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Tyre repair kit a good effort

  • By Paul Gover
  • Herald Sun
  • 04 February 2010
  • image

    Paul Gover attempted to change a flat tyre on the Audi TT RS the old-fashioned way...and came away impressed.

I had a flat tyre this week.

It was the first in a very long time, and the first I can remember when I was not doing something silly like driving down a rutted forest track making pacenotes for a rally.  This time I was driving an Audi TT RS and there was no warning. No pop, no bang, nothing nasty on the road, but when I got home the left- rear tyre looked a little unhappy.

Less than 30 minute later the rim was down to the road and I knew I had a problem.  At this point, having paid more than $130,000 for their hot new German coupe, the vast majority of TT RS buyers would pull out their iPhone and call the Audi emergency number.

But I resist the temptation and decide to investigate the brave new world of 21st century tyre changing.  Except there is no way to change a tyre on a TT RS. It doesn't even have a jack.

Instead, it has a compressor you plug into what was the cigarette lighter - now called the power socket - and a can of pump-in tyre sealant goo. But there is a wheelbrace.

Since this is an experiment, I borrow a jack from another car and remove the wheel to check the puncture, discovering a nine-millimetre cut through the tread.  I'm not optimistic - I can still remember a nasty motorcycle flat and a can of useless goo in the 1980s - but I hook up the repair kit and pump away. And the tyre inflates and the rush of air from the slash slows to a dribble . . .

It's a good effort and I'm impressed. The tyre holds on the run back to the Audi dealer for a replacement.  I'm still not entirely happy, and I would prefer a spare in any car, but the pump-up repair seems like a reasonable system and it means you don't have to suffer the harsh ride of far too many runflat tyres.

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Comments on this story

Displaying 3 of 6 comments

  • I wonder if G Jones could define a “real vehicle”?  I hope he doesn’t consider the “football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars”....full size spare is an option on the commodore range, not a standard item.

    Bob of NT Posted on 09 March 2010 4:11pm

  • You only have to see the amount of “speed limited” spare wheels for sale, by car owners and the car wreckers, to realise that most people are unhappy with the lack of a proper spare wheel, and the current offerings are strictly a city-driving option only. The answer is simple. Don’t take your Audi, Beemer or other foreign high tech machine past the city limits, or you’ll be in for a long walk, or a long wait, when the inevitable happens.

    Ron N of Perth, W.A. Posted on 16 February 2010 12:09pm

  • I recall a couple of other issues related to these temporary/quick fix tyre repair ‘products’ that Car owners/buyers need to be aware of:

    1. I understand some tyre Manufacturers do NOT approve the use of such products, further there use ‘may’ be an Insurance issue in the event of an accident related to further tyre failure, prior to replacement.

    2. I may be going back a bit in the quality of these products and I am now specifically talking about the product that is injected through the tyre valve to magically ‘prevent’ any punctures happening in the first place. These products ‘ball up’ in the tyre which in turn creates severe wheel balance problems and in my opinion are more trouble than they are worth.

    The bottom line, all cars should have a full size spare wheel and a jack, to me the only functional/safe ‘compromise’ is to allow a partially deflated spare wheel and the referred Compressor provided for same, alternatively the dreaded get me home hard rubber spare wheel, (ouch)...

    deejay51 of Gold Coast Posted on 10 February 2010 2:31pm

  • When are buyers going to wake up, and walk away from cars that don’t have full size tires.That is the only way to tell the car producers that we will talk with our wallets, and go and buy real vehicles.

    G Jones of George Town Posted on 09 February 2010 6:54pm

  • Paul, it might be brave new world goo, yes it was an ‘experiment’ and you sir had recourse to a jack to ‘inspect’ the tyre for an embedded object (nail etc), further the opportunity to inspect the wheel rim if the deflation was due to a severe kerb crunch BEFORE using the product.

    However, IF you did NOT have recourse to a jack there is no way you could inspect for a foreign object embedded in the tyre or rim damage until the sealant/air had been injected, the contents are a ‘one shot’ solution! It works or it doesn’t. BTW the Audi supplied wheelbrace seems somewhat useless without the ‘other cars’ jack! Personally I don’t like this trend of ‘get me home spares’ and compressor/goo solutions.

    The most critical feature of all this is that the compressor/goo solution is definitely a TEMPORARY repair and I would understand there use would impose speed limits until a professional repair/tyre replacement. Imagine all this happening in the outback!!

    BTW I recall trying a ‘get me home’ goo on one of my motorcycle punctures, the product was well within its stated shelf life BUT had deteriorated and hardened in the can….

    deejay51 of Gold Coast Posted on 09 February 2010 3:43pm

  • I wonder if you can offer a comparison with the other tyre inflation products on the market—both the budget canned variety and the professionally installed sealants??

    kris of melbourne Posted on 09 February 2010 1:15pm
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