I was thinking of adding a Tire Repair Kit to my prep supplies.
Do any of you have experience with the Black Jack brand kits? ... any other recommendations?

Those certainly look like very nice high-end kits.

I've always had very good luck with the cheap no-name brand plugs and tools provided one thing:

You know that tiny little tube of rubber cement that comes with the cheap kit? Forget it. Buy a large tube of the cement and be very generous with it.

It even worked when I had a half of a rusted-out muffler clamp punched through my tire once.

I've used the StopnGo tire plug system several times on my motorcycle tires. Never tried it on a car tire but I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work.

It's pretty easy to use if you can find the hole or the thing that punctured the tire and if the puncture isn't on the sidewall.

I just use the ones I get at wal-mart

I also recently learned that semi-low profile, and low profile tires pretty much shred because by the time yuo tell they are flat it's to late

Since there could be safety ramifications when plugging tires, I offer this...



Source: safecar.gov

I go offroading quite a bit... This is the best.... http://www.extremeoutback.com/

Standard disclaimer: I do not work for them or receive any compensation from them.. just a happy customer...

Have used the Safety Seal brand which is in a similar price range to the ones you are looking at. It's a heavy duty all metal kit and replacement parts are available.

http://www.safetyseal.com/store/autokits.htm

Over the years i have used many of the safety seal plugs with out any problems. And while not recommended i even plugged a sidewall puncture once, it got me home. Then i replaced the tire, wasn't going to push my luck anymore than that.

Standard Disclaimer,

I have used the cheap kits with great success over the years. Something else to consider is a 12V portable compressor.

Another user of cheap tire plugs here.
They are great for fixing flats caused by nails.
The ones I get just have the rasp, the needle eye hook and a pack of gummy string.
Remember to include pliers something to pull the nail (or whatever it was) out of the tire.

I wouldn't go too cheap on this.

Consider that this is a tool that you're trusting to get you out of a real big jam.
Maybe on the side of the road, in the dark, in the rain, miles from nowhere?
Maybe you won't be there(or you're injured) and your significant other will have to use the kit?

The really cheap kit's have poor handles that can break and/or junky probes and needles that can bend or break. I've experienced this myself.

I agree that the cement should be used liberaly and probably replaced every few years
if your kits live in a hot trunk.

The Black Jack kits are a good bare minimum.
I bought a box of 30 plugs and two each of the plastic handled probes and needles and split the plugs between two cars. They take up very little space in my car kit.

I'm set and I trust to tools.

+1 on Safety Seal. This is the kit all the tire shops in my town use. I've used it for years and been happy with the results. You need a heavy duty kit to work with steel belted tires, and this one is it.

Craig.

I like the Safety Seal kit. I keep about 30 plugs and 10 patches in my Jeep, along with the necessary tools and a compressor. I've plugged many a tire out in the woods with my setup.

I have never seen one of these kits. I have used those slimy air-filler things in an emergency.

So, how do these plug things work? Do you put them in from the inside or the outside?

(OK, roll your eyes, I don't care!)

Sue

The plugs are installed from the outside after a bit of prep work (reamer) on the puncture. It can be done in just a few minutes.

Tire plugs rock. Never used them on anything but a four-wheeler (only in the tread, never the sidewall) but they work. And they work very well.

The best kit is a full size spare, giving you adequate time to have your punctured tire properly repaired at a tire shop

How many people on here have replaced their donuts with full size tires? I'd strongly suggest doing this, if you haven't already.

Regarding using a plug to fix a sidewall puncture. I've never done it and I know it's verboten but my son bought a old Firebird with a plug in the sidewall and drove it for many months (probably way too fast) before selling it - with the plug still in the sidewall. I warned him about the plug before he bought the car but he's rather pig-headed. So, if you're in a bad situation (wilderness/disaster/danger) with no way to go except plugging the sidewall, wouldn't it be better to do that and carefully drive to a repair place as soon as possible?

I've used the cheap repair kits quite a few times, most recently just a couple of weeks ago. They work great, never had a problem. Even though they should be only used for a temporary repair, I have pushed my luck with them and never had a failure of the plug. I do have the full size spare as a backup still, but I can plug the tire almost as fast as I can change the spare.

