How often do you get punctures?
Discussion
I never hit kerbs, I avoid potholes and avoid driving in the gutter. I have had 1 puncture in 19 years (200k miles), and that was when I drove my mum's car a couple of miles... this is an important point because she does not cosset her tyres so the offending item may have already been working its way through the rubber when I set out.
My OH was taught by her father, who thinks nothing of t
tting a kerb as he pulls out of a turning, or bumping up a kerb and sliding down it again as he parks. In about 8 years of driving (on the exact same roads I drive on) she had three motorway blow-outs and a couple of punctures. Her dad has had several punctures in a similar timeframe and even managed to rip a tyre sidewall open somehow (can't have been grinding it against kerbs, of course)
In fairness to my beloved, around 2-3 years ago my pleas (and whimpers and screams) to stop hitting kerbs, potholes etc sunk in and she hasn't had any tyre mishaps since.
All anecdotal of course, I'll probably burst all my tyres and my spare tomorrow now, but I think there is a lot to be said for avoiding the gutters and crowns of any carriageway, choosing the smoothest path through (or even better, around) a pothole, slowing right down for speedbumps and reversing in parallel parking situations (rather than bumping up/down to go in forwards).
My OH was taught by her father, who thinks nothing of t
tting a kerb as he pulls out of a turning, or bumping up a kerb and sliding down it again as he parks. In about 8 years of driving (on the exact same roads I drive on) she had three motorway blow-outs and a couple of punctures. Her dad has had several punctures in a similar timeframe and even managed to rip a tyre sidewall open somehow (can't have been grinding it against kerbs, of course)In fairness to my beloved, around 2-3 years ago my pleas (and whimpers and screams) to stop hitting kerbs, potholes etc sunk in and she hasn't had any tyre mishaps since.
All anecdotal of course, I'll probably burst all my tyres and my spare tomorrow now, but I think there is a lot to be said for avoiding the gutters and crowns of any carriageway, choosing the smoothest path through (or even better, around) a pothole, slowing right down for speedbumps and reversing in parallel parking situations (rather than bumping up/down to go in forwards).
trickywoo said:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=151...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=117...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140...
Etc
Fill your boots.
Seems some people never get punctures, but likely have another affliction like warts and others get one every time they drive to a board meeting.
2 years since the last one, but one every 3-4 months on our 4 cars before that for a couple of years.http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=117...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=140...
Etc
Fill your boots.
Seems some people never get punctures, but likely have another affliction like warts and others get one every time they drive to a board meeting.
Having a spare, spacesaver or just relying on gunk is a personal choice and down to your lifestyle. I bet those who criticise those wanting a spare are keyboard warriors who only drive to the station each day and to Tesco at the weekend.
Rusty569 said:
For all my previous cars I have ordered a space saver from a breakers yard on ebay and carried that round with me.
I'm often driving in the middle of nowhere i.e Scottish Highlands and having used it once on my first car it really saved a load of hassle.
The problem is I've picked up a new car and the cheapest I can get a spare kit is £220.
On one hand thats a lot of money to have sitting in the boot, on the other I feel if I don't buy it I'm going to regret it at some point.
I know the vast majority of the motoring public don't carry a spare and couldn't change it even if they did.
How often do you get punctures?
What are your experiances of the slime kits (I'm reluctant to use these as garages then refuse to repair the tyre?)
What do you carry for a flat tyre?
£220.00 sounds about right if its for a rim, tyre, jack, wheel brace etc, some kits will also include bits of foam for the boot to put locate the tools etc.I'm often driving in the middle of nowhere i.e Scottish Highlands and having used it once on my first car it really saved a load of hassle.
The problem is I've picked up a new car and the cheapest I can get a spare kit is £220.
On one hand thats a lot of money to have sitting in the boot, on the other I feel if I don't buy it I'm going to regret it at some point.
I know the vast majority of the motoring public don't carry a spare and couldn't change it even if they did.
How often do you get punctures?
What are your experiances of the slime kits (I'm reluctant to use these as garages then refuse to repair the tyre?)
What do you carry for a flat tyre?
I'd be finding out what you get for the money as comparing prices with used ebay prices for something that only 20% of people will buy and a smaller percentage buy used is reflected in the price.
BTW the tyres aren't exactly cheap, £50 - £100 depending on size, they can also be a nightmare to fit being narrow and tall.
1 puncture last year, 1st one in 20+ years, picked up a screw in the car park at work.
My car doesn't have a spare only an tin of gunk, 40 mile EW commute.
ALMOST 50 years of driving.
In the first 15, I had no punctures I can recall. Then I drove in Africa and needed two spare wheels, as we regularly had thorn punctures. Back in the UK, I seldom have punctures, but of late ,like another resident I'm finding tyres going down on a regular basis. No rhyme or reason to it, and I've slimed at least one tyre, whilst others go flat in random fashion. But then I'm the local car /van on the street corner's worst nightmare.
In the first 15, I had no punctures I can recall. Then I drove in Africa and needed two spare wheels, as we regularly had thorn punctures. Back in the UK, I seldom have punctures, but of late ,like another resident I'm finding tyres going down on a regular basis. No rhyme or reason to it, and I've slimed at least one tyre, whilst others go flat in random fashion. But then I'm the local car /van on the street corner's worst nightmare.
3 in my last 3 cars. However that is about 10 years or so.
1st was a pot hole, luckily I was around the corner from my house so nursed it home.
2nd was a motorway blow out. Luckily again near side rear so didn't lose control.
3rd was a cable tack. which was slow so only noticed once it was parked over night.
If I didnt carry a spare only once would I have been left stranded as the blow out shredded the tyre, no amount of foam would have inflated that. I still wouldn't own a car without a spare though.
1st was a pot hole, luckily I was around the corner from my house so nursed it home.
2nd was a motorway blow out. Luckily again near side rear so didn't lose control.
3rd was a cable tack. which was slow so only noticed once it was parked over night.
If I didnt carry a spare only once would I have been left stranded as the blow out shredded the tyre, no amount of foam would have inflated that. I still wouldn't own a car without a spare though.
Over the last 30 years I have had a few punctures with most of them being within days/weeks of fitting new tyres or getting a new car.
Our family car has a full sized spare but still a pain when you get a puncture.
I took to carrying one of the tyre repair kits shown above, picked up for next to nothing on ebay, when one of the cars came with no spare. Used the repair kit a couple of times on normal screw/nail type punctures to get home & it worked well.
The guy who repaired the puncture complained how hard it was to remove the temp repair as the temp repair was quite well stuck
The thing that gets me is the number of weird things that seem to cause punctures these days.
Pulled a piece of a coil spring out of a rear tyre the other week & from some of the photos on the net that's not that strange compared to some. In all my years of driving punctures have only ever been the normal screws/nails & bolts till the bit of spring appeared.
Our family car has a full sized spare but still a pain when you get a puncture.
I took to carrying one of the tyre repair kits shown above, picked up for next to nothing on ebay, when one of the cars came with no spare. Used the repair kit a couple of times on normal screw/nail type punctures to get home & it worked well.
The guy who repaired the puncture complained how hard it was to remove the temp repair as the temp repair was quite well stuck
The thing that gets me is the number of weird things that seem to cause punctures these days.
Pulled a piece of a coil spring out of a rear tyre the other week & from some of the photos on the net that's not that strange compared to some. In all my years of driving punctures have only ever been the normal screws/nails & bolts till the bit of spring appeared.
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