Are puncture repair kits the way forward or should we look to pay for a spare tyre? Puncture repair kits have become a standard replacement from the traditional spare car tyres, particularly with vehicle manufacturers working hard to reduce the CO2 emissions.
The additional weight of the spare tyre makes a difference to both the vehicle's economy and emissions.
Tyre puncture repair kits work by inflating the tyre and sealing the tyre with a gel type substance.
The gel is forced into the car tyres along with the air to re-inflate the tyre.
This is designed to be a temporary measure, so as soon as possible you would need to arrange to have the tyre changed.
A lot of garages will recommend a new tyre at this point.
The gel that is forced into the tyre is very difficult to remove from the tyre and time consuming.
However, the advantage of the puncture repair kit is the ease of use, especially when you consider the weight of some tyres, 4x4 tyres can weigh as much as a small child! The whole process of inflating the punctured tyre can take a few minutes with the kit and is minimal fuss.
Another advantage with the electric compressors is that you can check to make sure the tyre is inflated to the correct pressure.
Any loss in pressure could result in further problems down the road, especially if the tyre is under the recommended pressure for a long period of time.
If a vehicle is travelling at speed with a heavy load the vehicle would bounce up and down on the tyre causing friction.
The tyre can heat up to temperatures that the tyre can not cope with, this could potentially cause a blow out, or in extreme cases cause the tyre to burst into flames.
Removing one of your car tyres to fit the spare wheel is not easy as you need to change the wheel.
This can be quite a difficult and tricky process, when you take just lifting the wheel off and on to the car into consideration, then once the spare is in place you then have the small bar to tighten the wheel nuts.
It takes some muscle power! Garages use torque wrenches and air guns to tighten the wheel nuts.
Not to mention strong vehicle technicians who do it every day.
It is imperative that the all the nuts are firmly secured on to the vehicle as a loose wheel nut could case a major crash! As tyre technology has improved dramatically over the years the chances of having a blow out have become rare.
Although the more traditional customer will still prefer a spare wheel there is some major advantages to the tyre repair kits.
Although a spare wheel is the only way to cover a blow out, the disadvantage is that you can only cover one tyre.
With the repair kit there is the option to repair more than one tyre if necessary.