Watchdog - Spare Tyre v Repair Kit

As someone who has suffered the ridiculous situation where I had a puncture and the repair kit was useless , last nights Watchdog episode was interesting. They tested a number of repair kits and how long it took to install them and fix the tyre. Pretty much all were tricky and the one they used on test took 30 mins to use. Basically most repair kits won't repair a damaged tyre with a tear or sidewall damage. A recent report by the rescue service Green Flag revealed that the number of call outs to drivers left stranded has leapt by 20 per cent.
And the RAC say they’ve had over 80 000 call outs a year from people who have no spare tyres and from drivers who have had limited success with the sealant kits.
The kit will only repair tyres with small punctures, so if the driver has a side wall damage or a deep cut it won’t work – and even when the kit does work, you still may end up paying. Furthermore if you do manage to repair it most tyre repair companies will refuse to fix the puncture afterwards as it takes too long to the clean the tyre out with all the 'gunk' - so in effect the solution actually renders the tyre non repairable. Crazy or what!!

My wife’s A1 suffered this. She had a puncture called the AA, they couldn't get it to work anyway, and their experience was that these solutions are crap ! The dealer ended up giving us a spare for free as we had so much grief. Imagine trying to use this kit, which is tricky enough, in the pouring rain or dark, in a country lane at midnight - and I certainly wouldn't want the Mrs placed in this situation. I actually think this is quite dangerous.

The counter argument is emissions need to be met due to EU regulations and that manufacturers must meet therm etc, but as discussed on the programme there are other ways to lighten the weight, beyond removing a spare tyre.

Moral is if you have the option on any car go for the spare - glad I did on the Evoque. Really good for peace of mind.

The answer is very simple :-

By removing the spare wheel as a standard factory fit item and thus making it an option means extra revenue for the manufacturer. Emmissions - nonsense i doubt a space saver wheel will make much or any difference.

It's a bit like when the Government say they are increasing road tax for 4x4's etc to be green, what they really mean is - here is an excuse to make extra money via stealth!

(18-10-2012 03:47pm)Big G Wrote:  As someone who has suffered the ridiculous situation where I had a puncture and the repair kit was useless , last nights Watchdog episode was interesting. They tested a number of repair kits and how long it took to install them and fix the tyre. Pretty much all were tricky and the one they used on test took 30 mins to use. Basically most repair kits won't repair a damaged tyre with a tear or sidewall damage. A recent report by the rescue service Green Flag revealed that the number of call outs to drivers left stranded has leapt by 20 per cent.
And the RAC say they’ve had over 80 000 call outs a year from people who have no spare tyres and from drivers who have had limited success with the sealant kits.
The kit will only repair tyres with small punctures, so if the driver has a side wall damage or a deep cut it won’t work – and even when the kit does work, you still may end up paying. Furthermore if you do manage to repair it most tyre repair companies will refuse to fix the puncture afterwards as it takes too long to the clean the tyre out with all the 'gunk' - so in effect the solution actually renders the tyre non repairable. Crazy or what!!

My wife’s A1 suffered this. She had a puncture called the AA, they couldn't get it to work anyway, and their experience was that these solutions are crap ! The dealer ended up giving us a spare for free as we had so much grief. Imagine trying to use this kit, which is tricky enough, in the pouring rain or dark, in a country lane at midnight - and I certainly wouldn't want the Mrs placed in this situation. I actually think this is quite dangerous.

The counter argument is emissions need to be met due to EU regulations and that manufacturers must meet therm etc, but as discussed on the programme there are other ways to lighten the weight, beyond removing a spare tyre.

Moral is if you have the option on any car go for the spare - glad I did on the Evoque. Really good for peace of mind.

Imagine the missus trying to change a wheel on her own on a dark rainy country lane. Not good either

(18-10-2012 03:56pm)speary Wrote:  Imagine the missus trying to change a wheel on her own on a dark rainy country lane. Not good either

Agreed - but at least she can call out the AA or whoever and get the spare on and home !

I've just replaced the runflat tyres on my wife's Mini with non-runflats as I was sick of them puncturing (run flats are very prone to punctures due to their rigidity), wasn't even getting a year out of each tyre. There's not even space for a spare wheel, so now we're relying on a repair-in-a-can (or the AA).

I went for the one manufactured by Slime as apparently it's water soluble, so garages will still fix the tyre after you've used it.

My RRS's and FFRR's had a spacesaver 19" alloy painted black as a spare - I wonder what profile the Evoques space saver is and whether a 17" wheel with appropriate tyre to get the aspect ratio back up to the remaining 3 tyres would fit in the wheel well

(18-10-2012 05:01pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  My RRS's and FFRR's had a spacesaver 19" alloy painted black as a spare - I wonder what profile the Evoques space saver is and whether a 17" wheel with appropriate tyre to get the aspect ratio back up to the remaining 3 tyres would fit in the wheel well

Here's your answer tim

SPARE WHEEL – TEMPORARY STEEL 18" (155/85) INCLUDING TOOL KIT - REPLACES TYRE REPAIR SYSTEM

Sunday Times has also had a small collection of articles and correspondence about this over the last few weeks. As you'd maybe guess, general mood is that a spare is preferred.

I feel much happier knowing I've a proper spare to use if needed, especially after reading about how the gunk effectively makes the damaged tyre un-reparable in the eyes of many garages. The cans seem like a bad option on all levels: slow, unreliable and ultimately expensive. Erm... what's in it for drivers?

Many years of driving and only time i've ever needed a spare... I needed 2! So recovery it was...

2 tins of Slime in the back, access to spare set of wheels/tyres if in the right area, that'll have to do.

Note I'm not advocating 2 tins of gunk is better than a spare... it's not.

Even better: spare and a tin of Slime then you have the choice!

The best you can do with the gunk is fix a slow puncture due to a screw or nail. They render the tyre irreparable.

I had a puncture early on, changed the wheel and got the tyre repaired for £20.

It's an absolute no brainer to buy the spare wheel option for £120. Mine has already paid for itself.

It's just a pity the low rent TPMS doesn't display the pressures to give you early warning of a failure. I'm just back from Germany, driving at speeds up to 165mph and there I have the tyres pressures displayed all the time to warn me of problems.