Even though I've never experienced a problem, I've been meaning to upgrade to a better kit, one with metal handles. Somewhere I saw pictures of what happens when one of the cheap T-handled plug reamers break while you're trying to push it through the tire, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The plastic probably gets brittle from old age and heat, so when I use it I try and be careful about how much force I apply. The next one I pick up is definitely going to have metal handles.

I'm guessing the reason they don't recommend it for sidewalls because the sidewall is subject to a lot of flexing, so a plug probably wouldn't last very long there. How long is too long, I don't know, but I would not hesitate to use it for a sidewall puncture if that meant getting home. At worst, it fails down the road somewhere and you either plug it again or you're stuck further along. Although, I'd probably start looking for a replacement as soon as I got back home.

Outside in.

I've seen them used to fill hand sized gashes in sidewalls as temp fixes to get off the trail. This was a plug + stitching combo!! Not a fun thing to do with your hands heh.

The StopnGo plug kit I mentioned earlier is a little bit different from most. It uses a mushroom shaped rubber plug that's installed using a gun like tool. The tool looks like a small calking gun.

The plug is inserted into the tool and there's a part of the tool that is inserted into the hole in the tire, you pull on a handle which forces the plug thru a metal tube and then into the tire, the larger part of the mushroom shape is now on the inside of the tire casing, you pull it outwards to seat it against the casing of the tire. When you inflate the tire, the plug is held tight by air pressure.

No glue, you use a tiny bit of oil to help insert the plug.

They work very well, I've installed them and then ridden on the patched tire for hundreds of miles while on a long trip.

The best way to fully repair involved taking the tire off the rim and using either another type of plug or a patch on the inside of the casing, that's what I do when I'm not sitting on the side of the road with a flat, I use the plug tool to get me off the road or onto my next destination.

Ditto on the full sized spare, on my car I have to use one, it messes up the all wheel drive if you use a different sized tire.

In a pinch (out in the woods) we've actually sewn up a tire with wire and covered the tear with patches on the inside. I wouldn't drive it on the road like that. But I've seen many a sidewall plugged, shops just don't do it for liability reasons.

Mine came with a full-size spare (Jeep Wrangler), but I'd have to have one even if it didn't. Offroad vehicles with locking differentials can't run different size tires on the same axle.

You beat me to it. Been using Safety Seal kits since about 1986. Have purchased probably 15 commercial kits and given them to family & friends.

After Hurricane Andrew in South Florida, I had to patch my service truck tires ad naseum due to the road debris. Between the Safety Seal kits and the cans of air (which I bought by the case after Andrew) I have become a firm believer in the plugs.

Yes, I've heard and read a lot about why you should use the patches, however I've never heard of any issues with a properly installed Safety Seal plug. No affiliation, just a VERY HAPPY Safety Seal customer. YMMV

Regards, Comanche7.

I've used the Walmart cheapies with great success over the years. I once developed a slow leak when I didn't have any glue to use. They have generally lasted the life of the tire with no problems.

Several posters have brought up a good point to know what is recommend for your car. If you have all wheel drive or limited slip differentials, usually on jeeps, suvs, trucks, and sports cars. You may need to use a full size spare or use the spare only on one end of the car.

One of my cars has a doughnut spare, the spare can only be used on the front axle. The rear axle has a limited slip differential and it can be damaged by using different size tires on that axle. And it is an expensive repair.

I've thought it a good idea to get a kit myself, but haven't done it yet.

Here's another one that looks good: http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=379

.. no affiliation...

Timely thread, as I just bought a new truck and decided to get a patch kit. Glad the "cheapie" from AutoZone is probably good enough around town. And glad my truck has a full size spare

Sue, my dad once used the Slime in the tire. It worked OK, but I hear the tire repair shops hate it. Plus, I've got my own concerns about how how it affects cars with tire sensors.

For the rest, when sewing a tire, do you plug inbetween the stitches then? Or do you actually tie it tight enough to block leaks? Are you just bringing the tire together, or actually overlapping rubber? What kind of needle, as I figure a regular sewing needle is a bit thin for this task?

