it was a lottery whether or not the car would have a flat tyre, sometime I'd go out and it would be flat as a pancake, other times i'd check the pressure after a few days and it would only need several PSI topup. I certainly wouldn't bother again.
In the end, I got another puncture too close to the edge, it didn't seal this, so I got two new tyres, when he took the old ones off, it didn't really make any mess, and the alloy wheel had no goog on it whereas I expected it to be smothered. I really did stay centrifuged onto the back of the tyre tread, and was in a sufficiently thin layer so as not to slosh around.
I only had balancing problems for about 30 secs the fist time I went over 50mph.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 16:09

tyre sealants...any good? - Stuartli

I've heard that some tyre depots will not repair tyres which have been filled with such sealant.

It may be a safety factor as a comparatively small leak could be missed because of the sealant and, of course, so many people these days are quick to get onto a No Win, No Claim firm of solicitors.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 16:39

tyre sealants...any good? - Nsar

I used it once and the tyre depot moaned about it, but I insisted and they repaired the tyre without any bother. Haven't bought another tin of it though

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 16:52

tyre sealants...any good? - Craig_1969

On my Range Rover and on my S80 it threw the tyres out of balance, dont touch it with a bargepole.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 17:56

tyre sealants...any good? - LeePower

Ive seen a tyre place refuse to repair a tyre after they found this stuff inside. Waste of money.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 18:13

tyre sealants...any good? - SlidingPillar

I carry an aerosol in the vintage car, as I can't carry a spare wheel, and I cannot change tubes in a resonable amout of time for a roadside repair. Very much a get it to a place of safety measure.

I suspect I could patch such a tube, but I've not yet had one to try.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 9 Aug 2006 20:38

tyre sealants...any good? - bell boy

if a tyre gets a puncture you can either have a safe repair or scrap the dangerous tyre,how do you do that if you dont know you had had a puncture?
not for me,tyres have never been so cheap. but did read that the commodity price of rubber is going strataspheric at the moment so buy your 550x12"s soon if needed..........

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 12 May 2010 10:28

tyre sealants...any good? - c-lant

Any additional weight that is added to the inside of the tyre needs to find its center of balance, until it does that YOU will occur vibrations through steering wheel which can be unconfortable especially if it occurs at 70mph. When vehicle parked up for short period of time the sealant will pool in base of tyre , hence same problem when you drive away again.... ANY ADDITION WEIGHT ADDED TO TYRE ONCE TYRE HAS BEEN BALANCED WILL CAUSE VIBRATIONS.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 13 May 2013 08:46

tyre sealants...any good? - focussed

I have used tyre sealants for years on big motorcycles, if you get a puncture on a bike you are immobilised and immediately vulnerable on a motorway or busy road and if you get a fast deflation at speed it's brown trouser time.

Providing that the maker's instructions as to the quantity to use in a given size and section of tyre are followed to the letter, and the initial drive at low speed after fitting the stuff is carried out, I have found that there are no out of balance problems.

Another benefit of using the stuff is that the very slow pressure loss that all tyres suffer with is much reduced - the tyres stay at pressure longer.

As you may not realise that your tyres have suffered a puncture because the sealant has sealed it, regular inspection is necessary - easy on a bike - much more difficult on a car.

The negative comments from tyre fitters is unjustified as the stuff washes out with water and does not degrade the interior of the tyre.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 16 May 2013 00:02

tyre sealants...any good? - Hadrian

Some manufacturers supply this with new cars which don't carry a spare type.

Balance shouldn't be a problem, as it doesn't go solid,

If it gets you out of trouble when you are in the middle of nowhere, what's the problem ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 16 May 2013 09:07

tyre sealants...any good? - RT

Some manufacturers supply this with new cars which don't carry a spare type.

Balance shouldn't be a problem, as it doesn't go solid,

If it gets you out of trouble when you are in the middle of nowhere, what's the problem ?

The problem is that it only deals with punctures - suffer a blow-out and you're on your own as many breakdown services won't attend, at least not FoC, unless a serviceable spare is carried. If it happens on a motorway with a £150 tow-off charge it could be an expensive "saving"

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 16 May 2013 19:39

tyre sealants...any good? - meldrew

Just buy a 2/H wheel and tyre. As long as it keeps air in it it will get you home. Job done.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 16 May 2013 20:09

tyre sealants...any good? - Hadrian

The sealant is better than nothing, if it gets you out of trouble temporarily.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 17 May 2013 01:36

tyre sealants...any good? - BigJohnD

A real spare wheel and tyre is the only answer.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 00:10

tyre sealants...any good? - Hadrian

".......A real spare wheel and tyre is the only answer......"

The problem being (as mentioned previously) some smaller cars don't come with a spare wheel.

