Mazda gives special goop for emergency tire repairs, and tells you that they tire is then ruined for future use. The usual emergency patch method involves a reamer and plug. I bought one, and by coincidence saw one used a week later when my brother's Acura RX8 got a nail puncture and lost all presssure overnight. The service station repair was quick and looked easy to duplicate. The tire seems fine (no apparent balance problems) weeks and hundreds of miles later, and my brother intends to keep using it.
Is there any reason a plug wouldn't be better than goop on the standard 040s and my winter Dunlop M3s? Also, should I stick withg the "Slime" brand Reamer Plugger the auto supply store recommended, which says on the package it is for thicker or steel belted radial tires, or look for a lighter duty one?
BTW, the compressor works fine, but the built-in guage, while useful to measure how much you're putting in, doesn't correspond with real pressure readings from my accurate tire guage.

 

Hi Mitch,
Your brother's got an Acura RX8 - post a picture ?

I like you idea of carrying the reamer and plug - I'm going to do the same. If I got a flat, I'd try the plug before using the tire ruining goop can. I'll have to carry a set of needle nose pliers to pull anything poking the tire and a cutter to cut the plug.

After making the emergency repair with the plug installed from the outside, I'd still want to have a more permanent repair done from the inside of the tire with one of those plug patches (not sure what they're really called - but it's plug with a patch attached to it an installs from the inside of the tire).

Here's a neat article with pictures of how the external plug repair is done: http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/tirerepair/

I'm not sure I'd use a plug on my sidewall as shown in the article - I think sidewall repairs are a no-no.

I seems that "Slime" brand kit you mentioned should be fine for our application if it's for steel belted radial tires. Where did you buy it from and how much it was?

Is this the manufacturer of the kit you bought?
http://www.slimesealant.com/
I don't see any plug/reamer type kit there - just lots of green slimey goop .

Thanks,
rx8cited

 

I knew about the need for pliers and cutter, but hadn't put them in the trunk. That adds to the stuff already there (Windex/paper towels, big old fabric towel to wipe off brake dust and gloves to keep hands clean, etc.), so I'm going to use some of my $500 to get the net.
Although my brother is passing up an interior re-patch, I think I'll spend the extra bucks to do that if I have an emergency patch. And I also agree with you that I'd take Mazda's advice against sidewall patches, despite the macho Jeep guy's experience.
It's the same Slime company, but I had no more luck than you did finding a reference to the product I bought in their website. As for stores, I got mine in a small auto supply store in Bethesda, MD. The Slime site will list lots of stores near any zip code you give them. As a cyclist, I found in amusing that most of them were bicycle stores. I never use the product in my bike tires, because it adds weight and makes the bike sluggish. By sticking to paved roads with my skinny (7/8") tires and keeping them pumped to 120 lbs/sq in, I achieve the same result -- very few failures.
I'll ask my brother if he has a pic of his 2000 RL, which still looks great in black.

 

Slime is easier, requires nothing more than dumping the bottle in, and filling with air. But it can goop up the wheel and may unbalance it a bit.

Plugs work great, in my opinion. It's more work since you have to pull the obstruction, ream the puncture, plug, cut, fill. But, it only takes a couple of minutes, and can seal for the tread life of the tire. Just make sure not to do anything nuts like burnouts or anything for a couple hundred miles while the plug sets.

 

A plug kit is a simple way to address RX-8 flats. The kit is small, cheap and easily available at any auto-parts store. I managed to fit mine into Mazda's tire-repair plastic case. I added a small utility knife and set of pliers to the stock plug kit.

The only issue I see is that you have to know where the hole is. On the road, in the dark, locating the puncture may not be easy (or possible). But the plug kit gives you an alternative to the Mazda flat-fix.

 

Good idea putting the plug kit and tools in the Mazda tire repair kit case.

I was thinking I should carry a small bottle of "soapy water solution" (I'd make some with dishwashing liquid and water) to help find the leak if it's not easy to spot. I've seen the tire repair people wet the tire tread slowly with soapy water and look for bubbles cause by air escaping out of the punctured tire's hole.

Also, I think it's a good idea to carry a flashlight for nighttime emergencies. Heck, I need mine sometimes to put the dipstick back in when I'm checking oil at the gas station and it's dark outside.

