Hi guys,
As you know, it's almost 1:30am in the morning (EST). I just came home from Southern NJ I got a flat tire earlier tonight.... around 10:30pm, without a spare tire Since a friend of mine had a flat about a month ago and had borrowed the spare.... I was stuck on the side of the road. Luckily, a nice person pulled over and offered to help me. Since neither of us has a spare tire, he went and bought a thing called "Fix a tire".

I've never hard of it, but it's where you spray the entire can into the tire stem and supposely it fixed the tire! I was able to get going without any further trouble. On the way home, I stopped to get some gas... and there was an overnight shift mechanic there. So I asked him if he could plug the tire, but when he took off the tire... he couldn't find any leakage... he looked for about 5 minutes and finally gave up. I mentioned to him someone who helped me earlier had put a bottle of "fix a tire" in it. The mechanic said that's why there's no leakage.... but since he's never used that kind of material... he doesn't know how well it'll hold.

Now the tire isn't leaking any air, probably the magical can coated the hole. There was no nails to be found on the tire, so I assumed the nail punctured in and out on the road. (Prior putting that stuff in the tire, it would deflate completely in about 3 minutes... but now it's perfectly fine.

My question to you guys is.... has any of you used it before? If so, is it only a temp thing and how long does it last before it starts to leak again...?

I want to get a brand new tire, but I want to ask for your opinions first.


Please help!
thanks!

 

It's only temporary, it will eventually start leaking again.

Remember to replace tires in pairs (at least) and put the new tires in the rear. Old up front. You should be good to go

 

I used a can in one of my tires and haven't seen a leak in it since then. I also have a few thousand miles on a plugged tires w/o any problems. How far flat was it when you put the can in it?

 

Bring the tire someplace tell them you used a temporary tire sealant in the tire, it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and checked for a leak. Make sure they replace the valve at the same time, those tire sealant's are very corrosive on brass(which the valve is made of). Its very important to have the liner of the tire checked after that stuff is in the tire, there can be liner damage and that stuff will make it worse and is often undetectable from the outside.

Good luck

 

I think the hole was pretty big since it deflated in less than 3 minutes.... so I got 2 different responses.... perhaps I should just replace the tire then since they can't seem to find the original holes.....

 

replace the tire. fix a flat is temporary. you eventually will be stuck again

 

The goop that fixed the hole will throw your tire out of balance.

 

I always thought you were suppose to put the 2 new tires to the front because the old tire are more prone to have problems such as a bolw out, especially at highway speeds, wouldn't you want to be able to steer the car?

 

When the tire sealant is removed, if the tire would go flat in under 3 minutes, they will be able to find the leak. At which time if its not safe to repair, or there is any damage to liner(which can not be seen from the outside) you would have to replace the tire. Tires should always be replaced in pairs(unless its AWD, at which point you should do all 4) and the new tires should be on the rear if you only do a pair, doesn't matter if its front or rear wheel drive. Have them rebalance which ever tires go to the front and you'd be set for a while.

Also a bit of advice, don't go to a garage for tire work, they seldom know what they are doing, go to a tire store - and I don't mean a discount tire chain, I mean a real tire store where your probably going to find people who know what they are doing and care about what they do.

 

Thank you all very much for the replies
Well, I created this thread around 1:30am this morning before I went to sleep, by this morning... the tired had already gone flat. Apparantly the "fix-a-tire" bottle only works temporary.... so I had the tire plugged by a friend (He was able to hear the leak this morning, the whole wasn't too big he said) Hopefully that will work for awhile, he mentioned to see it holds(he thinks it'll be ok from now.) If not, I'll replace the tire entirely. (And according to your advice, get it balanced and replace both)

NiteQwill, mfkitson, anothercls, JLatimer, 03jeff, and tireguy thanks again!!

 

I think everyone is forgetting something...

GET YOUR SPARE BACK FROM THE OTHER DOPE!!

 

 

IMHO, it's not a good idea to use any type of canned spare tire product unless it's an extreme emergency. Most tire shops will not repair and/or guarantee a repair once you've used such a product inside the tire. This is because the repair patch/plug adhesive may not be able to bond properly to the inside rubber surfaces of the tire.

I always carry a small Air Compressor Inflator and have used it a few times to re-inflate a flat tire to get me to a tire shop. This is a lot easier than having to use the spare tire; assuming the air leak isn't too severe.

 

Slightly off topic, but why should you always put the new pair of tires in the rear?

 

new tires obviously grip better(assuming you put the same kind/speed rating on there). In a panic manuver, such as swerving to avoid something in the road, your back end will tend to "let go" before the front end, no matter if you have front, rear or awd. under hard braking, all the weight is transfered to the front of the car and the rear end becomes "lighter". so putting the better tires(meaning more trad) in the rear helps to prevent this from occuring, but it won't eliminate it.

hope i answered your ?

 

It was in an extreme emergency situation. I did not have a spare tire and the nice gentleman who offered to help did not either So he went out of his way and and bought the "fix-a-tire" bottle so I could get home safely.
The tire was plugged this morning, and I am waiting to see how it holds... if not I'll just replace the tire entirely (in pairs).
I drove the zo6 today instead of the TL.. just in case the plug didn't really do the trick.

 

It is also much easier for the average driver to recover from a front tire blowout vs. a rear tire.

 

same here