Hi all
Just had a puncture on my MK3 and had to use the tyre sealant.
Cost of new sealant on mX5 parts is £70 but I notice that Halfords sell many sealants which appear to do the same or similar thing for a fraction of the cost.
Anyone any experience or views?
Regards
Mike
Hi all.
just read this thread this afternoon which prompted me to pop out to the garage and check the expiry date on my tyre sealant.
turns out it expired in Oct 10!! What surprises me a bit is that my 5 has received 2 services since then and clearly has not been checked. I would have thought it would be part of a service.
MX5 Parts quote about £28 for the sealant on its own they also do a cheaper brand though I’m not sure if its compatible with the Mazda inflator.
Barry
Sealers like Holts use pressure in the can to inflat the tyre enough for you to drive, in a sensible fashion, to a service station to pump up to full standard psi. If you have the inflater in the car you can do it all in one go. So you could save yourself the cash. I know several van drivers who have used a can of holts on the same tyre more than once over time, but of course thats not recommended “but it can be done” it is supposed to be a tempory fix to get you out trouble. The tyre should be repaired as quickly as possible, but not many tyre shops will take the trouble to clean out the goo, and will want to fit a new tyre even if its hardly worn at all.
Hi BG. Thanks for advice.
so does that mean that the aftermarket sealants such as slime and tyreweld can still be used in conjunction with the standard Mazda inflator?
Barry
Dont know about the Mazda inflator as ive never seen one, but if its just a normal pump then yes. If not a 12 volt pump or just a good old foot pump will do, but as said, the can will get some air in the tyre enough to drive to a service station. I did use a VW kit once, and it was a shambles. Read instuctions, Assemble, get sealant all over hands, try to pack away kit without swearing get to hire company who want to charge a fortune for replacement sealant, wonder why i just didnt call breakdown service to remove and take wheel for repair and return to fit, think " it wasnt like this in the old days" , get to where i was going an hour late. OR, Remove a valve cap, screw on can and let it do it`s magic, put valve cap back, put empty can in rubbish and drive away.
Thx for that.
ill prob get myself a can then.
cheers
Your welcome bud, hope you don`t have the need to use it anyway
This use of Mazda sealant seems to come up a lot. However, bottom line is that it is a tyre made by a tyre company on a wheel made by a wheel company and a valve made by a valve company. The fact it is on a Mazda car makes no difference to any of this and so any of the tyre sealants should work. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
As someone who fits tyres however, the common thing of “if you use a sealant they tyre company will just want to replace it” is not true. If you have a nail in the tread of your tyre and you have the “usual” situation when you have to add air every other day. Most people don’t put sealant in, they get the puncture fixed. Providing the nail was in a repairable position and no other damage has occurred then that repair will last the rest for the full life of the tyre. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Situations where tyre sealants are used are usually when a tyre is found totally flat or a puncture on the road. So you are driving along the road and you notice the tyre is not feeling right and 100 yards up the road there is a sign that says parking one mile, you can make that, you will drive carefully, however you roll slowly into the layby to find the tyre is totally flat and has been for the last 400 yards. Bugger! However you have a can of sealant; that will fix it! You use it, inflate the tyre and off you go. You have no idea what caused the problem because you don’t even have to remove the wheel and to be honest you just want to get where you are going. So when you get to the garage to get it fixed, it is unlikely just to have a nail in it that was leaking air slowly, it will have something more serious that let air out quickly. More importantly however, that last 400 yards that you limped to the layby when there was no air in the tyre at all has caused the inner rim to shave most of the rubber on the inner side walls and now the threads are showing or are about to. From the outside the tyre looks fine, but on the inside it is absolutely destroyed.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Here are some pictures of tyres were from the outside face they looked ok.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
This was on a Mondeo. The customer wanted the wheel balancing because he was getting vibration at speed and seemed quite upset that I told him he would have to have a new tyre. This tyre had not been punctured, just run at low enough pressure for the side walls to be shaved. <o:p></o:p>
This tyre was off a Volvo. The lady had parked it up 2 miles from home, where she started. Somewhere in that 2 miles she got a punchure and this was the result.
Most people would look at that tyre from the outside face and say it was OK
So it is not the sealant that is the problem, it is what it is hiding.
Good stuff thanks Nick! She wouldn’t have got away with sealer on that second tyre anyway 
Get a space saver, Hyundai Coupe 2004-on 5 stud, and RX8, fit Mk3. Mazda supply the jack and wrench but no wheel! Then the punctured tyre can be examined and fixed properly instead of messing around with any goo at all.
Those pictures are really enlightening ! thanks.
an excelent explanation Nick thanks!
A little more on this subject of inflation kits. Am I correct in thinking that if you have a tyre inflation kit in the car and the bottle of fluid/gunge (not sure what to call it) is out of date, it’s an MOT Fail? I ask because my bottle will be out of date before my next MOT.
It’s not an MOT fail.