The tire sealant and air compressor were put to the test today. My wife was driving the car and accidentally hit some debris in the roadway. She didn't see the offending object (it was dusk and happened just as she turned from one street onto another) but heard it beating the underside of the car momentarily (it must have stuck in the tire and then released) and the tire quickly went flat. Good thing she was close to a well lit parking lot.

I arrived and went to work, first reviewing the manual instructions and then dived right in. Removal of the valve stem with the supplied tool was a breeze. Squeezing the sealant into the tire (hand pressure, no propellant) was easy as well (even though I drew some puzzled stares from people passing by). The compressor was easy to hook up and get started. Problem was that the puncture was pretty large and it took 15 minutes of use just to get enough air into tire to be able to drive on it (the instructions say to drive 10 minutes to distribute the sealant). All the while, the sealant was running out of the puncture and running across the parking lot. I couldn't understand how it would seal because it has the consistency of milk (actually more like half and half).

Finally got enough air into it to drive around the parking lot, only to hear air continue to rush from the puncture amid bubbles of heavy cream. Tried more air and driving...still leaking. More air and driving...still leaking but better. More air and driving, etc. Finally, after working on the flat for probably an hour total, the air leak was down to a faint whistle so we high tailed it for home with me following. We made it home and the tire is still inflated 3 hours later (I'm sure it will probably be flat tomorrow morning).

Verdict is that the sealant and compressor works, but is a time consuming pain in the rear to use...and after using it, I have decided that I prefer the "old school" way...I want the spare tire.

Oh, and the tire? Naturally the puncture (more like a cut and not a nail or screw puncture) is on the edge of the tire, between the last radial groove and the sidewall (but closer to the very edge of the tire) so it is most likely not repairable. Shame, because the tire is like new (10,000 miles) and according to the dealer there isn't any road hazard warranty on the tires that came on the car (Michelin Energy s8's). The best price I can find locally is Costco at $158.00 plus tax. OUCH.

Kaymack;

Man what a day, HuH? The good thing is you got the car home and the wife safely.

I'm like you I think I would rather have the old "Spare-Tire" in the trunk.

Glad things worked out for you.

Regards;

Terry

thanks for the (unfortunate) op-test!

I've had to use the aerosol fix-a-flat before on another car, which seemed to work more quickly, but trashed the stem...at least Hinda had the foresight to give us way to avoid that part.

From the sounds of it, you were lucky to get the sealant to work at all! It's not designed to plug up a "cut" like that.

Glad it worked out and got you both home safely!

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/a...tire.1434.html

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I did have serious doubts (I knew that I was up s creek) about the effectiveness of the sealant when I saw the ragged puncture, especially after about a pint of the sealant squirted out of the tire. But, persistance paid off, at least enough to limp home. My choices were 1) work with the sealant until that method was exhausted 2) take the wheel off, take it to the tire shop, buy a new tire and have it mounted, return to car and put wheel back on (the car was in a questionable area of town and I didn''t want to leave it there on a jack and it was almost 6:00 pm, when most tire shops are closing) 3) Have the car towed home or to the shop. Needless to say, I chose to work and work with the sealant with hopes that we could limp out of there.

The tire was very slack, but not totally flat this morning (could probably still be driven slowly), still with a faint "sizzling" of air escaping. So the sealant did do it's job I guess. I found the key to making it work is driving the car slowly afterwards to spread the sealant around, adding air and driving more, etc. I do see how the sealant method would be easy to perform and work well with, say, a slow leak caused by a nail, etc. I just got lucky with the puncture.

I want the spare tire!!

Another benefit of the spare tire is that if you do get a nail, you can just swap that tire for a spare. That way, you can have the nail pulled out and the tire patched, and the tire is reuseable.

I recall reading once you use the sealant, the tire is finished. I don't remember if that was said by the sealant company, tire company, or tire shop. Maybe all three.

As you've already found out, the tire is close to the cost of getting the spare. Plus, if you still want to have the sealant, you have to buy another bottle of it! And I don't think it was cheap. Even though I have the spare, I kept the sealant and air compressor in the trunk just in case I'd ever need it.

Again, sorry you had to be the one to do the "product testing" but glad to hear it worked out and got you and your wife home safely. As far as the intended use of that kit, I think it was proved successful.

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One footnote: The Michelin Energy MXV4-S8 215/60/16 is "special order" at Costco and takes 3 to 5 days to receive...but it looks like the best deal in town...$159.99 plus tax includes the "works",mount, balance, road hazard warranty, etc. etc. I checked some other places around town that stock them and the price hovers around $190.00 plus mount and balance with some shops quoting $210 to $220 plus tax. A certain "royal" chain tire store wanted $189.99 plus $39.00 for "the works" for a total of $229.00 plus tax.

That's a pretty expensive passenger tire. One tire store fellow asked gleefully "what are you going to put it on...a Porshe?" When I told him a Honda, there was a bit of silence.

So, without benefit of the spare, it looks like we are down to one car between us for the next 3 to 5 days. I WANT THE SPARE.

If you live close to Phoenix, you can borrow mine.

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The spare, that is. Not the HAH.

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