ReTire Safely

You Can Re-Tire A Flat Yourself

Many a times we have seen motorists stranded along the highway helpless in the scorching sun due to a flat tire.  Our family is no exception, I recalled years back on our way to the Golden Horse resort near Kuala Lumpur, our SUV then had a flat and we were just a few miles of the exit of our destination!

After almost an hour of waiting for service to arrive, we decided to just drive very very slow (which I do not recommend as it may damage your expensive rims or do further damage to your tire) at 10km/h to our destination.  It took us awhile with a great many amused looks from passing motorists.  From there the hotel was able to assist us in calling for tow service to the nearest tire shop.

My Trusty Malaysian Compressor from CYCAR

Since that unfortunate experience, I had bought a small compressor from CYCAR Tech near Gelang Patah's Dunlop tire shop who is probably the product's distributor.  It costs just MR150 and it even comes with a handy bag to keep it neat in your boot of your vehicle.I must say it did come useful over the last years when I had a few  tire flats on the roads of Malaysia from driving over curbs or pot holes. 

It is very simple to use, and even my partner had attempted it once when she was out running errands alone and found one tire low on air after shopping.  With me on the handphone, she was able to top up the air and drive home before I bring the car to the shop.

1.   Just plug in the power source to your in-vehicle power source with the vehicle ignition on.  The vehicle engine does not have to be on.

2.   Without turning on the compressor, screw in the compressor hose tip to the tire stem of the deflated tire.

3.   Turn on the compressor switch and turn off when the desired tire pressure is reached on the compressor gauge.  BE SURE TO CHECK WHAT IS YOUR VEHICLE'S SPECIFIC RECOMMENDED TIRE PRESSURE FROM FACTORY.  This can be found on a sticker either on the side of the driver's door or inside cap of the gas refuel compartment.  Many people over pressurized their tires hence causing them to pop.  This is due to the fact that they do not know the recommended pressure and so they go by pressing or kicking the tire to see if the air pressure is sufficient - this is wrong.

4.   Unscrew the compressor hose quickly and screw back the tire stem cap and voila - you are good to go!

You can see below how easy this tire flat fixer upper is: