Self Sealing Mobility Tyres?

[Wagen Wheels]

Hi Guys,

Whilst I wait for my Passat wagon to arrive and trust me, I've read the brochure cover to cover many times. Does anyone know or actually have any experience with the self sealing mobility 17" or 18" tyres standard on Passat's as per page 10 of the Feb 2010 publication (VGA4050G)?

I've managed to catch a MY10 Passat & notice they come with Continental shoes (ContiSeal™ tyres) but does anyone know if this has really helped with small punctures and how much more expensive are they to replace compared to normal tyres?

Let me know your thoughts.

[R36 Dreamer]

The tyres help a great deal with small punctures, the goop will self seal nails etc. no problem at all. My uncle has them on his CC, and he thinks they have the same feel as usual tyres.

In terms of cost, they are hideously expensive ($600+ per corner or more from memory). My R36 has a full size spare, but if I was to have the contiseals I would probably replace them with "Normal" tyres and spring for a towtruck and taxi if I ever got a flat....

The tyres perform a lot better day to day than the Runflat system used by BMW's and minis, which in my opinion ruin the ride.

I know what you mean about reading the brochure. When I ordered my R36 I would read anything I could find on them (they hadn't been released in Oz when I ordered), and I must have googled "R36 Review" a couple of thousand times over the 6 months! the wait will be worth it though.

[karicta]

I had a massive nail pierce one of my contiseals. It did not completely seal but I drove around with it for a couple of weeks whilst waiting to source a new tyre (grazed the sidewall so not repairable). I had to top up the air every few days.

Although I haven't driven an R36 (for any length of time) with different tyres I have no complaints about the performance (or ride) of the tyres on mine.

As for price, I think you will find they have come down significantly recently - about $360 a corner. But that is if you can source them - it seems there may be a shortage of supply in Oz.

[Pook]

Hi guys, has anyone in Sydney picked up any Contiseals recently, I need 18" for the CC? If so where did you pick them up and roughly how much?

I checked the car today and the fronts are probably on their last 5,000kms...

Need to know how much I should be budgeting. They're 280USD a corner from Tirerack, but I'd need to get them shipped then fitted and balanced.

For the 360 above I'd probably go local, but for 600 I think I'll import. Any ideas would be welcomed..