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Swapping spare wheel for tyre foam - good idea?

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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 07:33 AM
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Default Swapping spare wheel for tyre foam - good idea?

I am looking to reduce the weight of my car by getting rid of the spare wheel and jack, I would then carry a can of tyre foam in case the worst should happen.

Does anyone already do this? Is it a good idea or am i setting myself up for problems?

Which foam is best?

Thanks
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 10:32 AM
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quite a few manufacturers now do this when you buy a brand new car, so i guess the stuff must work well

not gonna help if you have a blowout on the motorway, but then thats what the AA are for
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 01:53 PM
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Is it really worth the effort? do you really think you will notice the difference in a day to day road car??
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 02:39 PM
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Very rare the tyre foam works. Stick with the space saver
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 02:52 PM
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Right, space saver it is then.

Thanks
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbotits
Very rare the tyre foam works.
then howcome manufacturers get away with not supplying spare wheels? the stuff must work......

i still carry my spare wheel but looking to ditch it too. People complain about putting sub boxes in their boots cos they're too heavy - the space saver wheel must weight just as much. It all helps......
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:26 PM
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I got rid of my spare wheel and jack, and just have the foam in a can!

it will get you home un less you have a blow out.

as long as you have break down cover no need to worry
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve_PPP
then howcome manufacturers get away with not supplying spare wheels? the stuff must work......

i still carry my spare wheel but looking to ditch it too. People complain about putting sub boxes in their boots cos they're too heavy - the space saver wheel must weight just as much. It all helps......

They get away with it cos they can. In Nine out of ten cases it just doesnt work. If you get a straight small hole in the centre of the tread then maybe. Blowouts,Sidewall damage,Larger holes and sometimes shoulder damage where the tyre has to flex it wont do a thing except leak out over the road.I work in recovery and the amount of cars i recover because it hasnt worked is beyond a joke. Yes its easy to say if your in the aa etc its not a worry.

Ofcourse you'll always get home But its not nice being recovered maybe hundreds of miles late at night just for the sake of a puncture
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve_PPP
then howcome manufacturers get away with not supplying spare wheels? the stuff must work......

i still carry my spare wheel but looking to ditch it too. People complain about putting sub boxes in their boots cos they're too heavy - the space saver wheel must weight just as much. It all helps......
well if you get a nail in it the foam will seal your tyre ! if the nail comes out and the hole is to big it won't seal ! plus you cant get your tyre repaired after the foam as gone is so you save weight and gain exspence that's if it evan work's . keep the space saver mate . and manufactureres use it for obvious reasons one can of foam to the price of a spare kit i.e jack, wheel ,tyre,etc etc .
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbotits
They get away with it cos they can. In Nine out of ten cases it just doesnt work. If you get a straight small hole in the centre of the tread then maybe. Blowouts,Sidewall damage,Larger holes and sometimes shoulder damage where the tyre has to flex it wont do a thing except leak out over the road.I work in recovery and the amount of cars i recover because it hasnt worked is beyond a joke. Yes its easy to say if your in the aa etc its not a worry.

Ofcourse you'll always get home But its not nice being recovered maybe hundreds of miles late at night just for the sake of a puncture
Do the runflat tyres make a difference......????

The missus Mini has no spare wheel and the foam stuff instead but has run flats.......
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by rooferman
Do the runflat tyres make a difference......????

The missus Mini has no spare wheel and the foam stuff instead but has run flats.......

Over a sustained distance the runflats tend to overheat in my experiance and then the tread breaks away from the sidewall of the tyre. Recover loads of cars on runflats to
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 05:07 PM
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it works fine seen it used several times. it does not fully inflate the tyre though it is only a temp measure
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 05:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Turbotits
Of Course you'll always get home But its not nice being recovered maybe hundreds of miles late at night just for the sake of a puncture
No it would not be nice but you are only supposed to drive 60 miles on the spare wheel so if you are hundreds of miles away best thing to do is get recovered to a place where you can have your tire repair/changed or back home!

would you drive 100s of miles on the spare??

i know i wouldn't!
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by stevo1970
I am looking to reduce the weight of my car by getting rid of the spare wheel and jack, I would then carry a can of tyre foam in case the worst should happen.

Does anyone already do this? Is it a good idea or am i setting myself up for problems?

Which foam is best?

Thanks
of course if you really want to save weight best thing would be remove stereo and speakers, and if you want to really save weight get rid of back seat,s carpet etc.
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 05:30 PM
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whats the point in saving in weight on a road going car!!
i understand for the track but for the road....thats just a stupid idea to take out the wheel and carry a can of foam!!!!
is leaving the wheel out really gonna make that much of a difference????
me thinks not!!!
rant over
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by rooferman
Do the runflat tyres make a difference......????

The missus Mini has no spare wheel and the foam stuff instead but has run flats.......
you can only run the runflats for 50 miles at 50mph any way.
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 07:47 PM
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I hate space savers bloody waste of time! i take the opposite point of view and always carry a full size spare, that way you just carry on as normal after a quick 5min tyre change.
And i used to carry tyre foam when i was trail riding on dirt bikes if your that desperate to save weight i'd not bother with that either and your as well carring a thermos of hot water and a couple of eggs at least then you'll have a hot drink and a poached egg while you wait for the recovery van for 3 hours because no matter what you say to them they never send the low loader first..

Last edited by ditchmyster; Oct 19, 2008 at 07:50 PM.
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by ditchmyster
if your that desperate to save weight i'd not bother with that either and your as well carring a thermos of hot water and a couple of eggs at least then you'll have a hot drink and a poached egg ..

I like that. lol very true
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Old Oct 19, 2008 | 09:49 PM
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Main thing I have against the foam is the fact that the tyre will be ruined if you continue to drive on it. A simple £12.50 puncture repair (to BS) will become a new tyre.
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Old Oct 20, 2008 | 12:07 AM
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the only reason tyer fitters wont repair a puncture with tyer weld in it is because they cant stick a patch inside and the glue wonk stick but if its cleaned out prior then they can fix it

and if you have breakdown cover like me no need to carry spare or tyer weld
as i have discussed with the aa if i carry the locking wheel nut remover in my car whats the point if someone can break in knowing most people carry them incase they need to change a tyer theves know this and the first place they look is in the boot where the jack is bye bye wheels
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Old Oct 20, 2008 | 07:29 AM
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Originally Posted by scoobjam74
the only reason tyer fitters wont repair a puncture with tyer weld in it is because they cant stick a patch inside and the glue wonk stick but if its cleaned out prior then they can fix it
i take it you have never tried to clean a tyre out filled with tyre weld then ? i'd never repair one evan if its been cleaned out ! you can not guarante the patch with take .
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Old Oct 20, 2008 | 10:02 AM
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A friend of mine had a puncture recently on his Mazda RX8. He couldn't find a spare wheel in the boot so I had a look and found a can of that tyre foam. He gave that a go but it was completely hopeless. He only works 1 mile away from a tyre garage but when he got there the tyre was flat again. Also, the grage owner was annoyed when the tyre was taken off because horrible green sludge covered their grage floor.

I'll stick to space savers.
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