Also, there are a lot of people who are (for whatever reason) incapable of changing a wheel.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 09:24

tyre sealants...any good? - RT

The problem being (as mentioned previously) some smaller cars don't come with a spare wheel.
Also, there are a lot of people who are (for whatever reason) incapable of changing a wheel.

That's not the problem - it's available as extra-cost option on a number of cars.

The problem is that an increasing number of cars simply don't have room to put a full-sized wheel/tyre in the boot.

It's also not an issue that many people can't physically change a tyre themselves - they can pay for a breakdown service to cover that if they wish.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 21:06

tyre sealants...any good? - focussed

The problem being (as mentioned previously) some smaller cars don't come with a spare wheel.
Also, there are a lot of people who are (for whatever reason) incapable of changing a wheel.

That's not the problem - it's available as extra-cost option on a number of cars.

The problem is that an increasing number of cars simply don't have room to put a full-sized wheel/tyre in the boot.

It's also not an issue that many people can't physically change a tyre themselves - they can pay for a breakdown service to cover that if they wish.

It's not really a case of not having the ability to change a wheel - if you want to change an offside wheel while broken down on the hard shoulder of any UK motorway you are welcome to it - I wouldn't risk it. Nearside would be slightly less hazardous but you and your stationary car still are running the risk of being collected as a bumper mascot by a sleepy eastern european truck driver who was on the vodka the previous night.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 21:58

tyre sealants...any good? - galileo

If the sealant does work, you are still at risk while you are putting it in, not for as long, but the sleepy driver could come along anytime.

Brother in law has had two sidewall splits on his fairly new Megane, no hope of sealant doing anything but decorate the kerb. Once on a Sunday evening before Bank Holiday, so off the road for a day. I'm glad my i30 came with a full size alloy spare (no extra cost,either.)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 19 May 2013 01:23

tyre sealants...any good? - focussed

If the sealant does work, you are still at risk while you are putting it in, not for as long, but the sleepy driver could come along anytime.

Brother in law has had two sidewall splits on his fairly new Megane, no hope of sealant doing anything but decorate the kerb. Once on a Sunday evening before Bank Holiday, so off the road for a day. I'm glad my i30 came with a full size alloy spare (no extra cost,either.)

Slight misunderstanding here I think - the sealant that I was referring to is the stuff that is put into the tyre and remains in the tyre BEFORE you get a puncture, not the get-you-home puncture repair in a can.

A proper test was carried out at Millbrook track.

Test report here :- http://www.punctureseal.com/documents/Punctureseal_Millbrook_Test_Report.pdf

No connection to the company apart from using the stuff.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 23:06

tyre sealants...any good? - unthrottled

running the risk of being collected as a bumper mascot by a sleepy eastern european truck driver who was on the vodka the previous night.

I'm more worried by the French driver with a string of onions round his neck who is slugging Haut Medoc whilst at the wheel of his 2CV meandering down the inside lane. Honestly!

if you want to change an offside wheel while broken down on the hard shoulder of any UK motorway you are welcome to

No bother. They only tell you that the hard shoulder is a perilous place to linger in order to discourage people from using it as a picnic area. The number of collisions involving cars on the hard shoulder is tiny.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 18 May 2013 23:27

tyre sealants...any good? - RT

The number of collisions involving cars on the hard shoulder is tiny.

Bad sadly many of those are fatal.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 20 May 2013 00:26

tyre sealants...any good? - focussed

running the risk of being collected as a bumper mascot by a sleepy eastern european truck driver who was on the vodka the previous night.

I'm more worried by the French driver with a string of onions round his neck who is slugging Haut Medoc whilst at the wheel of his 2CV meandering down the inside lane. Honestly!

if you want to change an offside wheel while broken down on the hard shoulder of any UK motorway you are welcome to

No bother. They only tell you that the hard shoulder is a perilous place to linger in order to discourage people from using it as a picnic area. The number of collisions involving cars on the hard shoulder is tiny.

Sorry UT but stopped on the hard shoulder is statisically the most dangerous place to be on a motorway or on a dual carriageway if it's got a hard shoulder.

The 2CV driver with the string of onions etc has long ago been consigned to legend, any remaining 2CV's are now voitures de collection in France, their place has been taken by unloved old Renault 5's.

French drivers have a total blind spot when it comes to basic hazard perception except that their lane discipline and general behaviour on multi-lane motorways and dual carriageways is better than UK drivers.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 20 May 2013 01:02

tyre sealants...any good? - unthrottled

Sorry UT but stopped on the hard shoulder is statisically the most dangerous place to be on a motorway or on a dual carriageway if it's got a hard shoulder.

True. But the most dangerous place to be on a motorway is still safer than most other roads. It's not nice having traffic pass by at 60+mph a few yards away from you, but neither is being perched on a set of extended ladders as you clear leaves out of the gutter. But we man up and get on with it!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator