Mate, if you have the OEM tyre repair kit (bottle of goo and pump) you don't need a separate inflator pump, the OEM one does the job perfectly OK albeit a bit slow as it's only using the 12V plug in the car but that's all your gunna get on the side of the road anyway. I have tested that pump.

 

Here is the puncture plug repair kit I used, worked a treat: https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Stop-An...wAAOSwikJb0x-O

Edit - forgot to add - you also need a small/medium flat blade screwdriver and a decent pair of pliers in your tool kit to go with the puncture repair kit.
The screwdriver to lever the head of the screw or nail out far enough for the pliers to then grip it and yank it out.

 

Thanks for the reminder about tyre plugs. My XK has the goop and compressor kit instead of a spare wheel which, as you say, is really the last resort because it makes subsequent permanent repair impossible.

Used to rely on plugging for on-site repairs when I was running rubber tyred earthmovers many years ago but had never seen small kits for emergency use on cars. Found and ordered from Amazon UK.

Graham

 

Forgot to mention the pliers I keep for screw removal are the 8" or 10"diagonal cutting type (wire cutting pliers). The sharp point on them can be used to dig under the head of screws or nails even if they are bent over. There is no issue of possibly cutting off the nail or screw by accident because you would have to be a gorilla to apply that much force with this size plier. Also try to find a plug kit with T handled hole cleaner and plug needle tools. The straight handle type are hard to use when you are laying on the ground cleaning/plugging the hole. Also keep a tube of plug glue too. The self vulcanizing plugs without glue are really hard to push into the tire without the glue as lube. Finally if your pump doesn't have an accurate pressure gauge keep one of those in the car too (I always have one anyway).

 

Our '14 doesn't have a jack, so yes, you would need to get down & dirty in the weeds to repair a flat tyre/tire.

That said, nail damage rarely causes instant deflation. Hopefully I would get home with the factory inflator & goop.

 

Interesting advice about the type of pliers.
Do you mean this type?: https://www.bunnings.com.au/stanley-...liers_p0033274 (here in Oz we call them side cutters). It turns out I already have a pair of those in the kit in the car but I didn't think of using them for removing a nail or screw.
Also my plug kit has the straight hole cleaner/reamer and I had no trouble using it up on my workbench but as you say it might be a hassle when laying in the mud.
Last but not least my kit doesn't use vulcanising plugs or glue instead it uses flexible rubber plugs with a "mushroom" cap that are pushed through to the inside of the hole then pulled back tight, so no lube needed.

 

Agreed, most times a nail or screw in the tread causes a slow leak.
The problem with the goop is that it destroys the tyre so you need a new one, which in turn often means you need two new ones. A helluva lot more expense than a simple puncture repair kit!

 

I've had puncture repairs done where the tyre is removed and a mushroom shaped plug is pulled through from the inside and glued to the casing. The type you have that can be applied from the outside sounds much better than the "string" or "plug". Please post more details of your kit.

Graham

 

Graham, see the link in post # 22, and here for a video of the method:
The only extra tip I can give is make sure you ream that sucker out good and proper if it's where there is a steel tread belt otherwise it's very hard to insert the tool with the plug inside and/or the plug gets stuck on the edge of the steel belt when you try to insert it. I had to ream away for a good 10 minutes before it worked.

 

That's what we call them in the home of the English language, too.

 

It's not listed on ebay UK but I did find a stockist with three levels of kit from the same manufacturer.



The middle kit could be easier to use but the same one you have looks more than enough for emergencies.

Graham

 

Graham, the top (cheapest) kit is all you need.

 

Yes those are the cutting pliers I use. I use them to pull the nail/screw and to cut off the excess plug. From the other responses I noticed that you use the mushroom type of plug. I use the worm type because they are easier to install. Just ream/clean hole and put plug in. No tools needed except reamer and plug needle.They also can be used for slanted holes like shown in the video above. On my high performance cars I replace the tire as soon as I can once plugged. On my boring daily drivers I leave plugged tires on unless the belt is damaged by the puncture (evidenced by vibration or bulge in repaired tire) or the puncture is really close to the sidewall.

I attached a photo of my tire repair kit. I forgot I keep a tarp in the car too. Comes in handy if you have to lay on dirt for a repair and folded over to protect the car from hail if a hail storm comes up by surprise. The hail protection is pretty good up to about dime sized hail - slows them down just enough.

 

It’s much easier doing the job with those (slightly more expensive) T-handled tools.

 

Here's the wrap on my flat tire saga. Dealer found tire locally to them (no hazard warranty though). Could not be patched due to proximity to sidewall. Car will be flat bedded to my house today, as I had used JLR roadside assistance.

A few comments:

JLR roadside has been great each time I've used it.
My dealer has been great, shout out to them: Piehler JLR of Rochester, NY.

JLR's poor quality ratings certainly not reflective of the warranty coverage when you need help. If no holiday would have had the car back the next day. No compliants here. Maybe even a Chicken Little would be happy.

 

Good to hear the misfortune wasn't made worse by bad service. We have many members who will burst into print when something goes wrong but few take the trouble to report like this when it meets or exceeds expectations.

Graham

 

+1

 

New story. I didn't want to start a new thread, but I am re-evaluating goddamned everything, both what I know and what I don't know. Please educate my dumb *** on all things tire and even insurance.

