Puncture on motorway No Spare Wheel. Rubbish Tyre Inflator

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Nov 11, 2009
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I've got a set of "Tyre Strings" - string impregnated with glue which can be pushed into a puncture, using several for a bigger hole - haven't need to try them though.


We carried similar when off roading but only as a very temporary measure to get to a public hard surfaced road where assistance could be provided. But I never saw them used by anyone in the group as we all carried a full spare wheel and often a spare tyre too.

The strings and similar aren’t really intended for passenger carrying vehicles on public roads.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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This keeps popping up. Would you use one? If yes how far do you think you could safely travel?

I wouldn’t use one, prefer to rely on the space saver. If I wanted belt and braces I could always carry a goo kit in the event of acquiring another puncture whilst using the space saver. But that’s really having a bad day.
Using strings, worms or mushrooms isn’t legal on the public Highway and no way do they meet the following. What speed would you drive, what pressure, Just because they seem to be accepted in the USA doesn’t necessarily carry over to here. There are approved legal get you out of trouble solutions pending a repair to British Standard, or buying a new tyre if a repair isn’t possible.


1. Tyres must be fit for purpose and be free from any defects which might damage the road or endanger any person.”
 
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Nov 16, 2015
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This keeps popping up. Would you use one? If yes how far do you think you could safely travel?

I've got a set of "Tyre Strings" - string impregnated with glue which can be pushed into a puncture, using several for a bigger hole - haven't need to try them though.

I have those for my motorcycle, and my mate has the Mushrooms , both seem to be ok for a couple of hundreds miles. If your touring Scotland or somewhere remote. I carry CO² cylinders to inflate the tyres.
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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FWIW: I got my broken TPMS valve replaced on Wednesday. £80. That was just for the part. The local friendly garage didn't charge me for labour or running the diagnostics which is needed to pair the valve with the car.

There are cheaper versions but the advice was to go with the OEM version as many others don't pair well.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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FWIW: I got my broken TPMS valve replaced on Wednesday. £80. That was just for the part. The local friendly garage didn't charge me for labour or running the diagnostics which is needed to pair the valve with the car.

There are cheaper versions but the advice was to go with the OEM version as many others don't pair well.
Probably about right as I paid £90 for mine to be replaced. Not sure but I don't think my needed to be paired as I think it is done automatically?
 
Nov 6, 2005
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Probably about right as I paid £90 for mine to be replaced. Not sure but I don't think my needed to be paired as I think it is done automatically?
Back in 2015 I paid £128 for a set of 4 TPMS sensors for my winter wheels - they were aftermarket type, not OE, but they registered automatically - the nightmare was selecting the correct type out of all the possibilities. Given that my original wheels/sensors are nearly 8 years old I guess I need to replace the sensors next time the tyres are replaced.
 
Aug 24, 2020
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Morning all

I've got one of these:

which my luvvly in-laws gave me for my birthday last year (it was on my list). Does a fine job on both cars and the caravan.

Thanks to many people on this thread for reminding me that I've been meaning for ages to get a full size spare, just so I can be confident of not having to tow with the space save on. Found one on Fleabay with about a thousand miles worth of legal tread on it, and I discovered yesterday afternoon that it JUST fits in the space-saver well, although the boot false floor doesn't sit totally flush.

I think my long term plan will be to organise a bracket to carry full size spare and jack on the roof bars - I've checked the weight and it's well within tolerance. I'll only carry it with me when I'm towing, any other time the space saver is fine.
 
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Jun 16, 2020
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The idea of towing with a space saver has never bothered me. It has to be within the load limits. Obviously, I would take it easy.

It is not something I have ever had to do, but I have needed to use a space saver solo a few times and was surprised that the car felt no different. I had to keep it in mind not to go too fast.

John
 
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JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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I have used repair “string” many times on various vehicles and it’s been a great get out of trouble repair. No need to remove the wheel so a very quick repair until you can get the vehicle somewhere to make a full repair . I ended up with a string repair in my van tyre for over a week until I could get a matching tyre. I only do local journeys I checked the tyre pressure regularly it never lost any air and when the tyre was removed the string had made a plug that could not be pulled out. I came across the repair string in France where I had a puncture they tyre garage did not have a replacement tyre and repaired the tyre with the repair string. I managed to get a tyre a day later.
so now all my vehicles have a pouch with a repair string kit much better than the repair goo in my experience? I expect the various plug systems now available do as good a job.
 
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