Again, all this to save a tire from getting ruined by the goop.

regards,
rx8cited

 

Not only are sidewalls a no-no when it comes to plugs but also any punctures in the tread near the sidewall (with in 3/4th of an inch) - at least according to the local tire shop

 

I've used plugs for years. I have also heard to stay away from the sidewall. If the leak happens away from home, use saliva instead of soapy water. Sorry to be gross, but it works!

 

Hi bobm,
Since you've used them for years, do you have a suggested plug kit or brand name that you'd recommend?

After you plugged your own automobile tires from the outside, did you have to follow up with the inside plug/patch repair or did you just stick with your external plug repair?

With the saliva, we better be careful not to get dehydrated - 225/45R18s have a lot of area to cover unless we get lucky and start close to the leak .

regards,
rx8cited

 

That's what I was thinking - damn, that's a lot of slobbering. You know what would work good I think is a small bottle of the soap bubble solution that kids use to blow bubbles. Look at this way - it's small, convenient and already comes in its own container. Hell, if nothing else and you can't fix it yourself, now you've got something to keep yourself entertained until the truck gets there.

 

After doing a bit of research, I found and purchased a mushroom plug repair kit which was recommended in various places on the internet by our two wheeled motorcycle riding friends whose lives depend on their tires so much more that we depend on our four tires.

The repair kit - Item #1075 - Standard Model - Tire Plugger in Zip Pouch can be seen here on the manufacturer's web site:
http://www.stopngo.com/plugger.htm

I feel that the mushroom heads on these plugs are more likely to keep the plug from popping out of the the tire than the string type plugs.

Here are some reviews and pictures I found:

http://www.teamiguana.com/Reviews/StopNGo/index.htm
http://www.goldwingproductreviews.com/StopNGo.htm
http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/motorcycle/stopngo.htm

I purchased my kit here:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/globalri...plugfortu.html

I have not tried plugging a tire yet, and probably won't until it gets warm outside. I have an old tire which is not mounted on a wheel that I'd like to practice on. I have loaded the gun and run a plug through it a few times. It seems simple enough to do.

rx8cited

 

That is the **** man Great find.

I just might have to get me one. I'll take out the bottle of goo and just put that in its place! Cool!

 

My daughter works in a very busy Honda Dealer Service Dept. and says that the tire goop is definitely a problem. Causes balancing problems and can be very hard to remove from alloy rims. I have repaired many tires with the plugs (never a sidewall) and though you will get dirty and steel belts can be tough to get through, it isn't hard and seems to hold up. I have not, however repaired a high performance tire this way.

Thanks to RX8cited for the leads on plug kits.

 

Thanks a ton rx8cited. I just ordered one of the #1075 kits.

 

Just ordered on as well. Have had great luck with standard-type plugs.

 

All,
Hi. Glad to see you found this information useful. It gives me piece of mind having this kit in my car since I have no spare tire - and I figure it will more than pay for itself the first time I use it to fix a flat.

I strongly recommend loading the gun with a plug and cranking it though the nozzle to become familiar with the process as advised in the instructions.

regards,
rx8cited

PS: Don't forget the kids soap bubble solution to help find the leak and a pair of pliers to pull the plug so that the mushroom head seats against the inside of the tire.

 

I hadn't looked back at this thread for some time; I haven't been selective about what hand-reamers and plug kits to use; I've seen them in nearly every auto parts store.

 

I finally got to use the plug kit for real today. Discovered one of the tire's pressure on our other (not RX-8) car to be in the teens instead of 32 psi while checking it at the gas station, so I pulled the tire off once we got home and found an inch long nail in it. I was amazed that the tire did not visually appear to be flat.

The repair went well accept for the fact that I pulled the first plug too hard and broke it after inserting it into the tire, so I had to install a second plug.

The repair seems to be holding so far, but we have not drove on it yet, so I'll report back in a few days.

rx8cited

 

The tire had a slow leak after my two-plug repair - but we were able to drive on it for several days.

I took it in to get a plug/patch repair-from-inside job.

I'll chalk this failed repair attempt up to experience (don't pull on the plug so hard after it's been inserted) and still plan on using the plug kit to fix any future flats.

rx8cited

 

so hard but not too hard, confusing, but it sounds like a good kit to have