Steve_D wrote: Hmmm. Sealants and silly string are okay as a temporary get you home aid and I carry one myself when going abroad but I'd be a bit concerned about the standard of that tyre repair myself. Tyre repair is one of the units we train/assess students to carry out at work to get their City & Guids qualification. 8mm exceeds the permissible size (6mm max) for a permanent puncture repair in line with BS AU159. We'd refuse to repair a tyre with 8mm hole in it.

Hi Steve, yes Ultraseal/Puncturesafe sounds incredible doesn't it. I've used it for 30 years now and experienced it in the military too. The guys at the motorcycle shop who repaired my tyre said it was on the cusp of being viable, but it probably wasn't 8mm. 8mm was my estimation of the size of the hole. 6mm is the size PunctureSafe say it will seal ok. Above that it is not guaranteed to work. Anyway they washed out the Puncturesafe and repaired the tyre in the usual way. They said it was safe and would not repair an unsafe tyre. It was a normal repair. The great thing about PunctureSafe is that it has none of the usual restrictions of a normal repaired tyre, and it's been tested to be safer than a mushroom repair. That's why DTRRL has not imposed any restrictions on it. There are huge numbers of commercial fleets using PunctureSafe now including Royal Mail and some of the biggest haulage firms and commercial car fleets. It lengthens tyre life and reduces downtime. Of course, as has been said, you can have a conventional repair carried out too if you want but why? Unless like mine it was one of those rare times when it couldn't seal the hole fully. But my DL1000 and GSX1400 both had rear tyre punctures in them sealed by Ultraseal and both bikes covered several thousands of miles on those tyres afterwards in complete safety. No other repairs were carried out. They don't leak from the same hole again once sealed.

Of course the military use it quite widely around the world. We used it in the services in some of our combat vehicles to protect against small arms fire. In fact there is a good online video of Ultraseal/PunctureSafe being tested by shooting out the tyres on a Range Rover. LINK BELOW. The tyres took the hits in the sidewall and sealed instantly. In fact they sealed so quickly that rather than losing pressure the tyres actually inflated from the gas pressure behind the rounds being fired into them. I've actually seen this demoed in the military years ago. It genuinely saves lives. Here is the link to watch the vid!
Bullet proof your tyres!...Ultraseal

MrGrumpy wrote:

Data wrote:Used Ultraseal (now PunctureSafe of course) since then. It's the only one to use and better than any of the others as it makes a permanent repair with no speed restrictions, well it's now certified to 173mph or something like that. Up from 156mph which is used to be.

Oh! Well! Now its certified to 173 rather than 156 that makes all the difference!!!

Yes, thought you'd like that! I set the limit at 170mph on my Burgman to allow for speedo error!! Just demonstrating the strength of the product. But many folk don't read the instruction for using it and run into problems when they don't get a proper seal after removing a foreign object. To get that perfect seal, which it does 99% of the time, you must know what to do and follow the instructions and it works, permanently. That is as long as the punctured tyre is not too severely damaged or punctured on the sidewall or shoulder. If it is, Ultraseal/PunctureSafe won't make a permanent repair and will seal it but bleed the product to warn you the tyre is buggered! If PunctureSafe was no good no-one including the big commercial fleets, military etc etc would use it.

When stuff saves consumers money, chances are someone else will be losing money, then the FUD starts.

Well, each to their own and good luck if it works for you but as far as the City & Guilds are concerned we can only train and assess to the British Standards and anything other than a repair to those standards (and pre/post puncture sealants are currently not included) is unacceptable. You just have to make a choice who you are going to believe - a safety organisation promoting British safety standards that are earning nothing from you or those wishing to sell you a product for £4.99 and up. You decide.

Advice from TyreSafe: http://www.tyresafe.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Q. Is it safe to use a tyre sealant? A. TyreSafe does not recommend pre-puncture sealants as there is an inherent risk of the primary damage extending in service and/or of internal secondary damage. The continued use of this tyre in such a condition may lead to serious tyre failure. Post-puncture sealants are regarded purely as a "get you home" measure and introduced following a puncture. The manufacturers recommendations detailed on the can should be strictly followed. - See more at: http://tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/frequen ... MGld7.dpuf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes tyresafe (not an independant unbiased organisation by the way as I found out when I was in the trade) generally gives good advice. I would not disagree with their advice on the whole but they exclude detail analysis of Utlraseal/PunctureSafe, which is different to other similar type products. The advice bit about secondary damage for instance ignores the facts about how this sealant deals with that. If there is secondary damage the product will make that plain at the time or later, but it will prevent a catastrophe. Nothings perfect of course and I have had mushroom plugs let go as they age too. But Tyresafe just doesn't cut the ice with the latest guidance on this sealant. It's been tested and scrutinised more than any other sealant for over 40 years in total and is the one most widely used and admired. I understand scepticism from some professionals though because they have never studied or used it. Most criticism/misinformation comes from that quarter, often without foundation. The organisations such as the Police, Military, commercial fleets etc are the one who have tried and tested it too and found it to be spot on. It does what it says on the tin. Every angle has been thought of. BS standards are in much need of reform and have been for some while. and not just for the subject we are talking about. Naturally, tyre firms don't like it. It stops them selling tyres! But interestingly, more and more tyre repair firms are selling Puncturesafe! Interesting eh!

