craig_vette

I currently have run flats but will soon be looking to purchase regular tires (base C6 wheels on C5). In case I get a flat, what kind of tire repair kits should I keep on board? Plugs? Fix-A-Flat sprays? Any other tire related precautions?

BTW, I've always had a spare on my other vehicle so I've actually never had to plug a tire before so I'm interested in the easiest fix possible.

Thanks,
Craig

huesmann

I have a Slime plug kit like this:


Plus one of those little 12V air compressors, and this Porsche Bilstein aluminum jack:

c345vette

I carry a :

small air compressor
plug kit
2 cans fix a flat

all fits in a small duffel bag in the rear compartment.

knewblewkorvette

I carry a AAA card.

DVUSz06

My 02 z came with a tite repair kit in back right corner compartment, it contains an air compressor that plugs into cigarette lighter socket and a can of fix-a-flat. What I did is got rid of can of fix-a-flat and replaced with a tire plug kit, needle nose pliers to remove nail etc. and a paint stick to mark the spot to be plugged. I do not carry a jack. This setup works, not long after I bought the car I picked up a nail in the rr tire. So at home I tried it out in the driveway. Found the nail and rolled car so the nail was facing back and down just past bottom of fender, marked spot with paint marker, removed nail with needle nose pliers, was able to plug tire in this position (without jacking car) and was surprised how fast the pump filled tire to 30psi. Now I drive with confidence that I a nail won't cause me to be sitting along road till I get a shop to repair my tire. 👍

David Shiel

I also have the USAA Road Service that costs little, I think $12 a year, and has always responded effectively to a call. Redundancy!!
Dave

JR-01

This has gotten me out of several dangerous situations. It is quick and easy and is sensor safe. It is not always easy to find the source of a leak, especially at night. With this you are back on the road in minutes. It will get you home or to a shop where you can get the tire patched. I would not leave home without it, even in my vehicles that have spares.

Evil-Twin

You only need a small 12V portable air compressor. Today's tires are very well built. You would rarely have a catastrophic failure, and if you did, a tire patch would not help anyway.

If you have a slow leak, your DIC will warn you of a low tire condition. At this point , you simply pump the tire up to 40 psi ( yes 40 psi ) then continue on your journey, or to a shop that can properly fix your tire. You do not want to be fixing a tire on the side of the road....where you could be vulnerable to many things like being hit by a car, or mugged, and robbed. pumping a tire up takes a few minutes, fixing a tire requires more time and effort ( not worth the effort ).

Continuing down the road until your tire gets down to the low tire warning ( 25 psi ),this could be 25 minutes , it could be 30 minutes.. at this time simply pump the tire back up to 40 psi. This will insure that you can get to a safe haven , or home. You do not want to be jacking your car and trying to fix it on the side of the road... There is nothing wrong with carrying a patch kit, but the use of it on the side of the road would be an extreme anomaly. Be smart and be safe, use the compressor only. unless you have to do something else.

Bill aka ET

craig_vette

I decided to go with the Slime fix-a-flat + compressor combo. Looks like you can use the compressor even after you run out of slime spray. The reviews are pretty good on it and it's less than $40.

Black 02

I keep an air compressor in my car and that's about it. I had a flat a month ago, first one in a good while, and it really saved me. The newer style air compressor I have has a built in digital pressure gauge which makes it extremely easy to use in sketchy situations, such as during rush hour traffic when my flat occurred.

cv67

Another vote for the compressor/tire plug kit, has saved my butt many a time, always right after I buy new tires, too LOL
Driven many thousands of miles, drag raced etc on plugs never had one fail. Speed rating, say goodbye though

AAA helps but when youre on a tight sched one doesnt always have time
Pair of pliers and a multi type screwdriver/extra fuse in case the cig lighter also. If you have it youll never need it so go shopping.

Black 02

Exact same thing I did, except of course discount found my tire to be non-repairable and I had to buy a new one

Mine happened on 610 at 5:30, not a place I wanted to hang out for any longer than I needed to be there!

Vetteman Jack

E-T makes a good point about the danger of trying to fix a tire on the side of the road. I do carry a plug kit as well as an air compressor, and I have my cell phone and emergency road service on my car insurance policy. I think I would try filling the tire first and go a distance before trying the plug routine.

Lazarus Long

I haven't had a flat yet, but I carry a kit with a compressor and a bottle of slime. Then I discovered that the kit does not include the tool to remove the valve core, which is necessary to inject the slime.

There is also the aerosol fix a flat, which doesn't require removing the valve core. Which works better?

I like the advice to skip the slime and just use the compressor. I've lost 2 tires on my truck due to running over a pointy object - a screw in the corner between tread and sidewall one of those hooked bungee cord things. Both times the object stayed in the tire and I did not flat.

I have State Farm insurance, which includes roadside assistance. No need for AAA.

JR-01

I prefer the aerosol fix a flat. It's a cheap, easy and quick way to get back on the road again. They have worked for me several times without a problem. I do carry a compressor and plug kit, but never used them. I like to get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible.

tommyn

Have you used this jack on a C5? This looks like it uses the pinch weld to line up on the rocker panel. A C5 does not have this. Does it fit in the jacking points on the C5?

JR-01

The BMW jack works better for the C5 jacking pads.

huesmann

Yeah, but you don't need to stick the pinch weld in the slot if you don't have one. I think the nub of the pinch weld "fitting" on the jack works fine just stuck inside the lip around the jacking puck hole.

ZigZag

I have this in my cart, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.