The problem with the sealant approach is that the problem it can fix is limited to a relatively limited puncture. If the damage is too much - e.g. a blowout - then tough, you’re stuck and if away from home, which will be the case with a blowout or major damage, it means arranging recovery which is likely to cost far more than a spare wheel if you don’t have breakdown cover, and take considerably longer than it would for either yourself or AA/RAC etc to change the wheel. Not having a spare wheel seems a stupid idea and a false economy.
It used to be the case that the AA wouldn’t provide free assistance for a breakdown Involving a tyre if there was no serviceable spare wheel, however an FAQ answer on their website says:
“If you’ve got a flat, a mechanic will come where you are and change your wheel. If you have a spare tyre, the mechanic will fix this for you. If not, the mechanic will replace your flat with a spare wheel from his van. They’ll then drive with you to a nearby garage so you can get a new tyre.”
On my BMW I found the Bridgestone run-flats to be pretty nasty things. I replaced them with regular Goodyears and the car was transformed. However, I realised that if I did get a flat then I could be in trouble, so I bought a gloop and compressor kit just in case. I also bought a space saver, but contrary to expectations it doesn’t save much space at all, so I generally leave it at home, which I may well regret one day…
I’m not sure that even a space saver would be that good on a long run, so I carry a full sized spare. If you have the space for it, a regular old fashioned steel wheel is cheap. I have four of them as I use winter tyres, so one lives in the boot as a spare.
The thing is with this issue nowadays is that unless you’re fortunate with Murphy’s 1st Law, you can find yourself in a right pickle absent having a replacement wheel.
Modern tyres appear to have greater resistance to issues but in the past I’ve seen people drive a fair way with a flat (in finding a suitable & safe spot to stop), knowing they had a spare rim in the boot. Now, if you ‘lunch’ the rim, you’ve had it unless there are ready local resources which can assist.
I really don’t understand how manu’s think the foam/compressor really is a safe substitute for a space-saver (as a minimum) etc.
The space saver in my last car WAS smaller than the normal wheels/tyres but there wasn’t much in it. In fact you could easily fit the normal wheel and tyre where the space saver fitted… btdt.
The trouble is that on the BMW the wheels and tyres are different sizes front and back, so you have a 50/50 chance of having the wrong one as a spare - a space saver will at least get you to the garage so you can change the tyre.
Ah yes, not ideal but on my humble 1-series they are all the same size. Winter tyres are also directional so strictly speaking you would need to carry all 4 of them, not that you’d want them down south in any case.
And one must be conscious about what tyres your car has, as some appear to be ‘order-in only’ at some shops.
I almost bought a spare tyre for my very mainstream (or so I thought) jalopy as the tyre-bay said the tyres were non-standard in the model-line.
IIRC, there’s a letter in this week’s Autocar which sites JLR as being unable to source replacement tyres for an e-Pace, on the basis these are specially-made by Goodyear (IIRC) and they don’t appear readily available through usual network supply lines.
I had a puncture a few years ago here in France in the BMW, with no spare fitted. Luckily the next small town had an old fashioned garagiste. He fixed the puncture with a plug and vulcanising glue in the old fashioned way. Took all of 10 minutes and charged 10 euro. It lasted until I changed the tyre through mileage in the normal way. Since then I have carried a set of plugs and fitting kit in both cars. The auction site will show the type of thing.
Mrs G and I use tubeless tyres on our mountain bikes which have approx. 100 ml of sealant in them. In the event of a small puncture from a thorn or nail, the sealant almost instantly seals the hole and we don’t even need to stop riding. The loss of air pressure is minimal. About 1 or 2 psi.
We also carry and have used those sticky sticks for larger punctures where the sealant is unable to do its thing, and they are easily inserted into the hole. I once ran a tyre with two sticks in for over a year. They were plugging an 8mm cut.
The point of saying all this is, why don’t we do the same with cars? Put the sealant in from day 1. In the event of a minor puncture, just keep driving to a safe place to check things over. No need to change the wheel, or get the tyre fixed. Just top up the air pressure if needed, and drive on.
Haha! You haven’t seen me on my bike. My rear tyres go through hell. Depending on the terrain, I run them between 20-26 psi. They get twisted and torn to shreds by the stresses, but the punctures rarely stop me.
No doubt when fully electric cars are the norm, the spare wheel storage space will be removed to provide space for electrical gear. And also to reduce the weight of the car.
This no spare tyre thing is driven by weight, cost and the reduced likelihood of having a puncture these days. The industry claim one puncture even 7 years.
The space saver for me was the best compromise. It will get you home, to allow a proper repair.
The goo and compressor method only works for small punctures. Blow outs, no.
The BMW/mini option of run flats is awful. Noisey hard, tyres. Not nice.
VAG group are at best inconsistent. A recent new VW had a full sized alloy spare. My Audi A6 has a space saver. Better than run flats or goo.
On the question of lubricant on the wheel bolts. It’s a good idea. And also put some where the wheel touches the brake disk/ hub.
But, wheel torque values are about half when lubricated vs unlubricated.
One of my pet hates. Although my wife and I haven’t had a puncture for about four years now, we had a total of four or five inside one year including one in France on the way back to the ferry on a Saturday. So had to make do with space saver spare. 50mph for 450 miles was no fun - so I sourced a full size spare when we got home but never had another puncture. And had about one puncture a year on average between us before that for as long as I can remember.
A can of gunk didn’t work on the i3, so I just wasted £25 on a replacement and I don’t trust them at all to work
I have a space saver in the ipace which nicks a large chunk of the boot
Not sure what the answer is as EVs as someone has said give little scope for w spare of any kind - though Land Rover seem fairly unique in allowing you to spec a spare wheel on all their range - and the new defender has its spare hanging on the back door so the phev version doesn’t lose the spare like on many cars
For local only driving it’s not so much a problem if I have a puncture, but the regular and quite long distance take the daughters to university trips (Edinburgh and hopefully Aberystwyth - 380 and 300 mile round trips respectively) mean fun flats are useless (50 miles max) for what will mostly be weekend runs
My previous car had a space saver that could only be used on the rear axle, as the discs and brake calipers were too large on the front. So if you had a flat on the front it meant you had to swap the front and rear wheels and put the space saver on the rear.
Current car has the goo kit, which I guess is kind of understandable as there is a 6cm width difference between the front (245) and rear (305), so it’s not exactly a one size fits all situation. Plus there isn’t really a practical space to put a spare in the first place.
BUT on your stressed mountain bike tyres, death is an unlikely consequence of tyre failure, though indeed possible. With a car, if driven at high speeds, death arising from loss of control of the vehicle is considered a significant risk in respect of both the occupants and third parties.
