MarkC

Is it possible to use a tyre mousse, similar to the World Rally boys do, routinely in a road car tyre?

I'm thinking I could get rid of the spare and pump thus releasing some extra space and loosing some weight in the process! (from the car not me )

I know you can buy can of the stuff that you put into the tyre AFTER you get a puncture, but what about stuff that sits in there all the time?

Anyone tried it or know of anyone who has? Did it cause balencing problems?

Bins

Apparently, the spare tyres also there for both weight and safety reasons.

Weight because the rear will be even heavier, without. Bigger difference front to rear weight ratio.
Safety because the tyre is part of the crash impact protection thingy.

Flying Finn

I just took the spare out (that & compressor are quite heavy) and I carry that after puncture mousse bottle and cell phone with me.

I have no info on that 'rally' mousse but I'd think it's not ok for street.
Since it's not invented to use on road circuits etc. It's for rally where balancing etc. is not as important as in street circuit (ok, pit is usually not so close either...)

Thomas Linser

Mark!

If I were you, I wouldn't take of the space saver tyre of your lugage compartment!

As Bins quoted it's part of the crash safety devices in your car. I've heard about a guy who couldn't get paid by the insurance company after he crashed the fron of his car 3.2, because the insurance company stated that the space saver tyre wasn't in the car during the crash. That happened in Europe, Switzerland to be precise.

Cheers THOMAS

Fred R. C4S

Having had 3 punctures of 285 section rear tires on my C4S, I would never dream of leaving home without a spare and the pump. If you have a puncture, particularly on the rear, and on the highway, by the time you get the car safely stopped at the side of the road, your tire will be ruined. The hole will likely be so large that you can't seal it with a can of "Fixit". I also can't imagine the trouble you will later have trying to clean that gunk of off your expensive wheel after you dismount the tire.

On paper, "flat tire repair in a can" sounds like a great idea, but I just don't see from my experience that it offers any practical benefit. Those manufactureres that have gone that way have done so because there was no place in the car for a spare. A "run flat tire" would be a better choice. However, the US Gov. is contemplating making tire pressure monitoring systems mandatory on new cars. I have such a system, "SmarTire" on one set of my wheels, and it duly reported a catastrophic leak just as I was exiting the expressway. By the time I got stopped 4 blocks away, the puncture was now too big to be repaired by any means. How did I manage the last 3 miles to home? Spare tire and tire pump.

MarkC

Yes, I'd thought of that BUT as I'm just about to fit the PSS-9's and will corner weight to set it all up the weight shouldn't be an issue.

I want to loose the rear seats as well so that should also help.

I've followed the discussions about crash safety/crumple zone, but don't hold with the theory that the spare is part of the crash safety system so don't have a worry there.

MarkC

Sorry my last reply missed a couple of the interim ones....

I check my pressures religiously so any puncture I suffer is likely to be a nail or similar sharp intrusion and therefore NOT a catastophic "blow out" caused by underinflation and resultant heat build up.

I'm a member of a breakdown service (with home relay) anyway, so getting home isn't a concern. I'd just rather dispense with the requirement to carry the spare if it could be avoided.

If use use the "run flat repair in a can", presumably you need to re-inflate the tyre so still need the pump?

Fred R. C4S

My catastrophic failure was not a result of running under inflated. I was following behind a pick-up pulling a flat trailer filled with scrap. I apparently ran over on S shaped wired used on a rubber tie down cable. The wire punctured the tire, the warning alarm went off indicating a sudden loss of pressure. I checked the display and the system display indicated 0 pressure in the tire. I was on an off ramp at the time. I proceeded 2 blocks to a service station, jacked up the car, removed the tire and saw that the puncture was hopelessly beyond repair.

Bottomline...if you want to run without a spare good luck. You might want to get a few St. Christopher medals for insurance.

Cheers,

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

MarkC

Fred,

You're right but I think you got pretty unlucky.

The mousse should have stopped the tyre loosing all pressure instantly as you experienced, and possibly allowed you to drive to a tyre centre which is what you're going to do on the spare anyway.

No St. Christophers for me, just a mobile phone and RAC membership.

Flying Finn

[quote]Originally posted by MarkC:
<strong>...If use use the "run flat repair in a can", presumably you need to re-inflate the tyre so still need the pump?...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Nope,

pressure from the bottle will do it.