We were out riding this weekend at the Wayne National Forest and were out in the middle of no where when I got a flat on the stock Dunlop on the right front tire (crappy 2ply tire) while going up a good rocky hill. Upon further inspection, we noticed that it had 2 three-quarter inch cuts and one hole. Fortunately, my riding buddy had tire plugs and a electic pump. We had to put a total of six plugs in it to hold. Amazingly, it is stil holding air and I rode it hard the next day.

I really don't want to replace the tire with another Dunlop and I don't have enough left on the money tree for a new complete set of tires. I was wondering what everybodies experience is with different kinds of tire slime. Highlifter is offering some that will plug 1/2 inch holes. Will it work on sidewall cuts? Will standard tire slime work or is it a waste of money? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Polaris' version of slime is crap, with a capital C

 

Have had good luck with the green 'slime' brand of slime for punctures and small cuts. Never experienced a cut over about 3/8 inch or punctured by anything bigger than your pinkie finger - yet. The most I had to do so far is add air once. I think the claim of 'instant' sealing are a bit streched. Not that it lets out much air, but when I got to a hardpack dirt road I swore my ATV pulled a little to one side. Added about 1/4 to 1/2 pound & held ever since.
The stock Dunlops aren't the worst tires i ever saw. A friend of mine got some 'bargain' tires & had a flat about every 20 miles or so & never ran on rocks at all!

 

what happiens to slime when it gets really cold, or if it freezes in the tires? wouldent this make your tires way out of balance?

later
jon

 

Any of the slime type products or aerosals work well on the tread area (Slime seems to do alot better) but not well on the side walls, as long as it can coat and recoat the area it works fine but its hard to get it up on the side wall.
Ive tried using it on my John Deere front tire, put a whole bottle (quart) in the tire and no luck still have to pump it up weekly.
Good Luck

 

No problems in cold down to about 20 degrees F. Had a neighbor try it in his car and it settled down & was stiff enough to make the wheel bobble until it warmed up. Was below zero, though.
I am told that the slime actually helps the wheels stay in balance (as long as it is warm enough to stay liquid) but honestly couldn't say if it helped or hurt either way enough to tell.

 

I haven't had any experience with the Slime product but I have had an unpleasant experience with the aerosol Fix A Flat. I used the Fix a Flat on a tire of my 71 Chevy pickup and a few weeks later took it to the tire shop for new tires. I dropped the truck off and came back 2 hours later and the salesman asked me if I had ever used Fix a Flat in my tires. When I asked why he wanted to know, he said that they were unable to remove one of my tires from the rim. He said they finally took it off the machine and tried breaking it loose with a tire sledge. They couldn't even break the bead loose. They finally bent the rim beyond use and the tire still held tight. He said they see that sometimes when people use Fix a Flat in their tires. I doubt that the Slime reacts the same way with the rubber as the aerosol but if you have a nice set of rims you may want to stay away from the aerosol products. By the way the tire dealer did replace my rim for me.

 

So far its worked great. I had a flat one time while riding on the weekend. It was too late to get it fixed and no one was open on Sunday to plug it. Messed up the whole weekend. I have slime in all three of our four wheelers and no flats in the past year. I would never put this stuff in a car/truck/trailer tire it will put it out of balance like you have oval tires, but for ATV's it seems to work very well.

 

I used to get flats evertime I rode. I couldn't find Slime for tubeless tires at the local dealers. One tried to sell me the Slime for tubed tires, saying it was the same thing. Its not, as I found out from the Slime website. I ended up using the Honda stuff and haven't had a flat since. I also used the Walmart brand in my Polaris tires and it seemed to work well too.
As far as the Aerosol Fix a Flats, a friend owns a tire shop and told me that if I used it, he wouldn't work on my tires. He said that it is dangerous (flamable), messy and very hard to work with. He said that all of the non aerosol sealants are ok.
Check out the slime website, it has FAQ's that will answer your questions about cold weather performance and the size of holes that it will seal.
One more word of caution.... it takes some effort to get it into the tires. When you are ready to install this stuff, buy a case of beer, invite some friends over and plan on spending the evening in the garage, squeezing the bottle until your eyes bulge. Take several breaks and make sure the beer is still cold. Its worth the effort. I'd rather prevent a flat in the garage with cold beer than along the trail.

 

I think I will get some tire slime and see how it works. Has anybody tried the stuff from Highlifter yet? They are opening a new Cabela's store just across the Michigan border this week and this sounds like a great excuse to run up there