Punctures
 

Hi Guys

I have just returned from the Land Rover Owners International show, where I saw an interesting puncture preventative product that automatically repair puntures to tyres.

It is a liquid that you add to your tyres via the value before the tyre sustains a puncture. As the tyre rotates the product spreads evenly over the inside surface.

As soon as a puncture occurs fibres mixed with the liquid are forced into the gap and sealed with their contact with air, forming a permanent fix to the puncture.

It was demonstrated to me with a 4inch nail which was driven into an inflated tyre and then pulled out. You could here the air escape for half a second and then the tyre sealed. It doesnt work for side wall punctures but slows down the airloss, which would assist in an emergency stop on the motorway etc.

It would cost about £9 per tyre for the liquid.

I think it would be quite valuable in the desert as changing tyres and even changing the wheels in the heat never appealed to me.

They have a web site which also shows puncture preventative liquid that the military use (Armoseal) which can fix a 1 and a quarter inch hole in a tyre?? It also resists blasts from explosions so I would have thought it would be a useful addition to any overland trip

www.air-sealproducts.com

Speak with a guy called Peter Day

Cheers

Ashley

Hi there Ashley,

there is lost of stuff like this available for both bikes and cars. Most of them work to varying degrees. My feeling on them is, yes, they make your life easier, but only for the firts tyre. What happens if the tyre blows out or whatever ? If you really travel overland you would still have to be able to fix tyres yourself, so I would just leave the stuff behind. It is the same for those gas cylinders for tyre inflation etc. Take along for an emergency etc. yes, that is fine, if you have the space, but make sure you still know the old traditional way.

Cheers,

hed

Yes

You are quite right and I understand where you are coming from. Its just that on occassion the punctures i have had have been small and this product would have eliminated my need to change the wheel on the Landy.

Yes in the case of a blow out or a puncture to the side wall then nothing will help and traditional techniques required.

Thanks though

Ashley

Hi, just to add to what Hed said; initially it seems like a great solution but in the long term it has some downsides:
If you do get a sidewall puncture and it's repairable (amazing what they can rescue sometimes)the goo inside the tyre prevents any sort of patch or vulcanization sticking; the tyre man will get it all over himself, you, the vehicle and will probably not want to tackle it.
It also becomes potentially dangerous when you never have flat: one tends to take it for granted, a puncture might cut a few of the radial steel bands that hold it all together. If the tyre doesn't go down you won't know about the damage and continue to drive risking a blowout and its consequences.
It's inconvenient getting a flat, but at least you're forced to inspect the tyre as a result; something I know one should do regularly but...
Luke

Ashley, I know what you mean, but I agree with Luke. Probably also because I aqm looking at it from a motorbike point of view, i.e. no space for luxuries when you want to save weight. In that case this would fall into teh category luxures. In a car it may be a different story.

But hey, I am taking shit along that other people would never, so all depends.

Cheers,

hed

I have used this stuff in bikes (tubed) and cars (tubeless).

In the bikes I have used it for prevention on UK trails. Great for nails and barbed wire, although some pressure may still be lost. Useless for bigger holes such as pinch-punctures (caused by hitting rocks hard at low pressures). You still need a spare tube or a cleaning agent, such as isopropyl alcohol to clean the mess before applying a patch. (I carry 5ml of isopropyl regardless to clean the tube before applying patches- it goes a long way - buy a CD cleaning kit, you get the handy small bottle).

In the cars I have used it for repairing punctures that the tyre shop refuses to plug (again only in the UK), as they are too close to the edge of the tread. Works reasonably well, but only for small holes again (they often still went flat or leaked gunge during very hard use). By 'hard use' I mean you can smell the tyres being abused.

I have not used it outside Europe & would say that it is logical that higher temperatures would affect it's performance. Whether it will work reliably at 40C ambient, with a heavy load, I don't know.

Best place to buy it that I have found is any farm/agricultural supplier. 1/4 price of a bike shop.

I would recommend using the largest qty given in the range for the tyre size on the container. Remember though that you are increasing your unsprung mass & since you are carrying a pump anyway, why not wait until you get a flat, find the cause & if it is a small puncture gunge it & re-inflate.

On the other hand, if I new my punctures would be frequent and be due to thorns/nails & no pinches, or if I was on a tight schedule, then I would pre-emptively gunge.

HTH

Ian