Tyre seals when punctured

The new Passat is the first car in Australia to be fitted standard with Continental's new ContiSeal tyre which seals itself in most punctures.

If the tyre is punctured by a sharp object no wider than 5mm, a polymer coating on the inside of the tread will seal the hole without loss of air pressure.

Volkswagen Group Australia service general manager Phil Murray this week demonstrated the tyre's ability to withstand a puncture by drilling into a non ContiSeal tyre with a 5mm drill bit, deflating the tyre. He then drilled into the ContiSeal, which stayed inflated.

"This is not a run-flat tyre," Murray says.

"Its performance is the same as the standard high-performance (Continental ContiSportContact 3).

"You don't have the harshness of a run-flat tyre.

"And in the unlikely case you have to change a tyre there is still an alloy full-size spare wheel."

Murray says the ContiSportContact 3 tyres with ContiSeal cost $550, which was $50 more than the tyres without ContiSeal.

Gregor Stone, general manager of marketing for Continental importer Tyres4U, said ContiSeal was available as a 235/45R17 94W Continental ContiSportContact 3 for $648 with fitting and balancing and 235/40R18 95W Continental ContiSportContact 3 Conti Seal at $787.

Stone says the ContiSeals did not weigh extra like run-flats and were not restricted to distance and speed when punctured.

Continental has warned that because the motorist won't notice when their tyre has been punctured, they should regularly examine the tyre for nails or screws.

The polymer coating is only on the inside of the tread, not the sidewall, however Murray said 85 per cent of punctures were in the tread area.