This is one of those "I should have thought of it" gadgets.

Now all they need is a drill that connects to your cigarette lighter. I swear there are times when I am literally jumping on that damn bar to try to loosen those bolts.

YEEEA... LET ME PUT MY HANDS UNDER AN SUV HELD UP BY A BALLOON. BRILLIANT.

Uh....

I remember seeing this on "That's Incredible" back in the 80s. You know Fra Tarkinton, John Davidson and Kathy Lee Crosby?

glad to see this one has been recycled again, i was always hopin it would be re-done with modern materials

just keep it away from hot stuff

and if you fail at chancing your tire, you can always redirect the nasty gas into the cabin to atone for your lack of skills
double duty, baby!!!!

You are supposed to loosen the bolts 1/4 of the way while the car is on the ground. After you lift the car THEN you unscrew the bolts. And vice versa. Tighten the bolt when the car is on the ground.

If you guys are trying to take of the bolts from the start while the car is in the air then good luck.

00:44:52 "Ok.. I finally got the flat tire out. Now hand me the spare tire... What do you mean 'what spare tire'? Quit messing around! I only have a........"

So can I assume that the car wouldn't need to be in anything more than an idle to keep the balloon firm enough to lift it?

@mcsurfer3393: Especially if your car suddenly breaks down or stalls and the balloon goes flat :P

I don't even trust regular jacks, and you want me under a car held up by a balloon?

Not happening.

well I would hope that you wouldn't be crawling under the vehicle to change a tire...

I wouldn't think that this was very safe... or good for your car either. There's got to be some pressure buildup in your exhaust system... possible blowback into the engine and crap. Of course, I could just be talking out my ass.

That's fine and dandy and whatnot until that hose pops off the exhaust tip and you find yourself with 3 tons of plastic and steel lying on top of you.

No thanks. I'll stick with the old school crank jobs.

Why do I keep thinking about Kramerica Industries' oil bladder when I see that thing?

Could it also float the car if you accidentally drive into a lake?

This has WONDERFUL Prank applications! Just slip it under someones car, hook it up.... they start the car and you can be sure the WTF look on their face is going to be priceless.

so it looks like i can get two of them, stack 'em and flip cars over in a few seconds.

now that is practical use right there!

I'm not a car guy, but wouldn't back pressure on the exhaust stall the car out?

I say call a tow truck and save yourself the embarrassment of driving around with that silly looking spare.

This is identical to the "Bull Bag" sold in 1978 or thereabouts.

I assumed they were no longer available because too many people died using them.

@mcsurfer3393: I second this comment! I mean really WTF

@vividaurora, Kaiser-Machead:

a check valve would keep it from deflating if you lost exhaust pressure.

Wait, do you all really lie underneath the car to change a tire? Have I been doing it wrong?

Looks like the new nitrous balloons for hippie concerts.

This is nothing new. made for truck that get flats in the sand.

In the time it took him to unpack, unroll and install that POS I'd have the jack out, and the car up on it.

What a stupid product.

I wonder if you could use the exhaust pressure to instead inflate a durable skirt, turning your car into a hover craft. A hover craft with no steering and no locomotion...but still.

ON THE OTHER HAND, is it really so friggin hard to use a regular jack? it takes 60 seconds to jack up a car. And if you're too lazy to do the jacking, what are the odds that you actually know how to change a tire?

On a related tangent, anyone who doesn't know how to change a tire is a moron. Same with the douchebags who call a tow truck because their car won't start... because their battery terminals are dirty, and they didn't even check.

Something about filling a bag up with tail pipe nasty, isn't the best of ideas.

So would you carry this around in addition to the jack provided with the car? Or are you supposed to throw your old jack away?
And what's so bad about a regular jack?
If you're not strong enough or mechanically adept enough to use a regular jack, you'd probably do better to invest in a cellphone and an auto club membership than to monkey around with this nonsense.

what about dual exhaust cars? Shove a banana up the other tail pipe.

AAA works well too.

@nutbastard:
Now now. People who call a tow truck when their car won't start aren't douchebags.
They're worthless, but they're not douchebags.

@Goodnightbabytron:
not nearly enough volume is being pumped - a leaf blower pushes more air and can only be made to lift about 200lbs.

@tp74: And it was around in the '60s too. Next thing you know cars will be touting 'hill holding" clutches. No wait, Studebaker did that in the 50's and Subaru in the 80's. Wait how about folding hard tops...Nope already done. Maybe there is money to be made in recycling old bleeding edge tech ideas with new materials and applications.....

@Lorne:
The two qualities are hardly mutually exclusive...

Inflattable air bags have been used to stablize and lift vehicles in rescue/emergency situations for a long time.

@Thud: I agree. Also, I'm wondering how there is going to be enough pressure to lift the car from only the exhaust? And, who in their right mind would leave their car running while changing a tire?

@Thud: I was also wondering how that back pressure would impact the engine. It's meant to allow for free-flow of the exaust, not build up what is most likely around 40-50 psi(?).

