Emergency puncture repair kit

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
2

Has anyone any experience of using the emergency puncture repair kit as supplied to MX-5s for some years now, instead of supplying a spare wheel ? (well, there’s probably nowhere to put a spare in a mk.3 MX-5 anyway !).  The dealer who sold me this car, told me not to use it at all, stating that it was better to call out the AA in case of a puncture, because using the goo would wreck the tyre !

I’m sure there must be some correspondence on this subject from somewhere in past years, but I’m sure most people will not begrudge me asking again (I am a relative newbee after all !), and I don’t have the time or the inclination to sift thought 155 pages of posts (and a search didn’t get me very far !).

I look forward to some interesting replies !

Chris Phillips.

  

3

I checked the use by date on the original tub supplied by Mazda which had well expired so I carry a couple of cans of the Holt’s product instead. Also have a compressor and plug repair kit on board.

Others will tell me if I’m wrong but I think the silicone based products make it difficult to add a repair at a later date.

4

Hi Chris.  Try this thread, sorry I can’t do a link - Emergency Puncture Repair Areosols???

5

Hi Chris - it’s all on this forum here: https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst40470_Alphabetical-index-of-the-NC-FAQ-section.aspx   

( See Technical NC index if the link fails )

For my two penny-worth - I wouldn’t go anywhere far with just a can of gunk to help me out with a puncture, so I followed the advice given by Geoff Walton on the NC Technical and got a  Space-saver wheel. Hyundai coupe 16 inch is the one - I’ve tried it and it works, and now it stays in my boot. 

Downside is it’s a bit heavy and obviously takes up a bit of space - but I’ve found even with the spare wheel the boot is still quite a good size compared to some other manufacturers 2- seater sports cars.

Hope this helps, Colin

 

 

 

 

6

I have always bought a spare or spacesaver for previous cars. As I only got my mx5 last month I haven’t done so yet and will continue looking at eBay for a decent priced one, there are several different cars wheels that will fit the mx5.

I’m concerned about the amount of room it will take up (and a jack) in the already meagre boot though. It’s a tough decision and will be one of those sods law moments whichever way I go. 

Never used the aerosol thing in my life, can imagine it’ll be awkward, messy, and a real pain to do, as well as potentially ruining the wheel. 

7

Saw a guy with a big rip in his front tyre trying to use a can of sealant the other day. Didn’t have the heart to tell him. I carry a space saver by the way.

8

With a space saver and a jack in the boot, is there any usable space left?

9

In the ND owner’s handbook Mazda say that after using the emergency puncture repair kit you should:-

“Carefully drive the vehicle to the nearest expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer immediately and have the flat tyre replaced.  REPLACEMENT WITH A NEW TYRE IS RECOMMENDED.  IF THE TYRE IS TO BE REPAIRED OR REUSED, consult an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer.”

Definitive advice?  Maybe, or are they hedging their bets as is the norm with manufacturers.

1 Like
10

Does anyone know which other wheels, other than the Hyundai Coupe 16" will do the job of a space saver?
Also…from the Holts Tyreweld website: Unlike some of our competitors, Holts Tyreweld does not damage your tyres. After using Tyreweld, the puncture can be repaired according to the British standard BS AU159:f.”

1 Like
11

Use this website to see other wheels that will fit 

http://www.wheel-fitment.com/car/Mazda.html 

12

This site:

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/mazda  looks useful too.  On the face of it, Mazda 3 and 6 wheels are the right stud pattern for a Mk3.  Can anyone confirm if the skinny spares from these vehicles clear the MX5 brakes?

TIA

13

i carry a can of spray 

but is that not what breakdown membership is for

i travel on the motorways a lot and there is no way i would change a tyre on the side of a motorway i would call out the breakdown service  

1 Like
14

Apart from having the Mazda gunk and Holts tyre weld i carry one of these…
STOP 'N GO POCKET TYRE PLUGGER KIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STOP-N-GO-POCKET-TYRE-PLUGGER-KIT-/391626883939?hash=item5b2ec80363:g:7wsAAOSwcLxYLya3

15

That’s a nifty idea - I’ve ordered one and hope I never have to use it…

 

Thanks

16

I recently used a Ford kit by the side of the road, 11pm on a sunday night. Miserable experience. Tiny, barely legible instructions, foam went in tyre never inflated. Limped a mile and half to a petrol station and civilization. Only to find buried in the 200 page glovebox book that the tyre is supposed to be rotated so the valve is at the top. 2 hour wait for a low loader, and an hour to get home. Sticks in the mind particularly, because I was ferrying my mother who was complaining of a sore back. Week later, she was paralyzed chest down, due to spinal cord infarction (Strep B infection on the cord, destroyed it).

17

https://youtu.be/-dfk0MXUuiM

18

Never seen those kits before, they look really handy 

19

I used one of these plug repair kits on my motorcycle in Ireland last year …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gear-Gremlin-GG170-Tyre-Repair/dp/B00CCE6100

… repaired in 15 minutes and back on the road.

The gas canisters were not quite enough to inflate to full pressure, but the MX5 12v compressor will sort this.

Much better than squirty foam kits.

Neither plugs nor squirty foam kits will repair a large hole or tear in the tyre.

I have a Mazda RX8 space saver alloy wheel in the boot of my Mk3.5. Fits perfectly front or rear, but I believe space savers should only be used on the non driven axle - so front wheel fitment is important as the brakes are bigger.

I did try a space saver from a Mazda 6, but it fouled the brake calliper. Maybe a wheel spacer will help, but I decided against this as the standard wheel studs may not be long enough to secure the nuts safely.

Note that although a space saver may fit in the boot, the full size wheel you take off may not. I sort of hope that the deflated tyre may mean it will fit, but then again I hope I don’t have to try !!

Nick.

20

Thank you gentlemen, for all your very helpful replies to my puncture query.  

The tyre plugger thing looks especially handy, but whether or not one would actually want to use it late at night and p*****g down with rain, is another matter altogether !

These cans of gunge seem a very hit-or-miss idea.  But with tyres and wheels being of a larger diameter, and much wider too, on modern cars, than traditionally used back in the day, and boot space on a car like an MX-5 so limited, what are manufacturers to logically do ?  Relying on people like the AA is really the only option I suppose.

On the subject of spare wheels taking up all of the boot: I have mentioned in previous posts about my time in the 1970s as a mechanic at the famous Rob Walker garage at Corsely (between Frome and Warminster).  Well, when ‘The Man’ brought in his Mercedes Benz 300 SL ‘Gull Wing’ for its annual MoT test, it was amazing to witness the spare wheel for that car filling the boot, and not even leaving enough space for an overnight bag !  I’m sure I’ve seen pictures of some cars (the old Rover 2000 immediately springs to mind) with a rack mounted on the boot lid to carry the spare, but I wouldn’t really fancy doing that with my MX-5 I must admit.

It’s interesting to learn that Mazda only advise using the goo to get a stranded vehicle to a tyre specialist, and then only to have a new tyre fitted, and NOT get the old one more permanently repaired, or even relying on the emergency repair lasting, and to be used as normal !

With all the advances is motoring technology over the past 46 years since I have been driving, it seems to me that what to do in the case of a roadside puncture has not been very well addressed.  Having said that, in all my years behind the wheel, I have only had two occasions where I needed to change a wheel on the side of the road.

Incidentally, can anyone else remember the 1970’s Mini 1275 GT, which had special wheels fitted, Denovo wheels I think they were called, that were designed to not require a wheel to be changed immediately, in the event of a puncture - an early form on ‘run-flat’ wheel I suppose. 

 

Anyway, thanks once again for all your help.

Chris Phillips.