Citroen owner again ..C4 G-P Spare Wheel ?

[GiveMeABreak]

Some thoughts on the sealant type of kits:

• The sealant kit is obviously only an emergency measure and not designed for travelling at normal speeds once used.
• The emergency repair kits are basically a compressor with a cartridge of sealant - which typically have a shelf life of 4 years.
• If used, the gunk can clog the air tube of the compressor - so important to use the complete cannister to blow all the sealant into the tyre.
• As for reusing the tyre, it is my understanding that the sealant leaves a latex type film on the inside of the tyre, making any future repair difficult for the patching-glue to bond / key to the surface.
• Although the jury is out on how they affect TPMS systems, there has to be the possibility that the sealant may get into the tiny sensor hole of the TPMS sensor and this may cause future problems with the sensor if not fully cleaned out. Replacement TPMS sensors can cost the same as a premium tyre, so are not cheap.
• By the time the tyre has been thoroughly cleaned (including the TPMS sensor if fitted) of all gunk and repaired - would it not be just as cheap to get a new tyre than the cost of the labour cleaning & repairing the old tyre?

I'm lucky enough to have a full-size spare in the X7 - not that i've needed to use it - yet...

[RichardW]

Old guy bought the bits and fitted one to his: https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... =3&t=56835

No spare on ours... My Mrs did use the sealant one day when I tyre was flat in the drive. I would just have put air in it. It was almost knackered anyway, so no idea if it could have been repaired or not.

In half a million miles of motoring I have changed 2 tyres at the side of the road I think, and a couple more at home. I have breakdown - I'll take the time waiting for recovery rather than getting excited about whether a car has a spare or not.

[GiveMeABreak]

But the wait times are getting ridiculously long now. On the last 2 occasions I needed the AA for a tow to the garage (later found to be a slight invisible split in the turbo hose - so no power and cutting out on the MK II C5) I had to wait over 3 hours. Maybe that was becasue I told them it needed a flat bed truck to tow off ground....

[reef2k]

Clutch went on my wifes C5 last year and the RAC took 2.5 hrs to get to her,So there's no way i'm waiting for recovery when i could just carry a spare,just like we did in the 'ole days'. Living in Rural Suffolk,we get our fair share of punctures,the wifes had 2 in the last year and i had 1.

[Michel]

Clutch went on my wifes C5 last year and the RAC took 2.5 hrs to get to her,So there's no way i'm waiting for recovery when i could just carry a spare,just like we did in the 'ole days'. Living in Rural Suffolk,we get our fair share of punctures,the wifes had 2 in the last year and i had 1.

My thoughts exactly. Imagine sitting 2 hours on one of those Smart motorways waiting for a tyre change, when I can swap to a spare in minutes, even in the dark and rain!

[xantia_v6]

Roadside recovery won't fix the tyre if you don't have a spare, just tow you to a garage, which is not a lot of comfort in the middle of the night a long way from home.
Even worse if you require a rare brand/size of tyre.

[Michel]

Roadside recovery won't fix the tyre if you don't have a spare, just tow you to a garage, which is not a lot of comfort in the middle of the night a long way from home.

The RAC, amongst others, now carry "universal spare wheels" to get you going again.

However, I don't want to be stuck doing 50mph for the remainder of my 250 mile journey home..

[bobins]

As the OP says, they live in rural Suffolk and so are prone to more than the average number of punctures. My father-in-law lives out in the sticks out that way and getting punctures is a common complaint. I think it's mainly from where all the hedges in the country lanes get flailed by tractors - blackthorn thorns don't take prisoners, they go for the kill I've even had tractor tyres punctured by blackthorns before now.... as well as my own skin

[GiveMeABreak]

Same here - hedgecutting - and the hedge shards always manage to get the sidewall.

[wheeler]

Some thoughts on the sealant type of kits:

• As for reusing the tyre, it is my understanding that the sealant leaves a latex type film on the inside of the tyre, making any future repair difficult for the patching-glue to bond / key to the surface.

When you do a puncture repair (whether gunk has been used or not) the patched area is thoroughly buffed clean with an abrasive sanding wheel to rough up the surface, the smooth rubber inside the tyre is also unsuitable for bonding the patch anyway so this would still have be done.

[*]Although the jury is out on how they affect TPMS systems, there has to be the possibility that the sealant may get into the tiny sensor hole of the TPMS sensor and this may cause future problems with the sensor if not fully cleaned out. Replacement TPMS sensors can cost the same as a premium tyre, so are not cheap.

Many of them claim to be TPMS safe & I cant imagine the factory kits are unsuitable for TPMS if the manufacturer has supplied it with a car that has TPMS sensors.
I know the Slime brand claims to be TPMS safe & it is also water soluble for easy cleaning off.