I don't think it's healthy to 1., kneel down at an exhaust pipe to attach the hose in the first place or 2., be around the release valve when you open it. Not to mention the possibility of burning yourself on the exhaust pipe as you're putting it on.

I'll stick with the $60 easy-lift jack I got from Wal-Mart for my Expedition. It's very similar to the ones the tow truck guys carry with them to change tires (with the long arm). Easy-up...easy-down. =-]

There is absolutely no way I would even think about using that. I usually have a floor jack and enough tools to strip my car down in the trunk at all times anyway.

Just a quick question. How many people hear carry around a large flat piece of wood/stone in their trunk for when they try to jack their car on the soft shoulder of the road or on any ground that is not hard. It's so much fun to watch your jack sink/propel itself into the mud. I can honestly say since I keep one in my trunk, I have helped at least two drivers who couldn't jack up normally.

What if you have dual exhausts?

Brilliant!

you can really tell who has changed a tire and who hasn't.
"LET ME PUT MY HANDS UNDER AN SUV HELD UP BY A BALLOON"
"and you want me under a car held up by a balloon?"
"and you find yourself with 3 tons of plastic and steel lying on top of you."
who the fuck gets UNDER a car to change a tire??? We're not talking about an oil change here folks!!!

and second thing, didn't you people see the guy pull the tube off of the exhaust??? the bag didn't deflate!! so yes, he could have turned off the engine. he let out the air manually at the end of the video.

i've seen a few retarded comments now and again but this lot really takes the freakin' cake!

o

I'm guessing this wouldnt be too useful for hybrid cars either. Which is a shame considering they usually ride so low to the ground its hard to find a jack that will fit under them.

For $60/year I call AAA and make them my tire-changing bitch.

@mcsurfer3393: Yeah, I would NOT trust this thing with my life. Maybe use it to put some axle stands underneath.

@SecretAsianMan: Check the pic. That Beemer SUV has dual exhausts.

I would also like to make a "death by Carbon Monoxide poisoning" reference at this time.

Thank you.

(I'll keep my poisoning old-fashioned and blindness-inducing: By SOAP)

@nutbastard: I'd say yes. There are a lot of people who do not know how to use a jack properly and end up hurting themselves or causing damage to the car because they don't know where to place it. The advantage of this system is that it seems a lot easier to use and a lot less likely to be placed wrong. Especially on uneven ground, putting a jack in the wrong place can be a really dangerous thing.

I'd get one of these if it didn't take up quite so much space. Especially for off road use and for times when my wife might encounter a flat on her own, I'd feel a lot more comfortable having her use this than a standard jack.

@dmaggio12: good point!

@SecretAsianMan:
Good point. I think there would only be enough back pressure if each exhaust pipe came from individual cylinder banks or exhaust headers. If the exhaust came from one downpipe, connected sides or crossed anywhere, you'd be SOL. A product showing some good ingenuity but with some substantial shortcomings.

I forgot all about this gadget. It is an old idea, as previously noted. I'd get one, but the Mercedes has a slot for the good old crank jack. My car doesn't see any sand, or mud action, but this would be great for any that do.

P.S. Don't forget kidZ, to break the tension on the lug nuts before lifting and check the pressure on your tires regularly. (including the spare!)

Make NASCAR use these on pit stops. Only instead of exhaust, fill them with the hot air the driver is spewing.

i have seen this in a lot of 4wheel magazines and the like. seems to me a good alternative for an offroad vehicle, seeing as being in a giant mud pit with a normal jack would not work. using this thing on the side of the highway however? dumb.

@N@tedog: I've had a car fall while changing the tire. Frigging asphalt crumbled under the jack. The car didn't touch me. If you're under the car while changing the tire, you're doing it wrong! I've lifted aircraft with air bags. This is no different, other than the gas filling the bag. Also, if any of you live in a large city and walked on the sidewalk down town at rush hour, you've probably inhaled more exhaust than this will give you.

What if you have an older exhaust system. You'd need a fair bit of pressure to lift the vehicle. Imagine a weak point in your exhaust system(ie: where the muffler attaches) blowing out.

Kind of agree with hosehead here. I wouldn't work under my car w/out jackstands, but no one I know carries jack stands for an emergency tire change whether you have a balloon or a scissor jack holding up your car.

And, it does take very little air pressure to lift something if you have a large enough surface area under pressure. I haven't done the calculations, but you shouldn't have an issue lifting a car.

None of which goes to the core point that this thing seems to be a dumb way of saving on the relative minimal amount of labor to jack up your car, especially in view of the other labor involved.

Quasi-related gripe: anyone ever try an emergency tire change using one of those small angled tire irons when the service tech has put your lug nuts on with an impact wrench? I highly recommend investing in an old school X shaped tire iron and making sure your lug nuts are torqued only to spec.

Most modern vehicles have jack points. How does this balloon insure you are correctly lifting the vehicle to prevent damage to the vehicle itself?

@nutbastard: Or perhaps they are a parent with two preschoolers who can't be safely left in the car while the vehicle is jacked and who can't be left to wander the side of the road? This gadget won't help that situation, but people who call tow trucks for a flat are not always lazy. Don't be so judgmental, even if this is the internet.