A PUNCTURE PROOF TYRE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2588, 9 October 1915, Page 15

A PUNCTURE PROOF TYRE

It is not often a motorist is seen deliberately puncturing his tyres, yet this is what a reporter witnessed in Wellington yesterday, and to his astonishment the punctured tyre remained, perfectly hard in spite of the fact that a 2i-inch bradall one-eighth of an inch in diameter was stabbed into the cover, penetrating cover and tube. The motorist, Mr. L. F. Wallis, who gave this amazing practical demonstration, was a representative of L. F, Wallis and Co., Ltd., of Wellington, and hie was. demonstrating the absolute immunity from punctures which follows when a car is equipped with their puncture-proof tubes. Without the puncture trouble life would be sweet to the motorist, but the trouble has been to get something which will stand tho test of time. In this caso L. F. Wallis and Co., Ltd., have sufficient proof that • theso puncture-proof tubes- have been thoroughly tested on New Zealand roads. With a view to testing the3e tubes Messrs.- Williams and Kettle, tho well-known merchants of Hawke's Bay, fitted two tubes to -the driving wheels of one t of their cars "in June, 1913, and have written stating that they have had every satisfaction, and although various pieces of metal have from time to time penetrated the covers and punctured the tubes the covers have remained perfectly inflated. Another letter from the firm of Newton King, who is controlling tho agency of the tubes for TaTanaki, states that in tho case of a big blow-out the tubes can be vulcanised in the ordinary way. Every tyre manufacturer emphasises the fact that much greater mileage is obtained from a tyre if kept fully inflated. A small puncture or a leaky valve often allows the cover to run for a considerable time under-inflated, and the result is generally a burst or a rim cut. One big advantage with the puncture-proof, tube is that it is absolutely impossible for it to have a leaky valve: so that apart from uio time and labour saved in it automatically mending punctures it will onablo tho motorist to get much) longer mileage .aut (u his covers.