TL;DR list of questions:
1) I need to really understand the difference between run flats, and why people are against them, and what are your experiences?
EDIT: earlier thread to answer this question: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...-flats-213473/
I CANNOT WAIT FOR AIRLESS TIRES THAT WORK FOR US. =) https://www.autoblog.com/2019/06/04/...ess-tire-test/
2) Using tire goop is basically a last ditch effort to get out of a bad situation, ie no tow or cell service, etc? The goop ruins your tire for good, so would most opt to wait for a tow to a tire shop, even if it meant waiting a few hours? (the goop won't fix sidewall blowouts, I assume. I didn't even try).
3) Would you use car insurance company (State Farm) + AAA, or does AAA cover it all and reduces need for other car insurance? (State Farm sold their roadside assistance, and it is GARBAGE).
4) What is your experience with Jag Roadside or Onstar? I pressed the SOS button and no helicopters came with rappelling roadside helpers. =)
5) In the end, what's your full coverage: Just AAA, AAA + insurance like State Farm + Jag Roadside, or any combo??
6) Any of you actually have "fear" regarding the no spare issue? I mean, it's rare to have a blowout, but that fear is in me, and it's affecting my relationship to the car.
7) I now have a new Continental on my front driver side, and a sorta used in great condition Pilot Sport 4S. Would you urn those til they need changing, or change immediately?

nb: I bought the Summer 142 luggage rack, and it performed marvelously, and reduced packing anxiety, even with significant weight I see *ZERO* issues on the trunk lid. What's more is that the "physics" or engineering of how it sits on the car is fascinating, and doesn't seem to damage any part of the trunk. HOWEVER... it shall no longer be used for luggage, and I will now just carry my spare like this. Sure it will destroy the boot, but now I'm a rally racer. (joke)

---------------Whole Story----------------

This weekend we had a severe tire blowout. I ran over a ratchet tie down from a big rig (boy are dashcams AMAZING), on the way back from Tahoe.

Explosive decompression, sidewalls blew up, no chance of repair.

I thought/think these were run flats, because the car handled itself REALLY well, but now I realize I thought I had run flats, and now I'm not even sure. Or, they're Pilot Sport 4s, and they're not, but man they really, REALLY handled well, and let me go about .5miles to an exit without any further damage, etc. Super great. But now I need to really understand the difference between run flats, and why people are against them, and what are your experiences?

This car is obviously like a lot of modern cars... no spare tire or doughnut, just a weird system of goop that you inject into the tire, so you can drive another few miles to a shop, etc. Anyhoo... I realize I drove for two decades with a full spare, and the 50K miles I have done in my 2016 & 2019, including all the road trips, the genuine "fear" of a lack of a spare really didn't enter my mind. I just ignorantly thought the machine and goop in the trunk would work, and now I realize I don't even know what that stuff does. I know a sidewall blowout wouldn't work with that stuff, but I assume the story is: REALLY bad situation, no cell service, no roadside help, and you decide the nails in your tire aren't worth the wait, and you ruin the tire with the goop just to get to a tire shop, right? But if you want the warranty on the tire, or want it repaired, the goop destroys those opportunities, correct?


We finally get off to the next exit after some lovely harrowing misses by big rigs. Such fun!


Okay, so we're waiting there, calling state farm, and they get a tow truck from our roadside emergency service part of our insurance. nothing happens, an hour later we call back, and obviously no tow had been ordered. Super pissed. They get a tow, and another hour goes by, and we get towed 47 miles away to the only tire shop that is open and has one of my weird 20" tires. Well, State Farm's tows only cover 36 miles. So I have to pay the extra, ten bill my state farm office.


I find out two wild things:


AAA lets you get 200 mile tow a few times a year. I could have gotten back to my Marin tire shop. And State Farm *sold their emergency roadside assistance* a few years back to a lesser, worse company. That's bullshit. What's more.... why am I even paying to have a middle man sloppily handle the job, when I could just get a tow truck myself, and bill back to insurance. Their roadside is GARBAGE. But I've never had an issue in 50,000 miles of driving these cars, so it's not really rung my bell, like what happened.


So... I'm thinking of bailing on State Farm, or at least augmenting our plan to reduce it, and then get AAA. Or does AAA do full and complete auto-coverage? What do you do? Is Jaguar Roadside Assistance worth it, is that basically OnStar, and do you combine regular insurance, AAA, Jag Roadside, and all-star all at once? It's dizzying!


Any of this boring life / home / car insurance talk is welcome. I'm far from my State Farm guy, I've health, home, and car through them, but now I think the play is to reduce insurance w/ State Farm, add AAA, and think about Jag/Northstar??
I know this is dull and so verbose, but any help clearing all this up would be lovely.

 

I know this may not be for everyone, but I've had really good experiences buying used tires from a trusted indie tire shop. In the past 8 years I went through 2 sets of tires for less than $200 per set. (First one was Bridgestone, second was Michelin). They were all in pretty good condition with plenty of thread left.

 

[QUOTE=Uncle Fishbits;2096035] But now I need to really understand the difference between run flats, and why people are against them, and what are your experiences?

I have had run flat tires on a few cars and these were the problems I had with them:

They made the car they were on handle like crap.
They caused a very rough ride.
They were very loud.
They wore out very quickly.
They were very expensive to replace.

My 2 cents

BTW because of the above I haven't used run flat tires for several years and the technology might be better now but I like the high performance Michelin tires so much I'm not willing to try anything else.