No offense taken, I was only curious if you told them that you used the stuff or not, not because of the inconvenience that you can give them, but the danger of not knowing that you used it.


I can take the hint that most of you don't care and are going to continue using the "fix a flat", but please be sure to tell the tire shop that you used it.

I do appreciate hearing the thoughts of a tire guy. I'll be sure to tell any tire folks about my goop adventures. No surprizes. And any gooped tire I bring them will just go in the scrap heap anyway. But yes, I do carry the goop and I'm prepared to use it.

BTW, I assume you're not one of those tire guys that feels 250 lb/ft is about the correct torque for all lug nuts. Trouble is, you may be the only tire guy I know that gets it. Editorial, sorry.

oh yeah I told them.....but I wasn't aware that they were that dangerous for the person handling them, thanks for letting us know from first hand experience.

I thought there was a change in the formula for the Fix-a-Flat stuff 4-5 years ago that made it safe for tire repair people. At least this is what I was told at a tire store???

Some companies have made the stuff safer but their is still some of the other stuff on the shelf.

Scary thing about that actually, the company that I work for has about 7 different stores and once a year we are open on Sunday, all the people that work for them have to work at the main store to get people in and out quickly, the record amount of tires that we did once was over 600 in one day. Anyways, this past one their was a 911 turbo in getting 2 rear tires and I was standing their admiring the car while two of the guys were working on it, very carefully I may add, when I over heard two guys from one of the different stores talking about how if it came into their shop they wouldn't treat it nicely at all. They were like, "I would run those lugs on like its a Mac truck, who cares....blah blah blah" I just turned to them and said, I guess you guys don't like repeat customers.

It makes me sick to think people would have that much disrespect for other peoples property. Jealous, thats all they were. Find a garage you like and stick by them, we understand when people get real picky. Heck, we have a customer that drives 80 miles to get tires from us for his old vette, what does that tell you?

That just strengthens my resolve to work on my car myself! Normally, I have tires mounted and balanced seperately (by the Tire Rack - I live close) and then put them on the 911 myself.

When I'm driving the 911 to the track, I don't carry a spare, but I do carry a plug kit and Fix-a-flat. My first choice would be the plug. If that didn't work, or I didn't have air, I'd use the Fix-a-flat. Either way, I'd be done racing for the weekend.

I don't use this stuff to fix a flat caused by a puncture. But it is very useful for certain kinds of aluminum or mag wheels that are porous and slowly leak air. I have had this kind of air leakage problem with the aluminum wheels on my wife's Corvette and on our Chev Blazer. The tire pressures would fall after a few days - especially cold days - but I could detect no punctures or obvious leaks. I would lose 5 lbs per week per tire in all four tires on both cars! I took the tires in to be checked and no one could find any leak. Finally, I concluded that the aluminum wheels were slowly leaking air. The Fix-a-Flat does a great job in sealing a leakly wheel, the Vette and the Blazer got one can a year per wheel and the problem was solved. Never had this problem with my 911, I guess the Fuchs are better quality wheels. I think the old story about this stuff being dangerous and possibly explosive is BS. If this was true the lawyers would be on it ASAP and we would hear about big time lawsuits. If it creates a problem for the tire repairer, I'm willing to pay for his inconvenience. It is the only way I know to fix a leaky wheel.

I replaced my old barrow tire with one of those solid ones, so flat out speed is not a real issue, but with a 56.8 Lb. dry weight on this baby, handling can get a little tricky on gravel.
JoeF

I agree that the fix-a-flat is not the best stuff, but it does serve a purpose...

FWIW, the BMW M Roadster (Z3) does not have a spare tire. The factory just throughs in a can of fix-a-flat in the trunk :eek:

As far as plugs, some tire mfr do not recommend using the them. They recommend removing the tire and installing a patch. Not sure if I agree, but I doubt the tire MFR would be likely to stand by their tires if one does not follow their instructions...

I have used the stuff twice. Both times it was an emergency on the side of the road. Both times it worked and allowed me to get to a shop and get the tire replaced. I also think AAA is a good idea. My old 83SC would not start. My friend had AAA and a flat bed came and took us almost 90 miles to the nearest shop. No charge to me.

Just for clarification: none of the BMW M cars carry a spare tire these days (I currently own a M Z3 Coupe). What they all include is something called the "M Mobility Kit" which is basically an air compressor with the option to use the goop or not. It could be that just putting air in the tire gets you to the local tire shop and fix it or replace it there.

The goop in Fix a Flat and the Mobility Kit is known to ruin tires and rims. There have been instances of major lawsuits brought against some of these manufacturers for the explosive nature and the harm it has caused some people.

In case I ever get a flat, I will use the air and a patch.

Let me try to break this down.....

Me The Male = change to the spare

The wife/girlfriend = carry a can fix-a-flat, too many potential probs like tight lugs or nightime

P-car = never