Very interesting thread. Never liked the idea of Ultraseal as I want to know if i have something in my tyre. I never realised it was sold as a permanent repair either. What worries me is that is something has penetrated the tyre and cut one of the belts and ultraseal has then sealed it, you wont know anything about this and will be driving/riding on a potentially lethal tyre wont you?

Taipan wrote:What worries me is that is something has penetrated the tyre and cut one of the belts and ultraseal has then sealed it, you wont know anything about this and will be driving/riding on a potentially lethal tyre wont you?

Hi Taipan, I've used Ultraseal in the past and you can see if you have had a puncture that the sealant has repaired as it leaves a small stain on the surface. This can be seen when routinely checking your tyres for damage. You can then assess the area and make your decision as to whether it requires further checking or not.

Cookie

Yes, cookie is right or course. Take a look at my puncture below of my rear tyre last year. It's a massive nail. I picked it up on a long fast run. I didn't even know I had the nail in the tyre but PunctureSafe sealed it and prevented one of those fatal slow punctures. You can just see the bluey green sealant around the edges of the nail. It probably saved my life. Seeing it was such a huge nail I declined to remove it by the roadside just in case it didn't seal it. Once home I found out it didn't seal so had the tyre professionally repaired and will again run it with PunctureSafe in it. The great thing about PunctureSafe is that it won't repair a fatally damaged carcass. In a case like that it will often make a temporary repair by stopping a blow out or puncture but is designed to bleed out and mark the damaged area if the tyre has suffered other damage to the sidewall or elsewhere, but at the same time sealing the air in so you can at least travel slowly to a repair station. Also, if the bands inside are damaged PunctureSafe leaches into the area between the bands and causes a slight swelling. It does this fairly quickly usually. You then know the carcass is damaged beyond repair, but at least you can ride albeit more slowly home without a puncture and get the tyre changed. Nothing has been lost in either case by using Puncturesafe. You have nothing to lose by having it in your tyres, but gained safety! If you don't trust the permanent repair it has made then get a mushroom fitted, but that's inferior to the seal the sealant makes so would be a backward step. And all this is proven, not hearsay or made up stuff. IMHO it's one of the greatest safety aids on the market for us two wheeler users, or anyone.
Anyhoo...everyone can make their own choices on this thank goodness. But take a look at the facts before making that decision. It could save your life.

Cookie wrote:

Taipan wrote:What worries me is that is something has penetrated the tyre and cut one of the belts and ultraseal has then sealed it, you wont know anything about this and will be driving/riding on a potentially lethal tyre wont you?

Hi Taipan, I've used Ultraseal in the past and you can see if you have had a puncture that the sealant has repaired as it leaves a small stain on the surface. This can be seen when routinely checking your tyres for damage. You can then assess the area and make your decision as to whether it requires further checking or not.

Cookie

Hi Cookie

Good point. Although relying on my doing regular tyre checks could be pushing it!

Data wrote:Yes, cookie is right or course. Take a look at my puncture below of my rear tyre last year. It's a massive nail. I picked it up on a long fast run. I didn't even know I had the nail in the tyre but PunctureSafe sealed it and prevented one of those fatal slow punctures. You can just see the bluey green sealant around the edges of the nail. It probably saved my life. Seeing it was such a huge nail I declined to remove it by the roadside just in case it didn't seal it. Once home I found out it didn't seal so had the tyre professionally repaired and will again run it with PunctureSafe in it. The great thing about PunctureSafe is that it won't repair a fatally damaged carcass. In a case like that it will often make a temporary repair by stopping a blow out or puncture but is designed to bleed out and mark the damaged area if the tyre has suffered other damage to the sidewall or elsewhere, but at the same time sealing the air in so you can at least travel slowly to a repair station. Also, if the bands inside are damaged PunctureSafe leaches into the area between the bands and causes a slight swelling. It does this fairly quickly usually. You then know the carcass is damaged beyond repair, but at least you can ride albeit more slowly home without a puncture and get the tyre changed. Nothing has been lost in either case by using Puncturesafe. You have nothing to lose by having it in your tyres, but gained safety! If you don't trust the permanent repair it has made then get a mushroom fitted, but that's inferior to the seal the sealant makes so would be a backward step. And all this is proven, not hearsay or made up stuff. IMHO it's one of the greatest safety aids on the market for us two wheeler users, or anyone.
Anyhoo...everyone can make their own choices on this thank goodness. But take a look at the facts before making that decision. It could save your life.

I was thinking about getting it put into the wife's car more than anything. I just bought her a Mini which doesn't even have a spare wheel only a puncture repair gloop stuff of some description and a little electric pump!