I read an article a while ago talking about the elimination of spare tyres. Some Mercedes do (or soon will) only come with one of those cans of puncture repair/tyre inflater.

I'm eyeing off that spare tyre space (a sub in there would provide a nice back massage), anyone used one of those cans yet?

 

I had to use one once in my Si... Does what it's supposed to... Gives you enough to drive home or to the tire store... I'd say you'd be safe just having that

 

The problem with using the can is that it is hard to find tire stores to repair your tire after you have used it. This has happened to me once and to my wife once. Both times, we ended up buying a new tire when it should have been repairable.

 

I considered doing a similar thing with my BMW, but soon learned that the spare in the BMW was an integral part of the car in 2 ways. #1) it kept the 50/50 weight balance, and #2) more importantly it was an important part of the crumple zone in the event of a rear-end collision. I realize that the spare is located right behind the top in the S2000, so I doubt whether it will help in the event of a crash, but you may want to consider the weight factor, and ensure that whatever the spare is replaced with weighs roughly the same as the spare itself.

 

The can ruins the tire. Throws the tire out of balance and out of round. You'll end up with un-even wear and the tire will go bad sooner. Better off just to have it repaired, unless it's a real emergency.

 

Another issue: If the tire blows or the valve stem fails, you can't repair it with a can of stuff. I've seen vale stems fail when the wheels get too hot from braking.

If you can't repair the tire and you have no spare, how can you get it onto a flatbed tow truck? Any other type of tow truck can cause damage according to the owner's manual.

 

Haha...I don't have a spare or the "fix a flat in a can"...

 

I've used fix-a-flat cans before. To me the biggest issue is the mess it makes when it is time to change tires or get a proper plug. I never had a safety problem (three fixes I can remember).

I also have had two blow-outs that would have laughed at a can o' fix-a-flat. Killing the spare is pretty iffy to me. I drive plenty of places where a replacement tire is hard to find. If I only drove around town then maybe AAA tow insurance would be enough.