[Jim Fallston Md.]

Has any one had a flat tire from puncture in the tread area not in the sidewalls? I was wondering how well the self sealing tires were working, I may want to get them on one of my Volts when the time comes. My main issue is that they are not calling them self sealing on the Michelin website yet.

 

[Pete Blair]

Has any one had a flat tire from puncture in the tread area not in the sidewalls? I was wondering how well the self sealing tires were working, I may want to get them on one of my Volts when the time comes. My main issue is that they are not calling them self sealing on the Michelin website yet.

I ran over a nail first day I had the car, I know terrible. However I just pulled it out that day and haven't had any issues since then. It was almost dead center of the tread and went straight in. So I have the experience that at least in that condition the tire seems to seal itself just fine. It also wasn't a huge nail, just a roofing nail.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

Thanks for your response. Doesn't it seem odd Michelin is not even showing tires for the Bolt EV when searching by vehicle not to mention not even coming up in a site search?

 

[drdiesel1]

Thanks for your response. Doesn't it seem odd Michelin is not even showing tires for the Bolt EV when searching by vehicle not to mention not even coming up in a site search?

I would just carry a tire plug kit and a 12 volt tire pump. I keep one in all my vehicles and on my motorcycles. It's easy to use and the tire can be used until it's worn out.
The tire rope plug kit has never let me down and it's cheap and easy :nerd: Tires are way too much
for this simple issue and I will not replace mine with the pre-sealing goop. No need for it and tire plugs won't cause TPMS sensor failures like Tire Slime will.

 

[Bazinga]

I'm guessing Michelin won't call them self healing on their site for legal issues, in case someone assumes a giant gash will heal like a nail hole would. You could stick a spare tire under the false floor, someone did it in their bolt and it fits.

 

[DaV8or]

I think the tires on our Bolts are made specifically for GM with the self sealing in them. I think the only place you can buy them at this time is at the dealership. I'm pretty sure the ones for sale on sites like Tire Rack are the same, but without the self seal coating.

There was another member here who posted that they got a screw and the self seal didn't fully seal and the tire slowly lost air. He had it plugged at a tire shop. Because of this report, I bought a 12v tire inflator just in case. A slow leak you can pump up and drive on to get to a tire shop.

 

[timeToy]

We went through this already in another thread, Tire Rack has 3 versions of the Michelin Energy Saver A/S:

Bolt Tire (with self sealing): https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+Saver+A/S&partnum=15HR7ESASV2&vehicleSearch=false

Volt Tire: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+Saver+A/S&partnum=15HR7ESAS&vehicleSearch=false

Normal Tire: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Energy+Saver+A/S&partnum=15VR7ESAS&vehicleSearch=false

Same name, same size, different SKU, different tires...

 

[NY-Rob]

^ I had sent an email to Tire Rack tech support regarding the first tire in the list above.. they replied that the "Bolt Tire" listed above was not the Self Sealing variety.

IIRC.. at this time you can only get the Bolt Self Sealing tire from a GM dealer.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

^ I had sent an email to Tire Rack tech support regarding the first tire in the list above.. they replied that the "Bolt Tire" listed above was not the Self Sealing variety.

IIRC.. at this time you can only get the Bolt Self Sealing tire from a GM dealer.

If it has the DT emblem on the tire like the stock OEM that came with the Bolt EV it is the same self sealing tire.

 

[NY-Rob]

^ Well, that's the $132 (including shipping) question then- no one here has ordered one yet and tech support stated in writing it's not Self Sealing.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

The one in the links above for the Bolt EV has the DT [Different Tread] designation in the add.

 

[NY-Rob]

^ saw that.... but that's no guarantee it's the self sealing tire just "Different Tread" whatever that means.

I'm trying to "chat" live w/Tire Rack now... but the connection is unavailable.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

^ saw that.... but that's no guarantee it's the self sealing tire just "Different Tread" whatever that means.

I'm trying to "chat" live w/Tire Rack now... but the connection is unavailable.

If Michelin is not advertising them as such on their website Tire Rack office people can't confirm if they are self sealing or not. Where is Ladagoboy when you need him?

 

[SanFranTanguero]

It's my turn. Found a screw (1/8" or smaller in diameter) well embedded in the tread and removed it. The instrument panel reports that this tire is 1lb less pressure so I'll be keeping my eye on it. My question is whether the self sealing solution is to be considered a permanent solution, or is it designed to last for a limited amount of time? My guess is that the tire dropped the 1lb of pressure in filling the leak. I'll follow the manual and bring that tire up to it's recommended pressure (35) and then follow it from there.
thanks

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

It's my turn. Found a screw (1/8" or smaller in diameter) well embedded in the tread and removed it. The instrument panel reports that this tire is 1lb less pressure so I'll be keeping my eye on it. My question is whether the self sealing solution is to be considered a permanent solution, or is it designed to last for a limited amount of time? My guess is that the tire dropped the 1lb of pressure in filling the leak. I'll follow the manual and bring that tire up to it's recommended pressure (35) and then follow it from there.
thanks

I was told by Pam Fletcher @ the 2016 DC auto show unveiling in a meet and greet Q & A that they are permanent not like a run flat.

