Anyone had to use their fix a flat to get home? How was the experience. How long is original good to retain. Concerns, tips?
Thanks for feedback.

 

I used regular fix-a-flat to address a screw in my passenger rear tire. Likely very similar to the p-car fix-a-flat which has a shelf life of 4 yrs. Observations: I left the screw/nail in and filled the tire with FAF. In my case FAF helped but the tire would slowly leak and I had to stop every 20mins to pump up the tire. We made it back from College Station to Austin, 105 miles trip, and had the tire properly patched from the inside the next day. The leaking FAF, however, sprayed gunk all over the rear wheel liner, onto the exhaust system, and some even stuck to the rear bumper. Took me a good 2 hours to removal all of it... PITA. I've since purchased the Porsche spare tire kit and take it on our long hauls outside of Austin.

 

Just wondering...the PSTK is like $1200, takes up luggage space and then, where would you place the flat tire. Not sure if this works for me on road trips as the wife uses every inc of storage. Thanks for your input as I had no idea this was an option.

 

I'm just not comfortable pumping that goo into a high performance tire. I keep a tire repair kit w/ compressor like this just in case.

 

I've carried tire repair kits for years and used them many times. They work well and far better than that nasty slime. The OEM compressor will inflate a tire for you, all you need is a set of plugs with the tools and you are good to go.

 

A patch kit is an alternative as others have mentioned. Doesn't work for sidewall damage though and sometimes you have to remove the tire to access/service the puncture location on the tire tread. Make sure to add a scissor jack to the frunk if you go this route so that you can jack up the car and remove the tire if necessary. I have patch kit in the car but sometimes these flats occur at the most inopportune time... like when I was heading down to College Station for a football game with my wife the last time we got a flat. Next time I plan on throwing the flat tire in a trash bag and into the rear seat. Mount the p-spare in its place and continue on my trip to make it in time for the game.

FWIW, you can usually pick up the PSTK from another forum member for ~$400... check the Parts Market sub-forum. You'll need to pay the annual membership fee to view that part of the forum. jhbrennan just had a PSTK listed there last week for $350. You want to find one that has not been inflated previously as once inflated it's difficult to get it 100% collapsed again. Regarding luggage space... you'll lose about 1/2 the frunk space but we pack most of what we need in the back "luggage" seats.

AAA Premier membership is another option if you have the patience and time to wait on them to show.

 

Mine includes some fine steel wire and hook needle for sewing the sidewall together. I've even fixed ripped sidewalls with a whole bunch of plugs. Not exactly a great solution, and I wouldn't go fast, but in a push it will allow you to get somewhere.

As you say, the better solution is definitely the spare kit and is usually always going to be quicker and safer. I always have punctures in the middle of nowhere when the weather is either 100+ or below freezing!

 

I wonder if Fix a Flat, or any other similar product, has a negative impact on the pressure sensors? As for a patch kit, getting a tire plugged, or having a spare tire, etc., another reason that shows how you are screwed with CLs!

 

I was in Oregon on a DE event, and developed a flat, and I was 350 miles away from home, there was no shop open on Sunday who could fix a Porsche tire (or the ones I checked), and I used the Porsche supplied fix-a-flat, and it sealed the tire very well. I drove back 350 miles, and also monitored the pressure the whole time. Zero PSI loss... I still drove it around for another 100-150 miles before I got it properly fixed. During that time it never lost any pressure and I was quite impressed with the solution.

 

I carry these kits in every car. Even if you have spare, these kits can be very convenient.

 

I have one of these too and wouldn't take a trip without it!
You don't even take the tire off. Jack it up, find the screw or nail, remove it with the pliers in the kit, then use the reamer, then put some slippery goo on the plug and use the tool to install it and the razor knife to trim it. Plug in the really great compressor which is really pretty quiet and pump up the tire. And your back on your way without any worries. I've driven on these plugs for the remainder of the life of the tire and never, ever had a problem!

On a side note about the internal patch they're selling now. I did that one time and it took the repair guy at Firestone 3 times to get it to hold and with every attempt ground off a little more of the tire on the inside which cannot in no way be good or safe! I've repaired at least 4 flats or more with this repair kit and NEVER had one problem and never took it for the other repair again!

Experience tells me the plug method which was used for soooo many years is still just as good as anything!

Hope this helps.

 

By the way forgot to mention the griots tire repair kit including the awesome pump is around 75 bucks - a very good deal. Of course it will not fix a sidewall blowout of which I've only had one of in my life - so chances are it wii be a nail or screw in the tread.

 

Hmmm... never knew that sidewalls could be patched that way but conceptually I see how that might work in an emergency especially if you apply FAF afterwards. Will have to source some fine wire and hook needles for the car's e-kit. I've been strained in some fairly remote towns here over the years... Most of of which had nothing more than a Walmart as a source for of tires. I can't imagine trying to source a 19" MPSS replacement tire... let alone any type of 305's for the rear. I'm happy with the PSTK but I always keep a patch kit JIC... odds of getting hit twice may be rare but why chance it. Better to practice the 7 P's...

 

Marine aviator? Proper prior planning...

 

...prevents **** poor performance. Bad eyes so I went Marine Avionics. How about you?