TYRE REPAIR FLUIDS

Punctures are deflating - but which of these solutions is the best emergency fix?

- Tom Barnard

EVEN the most reliable car can leave you stranded by the roadside if you get a puncture. All it takes is a stray nail or shard of glass cutting into your tyre and you're left feeling seriously deflated. If your car has a spare wheel at all, and many don’t these days, then changing it can be hard work and is also dangerous by the side of a busy road. This is where an emergency tyre repair kit could get you out of trouble.

As well as being an alternative to waiting hours for a rescue, they can be used in just a few minutes and may get you all the way home – or at least to a safer spot.

Most are a foam or liquid which is designed to solidify as the air rushes out of the hole in the tyre, creating a blockage that plugs the puncture. Others are kits which use a rubber bung and glue. The aerosol type will usually inflate the tyre while dispensing fluid, while others require a separate pump.

We tried seven different products and were shocked by the results - only three were able to provide a repair that allowed us to drive any reasonable distance.

Ring Flat Tyre Sealant

THE Ring is the only sealant we'd be confident using at the roadside and then trust to get us home. It looks similar to the bottles contained in many newer cars' factory-fitted puncture repair kits and requires the use of an electric compressor to dispense the fluid and inflate the tyre.

Connecting it is easy though, and by making sure the puncture was at the bottom of the wheel when we were filling, the hole was quickly plugged. It was mess free, quick and effective.

Laser Emergency Tyre Repair Kit

Price: £18.27

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Contact: lasertools.co.uk

THE Laser represents a different type of repair kit which is similar to those used by the breakdown services.