 

[SanFranTanguero]

After driving around for several hours, the self sealing tires appear to have worked. The tire pressure evened out to 35. I did go and get a $20 tire inflator that plugs into the 12v outlet. Not sure I'll ever need it, but it gives a bit of added security. In the photos below, the screw is shown sitting in where the hole is, but these were taken after I pulled the screw out. Originally, it was flush with the tread.

 

[Pete Blair]

It's my turn. Found a screw (1/8" or smaller in diameter) well embedded in the tread and removed it. The instrument panel reports that this tire is 1lb less pressure so I'll be keeping my eye on it. My question is whether the self sealing solution is to be considered a permanent solution, or is it designed to last for a limited amount of time? My guess is that the tire dropped the 1lb of pressure in filling the leak. I'll follow the manual and bring that tire up to it's recommended pressure (35) and then follow it from there.
thanks

I've put about 5500 miles on my tire that I took a nail out of without issue of pressure loss. The sealant is permanent if it is below the stated size it will seal which is 1/4".

 

[SanFranTanguero]

I still haven't figured out how the sealant actually works. I've seen lots of fascinating youtube videos from bicycles all the way up to construction vehicles with tires as tall as me (6') and the sealants seem to work great. Based on a bit of investigation on my part, the ingredients seem to be alcohol, rubber bits and cellulose fibers. http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/fa/faab0f2f-ad21-45ce-977e-34b764758d8a.pdf

I'll assume that it's a permanent fix, but according to some websites such as: https://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/tire-puncture-sealant-pros--cons
they say it's not a permanent fix. I'll monitor the situation as time goes on.

 

[Pete Blair]

I still haven't figured out how the sealant actually works. I've seen lots of fascinating youtube videos from bicycles all the way up to construction vehicles with tires as tall as me (6') and the sealants seem to work great. Based on a bit of investigation on my part, the ingredients seem to be alcohol, rubber bits and cellulose fibers. http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/fa/faab0f2f-ad21-45ce-977e-34b764758d8a.pdf

I'll assume that it's a permanent fix, but according to some websites such as: https://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/tire-puncture-sealant-pros--cons
they say it's not a permanent fix. I'll monitor the situation as time goes on.

I wouldn't be to concerned with it, long as the puncture isn't an irregular shape. I have ridden mountain bikes for years and have been running tubeless with sealant for several years now. When I do get a puncture on those the sealant seals it fine in almost all cases and I very rarely touch it after. This is on a thin bike tire and is constantly going over uneven terrain.

Now take that and think about how these self sealing tires are constructed. They have to layers of tire with the sealant between those two layers. This allows the sealant to seal the hole, forming the plug. This plug of sealant now has pressure holding it in place from multiple directions and of course more sealant around it if the plug it formed ever does move. Add on to this that cars for the most part are driving mostly even surfaces so the impact the plug area takes is normally quite distributed across a large area of the tire.

What could cause seal like this trouble are large direct impacts to them, like hitting a big enough rock on the plug location directly. Something like that could dislocate that plug. But since the inside of the tire has more sealant left in there it should just reseal quite quickly. This is what happens on my mountain bike tires when I hit an old puncture sometimes, I will hear a little air escape some sealant come out and then it is sealed again.

So that was a long winded way of saying long as the hole isn't too large or irregularly shaped the sealant in the tire should be more than sufficient.

 

[Pete Blair]

I forgot to mention how the sealants work. So no matter the formulation, rubber based, latex based or fiber based they all work under the same principles. Under normal conditions they are liquids of course. If you expose any of those compounds to the combination of air and high pressure and they become solids. Their behavior is like that of a non-newtonian fluid. So under normal circumstances they are liquids but under stress, high pressure, impacts, quick change in pressure, they become solids. The major difference between the tire sealants and a true non-newtonian fluid is that the sealants don't revert back to liquids once the pressure is gone. Tire sealants actually permanently solidify once they are exposed to the high pressure from a air escaping from a hole and the pressure of being pushed into it. Michelin uses a sealant compound that is rubber based so it forms a permanent rubber plug in the hole from the puncture. Like I mentioned above the plug could be knocked out, like any other plug you would put into a tire. It just isn't very likely due to the impact required to do so. Even if it did happen more sealant would form another plug.