Tyre repairs

[StuartT]

I have just discovered that my new MG4 has no spare tyre! This is more than a little worrying. Acc to the manual there is a 'repair kit' which doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Does anyone have any experience of actually dealing with a puncture? Does the tyre repair kit actually work?

 

[Rolfe]

All I know is that when my music-playing partner had a flat tyre in her ICE car in the spring, and that also had nothing but the gunk repair kit, I had to rescue her, rescue the friend she was going to pick up, take them both home, then take my friend back to her car to meet the RAC patrolman when he finally showed up.

The RAC man had a more advanced version of the gunk which involved a patch on the (fairly substantial) defect in the tyre before introducing the gunk.

I then followed her and the RAC van 14 miles to the garage in the village, noting that she was going slower and slower as we went. When we got to the garage the tyre was looking pretty flat again. I think it was a write-off anyway, but the gunk was hopeless.

I don't like this either, and I'm not sure what to do. Last year I had a bad flat in my Golf and drove on the spacer spare wheel for a couple of days with no trouble before getting the main wheel repaired with a new tyre.

 

[dsimpkins]

There's a YouTube video of someone modifying their boot to allow storage of a ZS spare wheel. That was a Trophy edition with the two level boot floor.

Also, the space saver spare from your old Golf has the same PCD as the MG4, so in theory you could use one of those as a spare.

Most cars have ditched the spare wheel these days, and tyre gunk is all you get. I'm not worried as long as I have breakdown recovery.

 

[Rolfe]

Hah, I let the space saver go with the Golf, I never thought about it.

The trouble with breakdown recovery is that they often take several hours to get there.

 

[siteguru]

I can't remember the last time I used a spare wheel (space saver or otherwise) - even though my previous cars have had them. I've used the equivalent of this stuff, and still do:

TIRE PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT

 

[bowfer]

Tyre gunk does work well, I’ve used it on several occasions.
Obviously it has its limitations, but seeing as I don’t drive my car very far from home at all I don’t really worry about it.
If I did bigger miles I’d get a space saver, or even a full size wheel (boot space is of zero importance to me, I can go weeks without opening the tailgate)

 

[Alb]

I have the gunk and a space saver spare and a full size spare.
All options covered

 

[Rolfe]

To be fair, I've seldom had an absolute flat. A couple of times in my first Fiesta, which puts these before 1993, once hit a bad pothole in my Peugeot which actually bent the alloy and frankly I called the RAC although I had a spare wheel, because I'm not a complete masochist, and that occasion with the Golf where the tyre pressure indicator unaccountably failed to go off - if it had, I'd have been OK. That's not a lot in over 50 years of driving.

Much more common has been a slow puncture, which the tyre pressure sensor in the Golf did manage to pick up in between going off for no readily apparent reason. The MG4 has good tyre pressure indicators, and if we check these (does it have an alarm if a tyre has lost significant pressure?) we should be able to nip most things in the bud. Carrying a pump might be the most sensible move, at least that's not going to ruin a tyre unnecessarily.

 

[bowfer]

To be fair, I've seldom had an absolute flat. A couple of times in my first Fiesta, which puts these before 1993, once hit a bad pothole in my Peugeot which actually bent the alloy and frankly I called the RAC although I had a spare wheel, because I'm not a complete masochist, and that occasion with the Golf where the tyre pressure indicator unaccountably failed to go off - if it had, I'd have been OK. That's not a lot in over 50 years of driving.

Much more common has been a slow puncture, which the tyre pressure sensor in the Golf did manage to pick up in between going off for no readily apparent reason. The MG4 has good tyre pressure indicators, and if we check these (does it have an alarm if a tyre has lost significant pressure?) we should be able to nip most things in the bud. Carrying a pump might be the most sensible move, at least that's not going to ruin a tyre unnecessarily.

Ha, I had one erroneous TPMS fault in my 4 within yards, literally yards, of collecting it.
Followed by complete failure of the whole system.

 

[Rolfe]

You were jinxed. I think that's beyond dispute by now.

 

[bowfer]

You were jinxed. I think that's beyond dispute by now.

Nope, it was a very common fault in the 4.

 

[dsimpkins]

There's another option, go for a set of BFG all terrain tyres. I managed to run over a fork mislaid by a Scout at a Scout Fundays event (I was part of a team providing off-road courtesy rides) and it didn't get through the tread. I stopped because of the tick-tick-tick noise as it went round. I kept the fork as a memento.

 

[Kithmo]

I have the spacesaver from the ZS that happens to fit the 4 and SWMBO's 5, which I would just chuck in the boot when going on a longer trip. I'm happy to leave it out when using the car day to day locally.
As belt and braces go, I also have the supplied gunk, another bottle of gunk that came with the paint protection on the ZS, a motorcycle puncture repair kit and another tyre pump.
Being prepared almost guarantees I'll not get a puncture (touches wood).
TBH, I can't remember the last time I used a spare, the last couple of punctures I've had were slow punctures and local, I had time to pump up the tyres in each case and drive to a local tyre depot to get them fixed.

 

[StuartT]

Ok, thanks everyone. I've not heard of a space saver tyre but looking at a few youtube vids it seems to just be a thinner, temporary wheel-tyre combo. But presumably you are going to lose a fair bit of height in the boot as there isn't much space down there?

I guess I'll just have to hope the goo stuff works, though it seems a bit odd. The illustrations in the MG4 manual are not very helpful, so I can't quite see how the glue compressor thing works. Maybe there are some vids on how you actually do it.

 

[Jto]

Now a days a quick look on the internet and you can get a tyre replacement service to come out and replace the tyre 24 hrs a day not had to do it but I think that would be my route.

 

[Spinynorman]

How much is puncture repair these days?
Last time I had one done was many years ago on a RAV4 (Toyota) cost about £10
My last MOT said I have a screw/nail in one of mine and a very, very slow puncture….

 

[Ian Key]

Now a days a quick look on the internet and you can get a tyre replacement service to come out and replace the tyre 24 hrs a day not had to do it but I think that would be my route.

As the MG4 has full AA cover in the form of MG assist I'd ring them if it couldn't be driven

 

[Jto]

As the MG4 has full AA cover in the form of MG assist I'd ring them if it couldn't be driven

Yes they will get you home but how long would it take maybe just quicker to get it changed like HGV do.

 

[Tight Git]

How much is puncture repair these days?

Paid £24 to repair a slow puncture on one of my rear tyres a month or so ago.

 

[tsedge]

Yes they will get you home but how long would it take maybe just quicker to get it changed like HGV do.

Yes but do you know how much that costs???