Anyone have experience with tire repair kit?

Agree, BUT make sure you calibrate the pressure gauge on the pump versus a known, accurate pressure gauge. I have had several that were off by 5-10psi, which could result in severe over or under inflation, depending on the direction of the error.

 

Talking about tires pressure:
I've noticed that according to user manual front tires need higher pressure 36 psi vs 35 for rear.
However car with LiI battery has even higher numbers 39 and 36 psi.
Anyone knows what is axle weight distribution?

 

I don't think there's a correlation. In the States virtually all the levels have the Lithium Ion battery, but just the Eco has the bumped up tire pressures.

The whole concept of higher/lower pressures for front/rear seems hair-splitting to me. I'm doing my own rotation (in conjunction with swapping with snow tires), and quickly got tired of adjusting pressures as front went to rear and vice versa. Picked a number, a couple of pounds above front spec, and set them all thus.

 

I believe the manufacturers currently design and recommend tire inflation pressures so that at the max lateral g point, the front tires break loose first and induce under-steer. However, some of us prefer a car where the rear tires break loose first, inducing over-steer, or a "neutral" handling car where all tires break loose roughly simultaneously. It would be fun to determine the pressure settings that would produce each kind of break away behavior in a Gen 2, 3, and 4 Prius hatchback. Anyone have a nice big skid pad available? I'll volunteer my Gen 3!

 

I think it's Kithmo who advocates this, not me. I was commenting on his post.

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I see, but if you have used the gunk you mentioned the tire must be replaced.
This gunk forms a foam inside the tire impossible to remove and most likely blocks pressure sensor.

 

Maybe it's possible to remove (and if you're lucky your sensor would survive), but it's just not worth it to pay a tire shop's labour charge, too time consuming.

 

Well, if we had an inner tire tubes, like we used to have before, it would be an easy job just to replace the contaminated tube.
Do not look forward - the experience is in the past, lol

 

There seem to be differing views on whether these products necessarily ruin the tyre. Not sure how many are from experience and knowledge or just what they heard was true. Maybe also there are different compounds and some are better than others. This may be of interest:
http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=240343

Re the sensor, might it be possible to carry a spare tyre valve without a sensor and the room to fit it, and swap them round before using the gunk? Tyre is presumably already flat at that point.

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Swapping valves is not practical along a roadside, doesn't really make sense either.

 

Just between us, PhD rocket scientists: say we have a wheel with 2 valves, oppositely locked on the rim.
The first valve supplies air (or nitrogen) directly to the tire, the second valve connected to a some sort of inflatable and disposable 'latex' liner.
If tire is ok, we can inflate it via the first valve (with pressure censor). If tire goes flat a gunk can be pumped into the liner.
because valves should have different fittings for not mix it up.

 

Raises the question: does the tire pressure sensor even need to be a valve? So far I guess so, 'cause it's the only place the sensor can be connected to something.

There's a few cars that don't have individual sensor in the wheels, rely on detecting differences in tire rotation when a tire goes flat. Maybe that's not as accurate, opens other cans-o-worms? Who knows.

Sensor or not, spraying the inside of the tire with goop seems a cheesy solution, no matter how much lipstick you put on it, lol.

 

This is a bit dismissive isn't it? Why is it not practical and why does it not make sense?

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On the shoulder of a road you're going to remove a tire from a rim, swap out a valve, remount the tire, then apply the goop kit? Or am I completely misunderstanding?

 

No. You are right.

I don't have TPMS but assumed that the sensor was external and could be removed externally like a valve core. I just checked and saw that it is inside the wheel as you imply.

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Sorry if I came off as snippy too. I could have just clarified how the sensor's a big item, captive on inside of rim.

 

My first reaction was "he wants to what?!?", so I think snippy is appropriate here.

 

Actually I didn't "want to" do anything apart from make a suggestion that I hoped might possibly help, if my assumptions about the design were correct, which they clearly weren't.

That's the nature of a discussion isn't it. People bounce ideas off each other and some are useful and some not so much.

I appreciate what Mendel said, thanks Mendel.

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I actually think it was a good discussion and encourage you to continue sharing your ideas. Everything in this discussion has been "in bounds", no name calling, no ad-hominem attacks, etc.

In my mind, it shows the high quality of discussion here at PriusChat when somebody apologizes for calling an idea "not practical" and saying it "doesn't really make sense". Perhaps I should have just said that instead of sticking my tongue in my cheek (see smiley in previous post) and trying to make it humorous.

 

I easily could have diffused it at the outset, with a comment like "I can't see how that'd work, the sensor is a big item on the inside of the tire, requiring dismounting".

FWIW, I wouldn't know an ad-hominem if it bit me, lol.