How many punctures can a tubeless tyre handle?

The earliest tyres were made of metal with an outer layer of rubber. In 1887 John Dunlop created the first air-filled pneumatic tyre. However, the relatively fragile tyre inner tube had an essential weakness which makes it vulnerable to sharp objects: an everyday hazard on the roads. Overcoming this challenge was a major breakthrough, but although the original patented tubeless tyre dates back as far as the early 20th century, it has only come into mass use in recent decades.

What then are the advantages of tubeless tyres and just how resilient are they? Firstly, because they have a much stronger outer casing, they are more resistant to stones, glass, nails and all of the many small enemies of the motorist. Because the interface between the car's occupants and its tyres is mediated by suspension, car tyres can afford to be much harder than, say, those of a bike.
 
Furthermore, if you do sustain a puncture, tubeless tyres will deflate much more slowly, often giving you time to pull over safely before you do any damage to your wheel rim. Modern run-flat tyres such as those in the Bridgestone range are built with sidewalls that will cover 50 miles at 50mph to get you out of trouble. Most modern cars incorporate a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System to alert you to rapid pressure loss. Avoiding sudden deflation is a major bonus.

Tubeless tyres, therefore, have huge advantages in terms of safety and convenience. They are a little more complicated to fit, because they must be airtight against the wheel rim. They don't solve the problem of sidewall damage, which, if extensive enough in either tubed or tubeless, means that the tyre must be replaced. They are available in high-end as well as value brands from manufacturers such as Pirelli, Falken and Sumitomo. A quick search for 'tyre shop near me' or 'cheap tyres near me' will immediately show you the sheer number of tyre manufacturers and models.

It's important to remember that tubeless tyres are not puncture proof: that goal is still out of reach. There are stringent rules as to the areas in which a puncture can be repaired and areas in which the tyre must be written off because the structural integrity of the tyre may be compromised. Provided that the incidents you do experience are not of the most serious kind, your tubeless tyre could potentially survive five or more punctures. However, years of experience tell us it's advisable to replace a tyre after it has been through three or four punctures.

Tubeless tyres keep you safer because they reduce the risk of sudden air loss, they are more fuel efficient because they are lighter, and of course you don't have to factor in the separate cost of the tube.

Our tyre professionals can give you all the advice you need in choosing the right tubeless tyre deals for your budget and your needs. We're a local garage with national resources, so why not book a free tyre check with Protyre today?