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fix a flat aerosol can

nemesis

nemesis

New member
one of the used tire i bought is low on air. i think it's leaking. went to murray and bought a can of "fix a flat" and fill the rest of the tire with air. it's been 2 days now and seem to hold in air pretty good. my question is do i need to take to the shop and have it fix right away or can i drive the way it is for awhile?
 


it will eat the wheel, and now that you used fix a flat (aka ruin a tire) you gotta replace the tire, it can't be patched reliably, that stuff should never be used really
 
it was in an emergency situation. it was sunday and most tire shops are close and i can't be driving around on a flat tire to the gas station.
 
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Never ever ever use it.

I used to work at a bicycle shop, and I couldn't beat that into the "locals" of the area not to use it. I got tired of fixing their flats after they had put that stuff in there, it not only would eat the rubber of the tubes, but would pretty much melt it to the metal rim, and then start eating the tire.

Labor and shop supplies went double automatically if they had installed fix a flat, and wanted me to change it for them.

They make stuff for bicycles, and they make stuff for lawn mowers, and they make stuff for cars, you should always use what you should to for the application.

Bicycles = some sort of liquid gel with fibers to clog the hole.
Lawn mowers = same thing cause your not going over 20MPH in it.
Cars = nothing, you have the tire removed and patched correctly, or buy your self a patch kit for emergency road side assistance.

Kit for your car you should always have at home or in your vehicle on long out of town trips would be like this:
BlackJack Tire Repair | Tire Repair Kits, Plugs, Patches, Boots, Gauges, Wheel Weights, Valve Stems and Other Accessories to Repair Flat or Punctured Tires

It will save your ass in a pinch and not ruin your tire or rim. Only thing extra you will need is a small air pump that runs off your 12v cigarette lighter in your car.

~F~
 
^^^those rock, I have a cheap one thats saved my ass a couple of times, and if you use rubber cement when you put the plug in it seals like 99% of the time
 


From reading what Farns said, I would say no. :(

The reason being is that the chemical used in the Fix A Flat compound will not allow any good patch to adhere to the tire after chemical has been sprayed into the tube coating the inner wall of the tire. You can clean up the inner tube once the tire has been removed from the rim, but the residue left behind will adversely affect any future patching application applied to that same spot. And from what Farns said, the chemical will eventually errode the inner side of the tire. At least in Bike applications. I would say that would hold true for car tires as well. Seeing they are similar in their rubber/oil compound/makeup.

Maybe the Blackjack gunk might work to seal the outside of the tire, but a lot of tire shops patch from the inside on the inner wall of the tire to assure an adquate seal. You can go to your local tire shop and ask to double verify if this is indeed the case. That would be my best suggestion.
 
i went to the tire shop and they told me i shouldn't be too worry about it. the only might happen is if there's a patch in the tire it might come loose. also if i leave the fix a flat in for a long period of time it might eat the through the tire. for now i shouldn't worry. i only paid $25 for the tire like i said i'm using it for temperly until i get new one.
 
Might also say that once its in there, its like hell to get it out.

You can scrub-scrub all you want, but that stuff always stays behind.

Makes it where the tire will glue its self to the rim, both for bicycles and cars later down the road. Its just stays behind, and keeps on corroding no matter how much you wash out.

Nasty-nasty stuff. It should of never been invented, or at least released to the market with all the bad it does vs. good.

We used to have this sign at the bike shop that said "Fix-a-flat is for your car , not your bicycle" and why printed below it. Also had this clear cube, that was fill of thorns, broken glass, rusty nails, goat heads etc. Stuff we had collected from customers bike tires and tubes over the years. A sign was in that cube that read "stuff that causes flats". Other thing I made was a demo cause I got tired of people asking whats the difference between regular and thorn resistant inner tubes. I would explain, but sometimes people still would not have a clue, guess they were more visual than others...so I had a cut away of both tubes, screwed to a block of wood, and then a label under each one as to what it was, so they could see a cut away, and touch and feel the difference, and make their choice as to what they wanted. I believe those things are still in use today there. Imagine that...they work.

~F~
 


So...My roommate has an 07 GXP and it doesn't have a spare... It has a built in compressor and a fix-a-flat despensor instead...Any idea why GM would put this in their cars from the factory knowing that you cant patch the tire/it will eat the rim???
 
Keet04GTP said:
So...My roommate has an 07 GXP and it doesn't have a spare... It has a built in compressor and a fix-a-flat despensor instead...Any idea why GM would put this in their cars from the factory knowing that you cant patch the tire/it will eat the rim???
Click to expand...

W.T.F? :th_wtf:

Thats stupid, what if you blow the tire and the f*cker shreds into piece? F-A-Flat isn't going to help you in that situation.
 
i used fix a flat in all 4 of my tires before in my daily driven beater (mercury mystique) held air for a full year
 
Keet04GTP said:
So...My roommate has an 07 GXP and it doesn't have a spare... It has a built in compressor and a fix-a-flat despensor instead...Any idea why GM would put this in their cars from the factory knowing that you cant patch the tire/it will eat the rim???
Click to expand...

A friend of mine at work just bought a 2004 C5. Similar deal. No spare (no room), but they do have an air compressor and a tire plug kit. I've always kept a plug kit in my car and have an air compressor.
 


Yup, a buddy bought a Saturn Sky Redline, and same thing, no spare, just a can of fix-a-flat.

Its the GM stuff I believe, so the stuff that GM is including with their cars may not be as bad/toxic as the store bought stuff.

~F~
 
Street Wolf said:
W.T.F? :th_wtf:

Thats stupid, what if you blow the tire and the f*cker shreds into piece? F-A-Flat isn't going to help you in that situation.
Click to expand...

They probably figure the average person would replace the tire before it gets to blow out stage... I've never had a bad tire blow out much less a good one with good tread...
 
Keet04GTP said:
They probably figure the average person would replace the tire before it gets to blow out stage... I've never had a bad tire blow out much less a good one with good tread...
Click to expand...

Average people are that smart? Rofl, I see the average person blowing out a tire, then driving on the spare doughnut until that one blows out too.
 
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