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Is Fix-A-Flat any good?
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,260 ✭✭✭✭
My girlfriend just bought a real nice used car. The only fault with this car is it has a piece-of-crap donut spare.
All things being equal I would buy a real wheel and put a tire on it and she would have a real spare.
But, the wheel well is tiny, room only for the donut.
If it was me, I would put a real spare tire in the trunk. She likes to pile up junk in the trunk and does not want a spare tire in there.
She often drives from Atlanta up here to the North Carolina mountains, it is a 220 mile trip. If she were heading up here on a Friday night, and had a flat tire in Greenville SC, she would just have to spend the night in Greenville, because it says you can't exceed 50 mph on the donut, and are not supposed to go very far on it. I can't see coming up over the mountains and going 120 miles at the midnight hour on the donut.
So, would Fix-A-Flat be a good solution for her?
All things being equal I would buy a real wheel and put a tire on it and she would have a real spare.
But, the wheel well is tiny, room only for the donut.
If it was me, I would put a real spare tire in the trunk. She likes to pile up junk in the trunk and does not want a spare tire in there.
She often drives from Atlanta up here to the North Carolina mountains, it is a 220 mile trip. If she were heading up here on a Friday night, and had a flat tire in Greenville SC, she would just have to spend the night in Greenville, because it says you can't exceed 50 mph on the donut, and are not supposed to go very far on it. I can't see coming up over the mountains and going 120 miles at the midnight hour on the donut.
So, would Fix-A-Flat be a good solution for her?
Comments
Your idea is the best solution.
Doug
No.
Your idea is the best solution.
Doug
+..you want to pizz off a tire changer..fill one with fix-flat,..some of them will rust steel wheels and corrode aluminum,..plug it..or buy a new one..donuts are only made to get you in Allen,..don't trust them,..50mph or 50 miles is the limit,..she needs a full size wheel and tire..she will get over the space lost to it next time she has a flat..very quickly..Loko
not sure. but id make room for a full size
Loko, you are being rational. The problem is, I am dealing with the female "brain."
[:D]..sneak it in when she's not home..[;)]..Loko
Fix/flat works. If you popped the bead or have a *, you're out of luck. But minor punctures (nails/screws) or if some vandal lets the air out...it works great.
IMO, you'd be foolish not to. It's way too dangerous to attempt to replace a flat tire on the side of the road. Not to mention if you're in a "rough" neighborhood.
Fix-a-flat has saved me on various occassions...especially after hurricanes when roofing nails are scattered on the road.
Green Slime works good too, but you must put it in PRIOR to a flat and is much more expensive.
Go ahead...buy her a can, teach her how to use it.
Buy a real tire on a real rim.
Get the Booster Battery Compressor thing.
She will only like this solution it if she ever has to use it.
Otherwise you are pond scum. Get used to it.
My $0.02
If all else fails she can jack the towtruck!
[:D]
I carry a few cans of fix-a-flat (or similar) in the tool box of my truck. I also carry tire plugs and a small compressor.
Fix/flat works. If you popped the bead or have a *, you're out of luck. But minor punctures (nails/screws) or if some vandal lets the air out...it works great.
IMO, you'd be foolish not to. It's way too dangerous to attempt to replace a flat tire on the side of the road. Not to mention if you're in a "rough" neighborhood.
Fix-a-flat has saved me on various occassions...especially after hurricanes when roofing nails are scattered on the road.
Green Slime works good too, but you must put it in PRIOR to a flat and is much more expensive.
Go ahead...buy her a can, teach her how to use it.
http://www.12vautotech.com/ezlug.html
In 4 years of fixing tires I did not find a single one that stayed aired up with that fix a flat junk. If you absolutely don't think she can change a flat tire-buy her a set of run flats from Bridgestone-that way she can go 50 miles on a regular tire and at least get her out of the woods til she can find someone to change it.
I worked at a gas station while going to college--Fix a Flat is the BANE of people who end up having to fix the darn tire anyways because the fix a flat didn't seal up the hole. It makes the biggest mess and it does make it more difficult to patch the tire. Do her and yourself a favor with some peace of mind-get a real spare-tell her to deal with it-and teach her how to change it or get her a AAA card. Although if she is in an area with no cell service she should learn how to change it anyway. If you don't think she can undo the lug nuts with a standard wrench, get a small piece of pipe to use as a breaker bar-or get one like this that has a gear reduction
http://www.12vautotech.com/ezlug.html
In 4 years of fixing tires I did not find a single one that stayed aired up with that fix a flat junk. If you absolutely don't think she can change a flat tire-buy her a set of run flats from Bridgestone-that way she can go 50 miles on a regular tire and at least get her out of the woods til she can find someone to change it.
A cell phone, road service (i.e. AAA), emergency food & water, and of course a weapon of choice might be in order. [}:)]
Just tell your girlfriend NO. If she insists on arguing with you tell her if she keeps it up, she's gonna piss off Big Willie and the Twins and they won't be coming around for a while.