"Fix-A-Flat" was one of my favorite products, until I had a job repairing tires in high school 22 years ago... Then it became my arch nemesis (sp?)

TPM (Tire Pressure Monitor) devices in the wheels are replaceable, and "Slime" is one of the biggest reasons why.

I have used the Blackjack kit many times and it is a superior tire plug kit. I keep one in each vehicle with a small hi pressure low volume dc compressor and have used them both in the woods and beach. Usually easier to plug the tire on the truck than to jack it up and remove and replace with spare tire.

This was a 49" tall Interco "Irok" offroad tire, in the sidewall, which is extremely thick on them. We punched small holes (maybe 1/8") in the tire and stitched it up using bailing wire. Just to bring it together, then patched the inside up with regular patches, then a piece of inner tube glued over that.

This was an extreme case, but the tire cost a lot of $, and the rip in the tire was about 3" long. It made it through the day, then he had it vulcanized before the next time he took it riding.

When you're running 49" tires, like my buddy, you don't bring a spare tire.

If you have TPMS (tire pressure monitering system) or your car/truck tells you that your tire is low, only plug, NEVER put Fix-a-flat or Slime in it. the sensor is trashed if you do, and federal law says that the shop that discovers this has to replace the sensor. they range from $50-$150.

Cheap gummy plugs/kit from wal-mart
works as a temp plug, i.e. get you off the trail or home, until you get to a shop. they can and do last for the life of the tire, but they are prone to leaking. a shop will actually take the tire off, and plug the hole, then put patch over the plugged hole. as to the actual kit, i think the pistol grip are easy to use. (be careful, they are plastic) pliers are good for pulling out the nail, but side cutters are better. you can get a grip with less. (blade side down)then rasp out the hole, feed the gummy through the needle, insert 1/2 into tire, twist and pull the needle out. should have two ends sticking out the outside.

fix-a-flat

doesn't

basically latex and compressed air. supposed to clog and fill hole, mostly just sloshes around. dries into a sticky gummy layer. after 6 months-year in your car it will set up in the can. only advantage is that has the compressed air in a small space (can, smaller than a compressor)


Slime (the chunky green stuff)

works like a champ on low pressure tires (lawnmowers, atv, golfcats, so on)

cars, sucks!

supposed to clog and fill hole, works with under 20psi tires. cars are too heavy, and go too fast (heats up, expands,)


a compressor is a really good idea for your car kit. besides filling up a flat, you will not have to fork over your quarters to fill your tires when you check them every month (hint)

to find flats, the best way is to take off the tire and dunk in water. considering that has not been a posibility when i had flats, diluted soapy water does wonders. (soap makes bubbles to see leak) I have Dawn in my truck for that and to wash! it works.

as to sidewall repairs, at a shop it means a new tire. but the gummies work pretty good for at least slowing the leak. once you put the thing in leave it alone. dont mess with it, pull, twist or what have you. if the tire is in decent shape, you will get to where you need to. put your spare on asap.

if you are off-road, there is a big possibility that the bead will come off the rim. this can be reset in the bush. it is either dangerous or really REEAALLLLYYY messy. ether, squirted into the tire and lit (yes fire) will set the bead or blow the tire up, depending on the amount. or ratchet a strap around the middle of the tire, pushing the bead towards the rim, then you can fill the gap with a tremendous amount of grease (thicker the better) and air it up. when the bead sets there will be a explosion of grease. i guess better greasy than bear-food.

if you want to see the ether trick, it happens at most local tracks at least once a weekend, unless its been banned.

btw I work at a shop, on tires!

Another downside to "slime"-type tire repair is the possible hazard of the tire rupturing when it gets too hot. I'd have said it was just a wive's tale until I personally saw it happen.

My girlfriend's father has an old, small car that he shows in car shows. The tires are a little bigger than a bicycle tire.

He had the car sitting out in the sun at a car show one day, it was maybe about 90 degrees, and the tire went off like a grenade. It actually blew a chunk out of the rim. We were standing maybe 20 feet from it when it happened. Turns out he had just put the slime-type stuff in there a few days before the car show.