Just get the full size spare and put it in there. Also, I agree with the idea of getting her a breaker bar that she can operate. If that means an extra-long breaker bar or a regular length one with a piece of pipe to slip over it (a "cheater"), then do that.
I also agree on the little 12volt air compressor things and the jumper set device.
DO NOT USE THAT AEROSOL PUNCTURE SEALANT CRAP. Not only is it very messy, but it is of questionable benefit when used in tires at freeway speed.
Did you know that some places will refuse to fix a flat that has that stuff in it. They claim that the stuff somehow vulcanizes the inside of the tire (which it is already, so I don't get it) and that a patch won't stick to it? A plug may be in order, but the right fix is to plug it, cut it off inside and apply an inside patch.
EDIT:
oldemagics said:
quote:with all these things against it, i wonder how it remains on the market The REASON is because people just don't know!!!
I have put several hundred miles on a donut tire at hiway speeds.
For your girlfriend I have to wonder what condition are her current tires? I mean if you're worried about a flat the tires must be either bald or it's sparking (from the steel belt showing). I wonder if you can get one of those SUV tire holders (you know the ones that is on the out side) mounted on her small car? Hell get a roof rack and mount the real spare on top if she's tight for trunk space.
most varieties are also extremely flamible, so watch out if a can gets punctured by something bounceing around in the trunk
only a few are NOT extermemly corrosive, and can actually eat through a steel wheel in a couple weeks, and corrode beyond repair the sealing surface of an aluminum wheel almost as quick
it can also seap into the steel cords of a radial tire and begin rusting/corrodeing the steel bands in a very short time and cause a true week spot waiting for time or impact to cause it to blow out...a much worse case than your usual "going flat" for loseing control
and as noted earlier, it also benetrates the inside liner of the tire and is VERY difficult to remove well enough to get a repair patch to adhere and remain so.
because of this some shops will not give any gaurantee that the repair will hold, and if the repair is no longer viable, your stuck buying a new tire for a small puncture!
with all these things against it, i wonder how it remains on the market
Fix-a-flat let me down when I caught a flat tire. A part of it broke and I was screwed. Yes, I was on a spare [8]
Thank God it was close to home [:D][:D]
I carry a few cans of fix-a-flat (or similar) in the tool box of my truck. I also carry tire plugs and a small compressor.
Fix/flat works. If you popped the bead or have a *, you're out of luck. But minor punctures (nails/screws) or if some vandal lets the air out...it works great.
IMO, you'd be foolish not to. It's way too dangerous to attempt to replace a flat tire on the side of the road. Not to mention if you're in a "rough" neighborhood.
Fix-a-flat has saved me on various occassions...especially after hurricanes when roofing nails are scattered on the road.
Green Slime works good too, but you must put it in PRIOR to a flat and is much more expensive.
Go ahead...buy her a can, teach her how to use it.
you can use a can of her hair spray or get a can of starting fluid in case you lose a bead seal, spray it in, and lite it like your going to usea flame thrower, the gase expands, seals tire back on bead
If all else fails drive with the flat on if she has to.
Had a blow out in Detroit one night at 0300 no way was I stopping to change it.
If you can get the full size tire in the truck build a new truck bottom if you have to out of plywood and make hiddy holes in it for her
I travel for a living,I put 89,000 miles on a ford van last year,I carry fix-a-flat and a small air compresser that plugs into the lighter,if its a small, like a nail hole or has a nail in the tire that is leaking down,,,screw a flat head screw like a drywall screw into the hole,,it will hold air for hours and get you into a repair place,I have had a tire hold for days with a corse thread flat head screw screwed into the hole [:D]
That's what I'm talking about. [:D]
Or, use a can of fix-a-flat and be on her way in less than 5 minutes?
I'd worry more about her than the guy repairing the tire later!!!
.
Ditto with Green Slime and other flat preventing goo.
A portable air compressor only works if the tire will still hold some air. Useless for a blowout or a major cut.
AAA will send help, if you have an hour or more to wait. Think about every place she is apt to drive. Is there any place where she might be uncomfortable or unsafe to wait for an hour or more?
I vote for carrying a spare tire, either full-size or donut, and some hands-on tutoring on changing a flat quickly.
My dad raised three daughters and me. None of us was allowed to leave the house in a car until we demonstrated to Dad, on the driveway, our ability to change a flat tire without help.
That is really the simplest solution.
Fix-a-flat *DOES* work on small punctures or slow leaks, and its certainly better than nothing, but its not going to repair everything. If you pop a tire on the highway at speed, the tire will likely be chewed up and it won't help you.
Also, if/when you pull out a nail, the tire can leak air faster than the fix-a-flat can repair it, so it helps to have an air compressor handy *ALSO*.
Personally, I keep a can in the trunk *in addition* to my spare tire.
A puncture kit isn't a bad idea either, though again, you actually have to know how to use it.
The can of fix-a-flat can itself freeze in super cold weather, so if that's a possibility where you live, try keeping it inside the passenger compartment.
Here is some good info on patching a bad tire:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=77