Punctured/Repaired tire question

[rayjay]

I know the ultimate answer to this question already, but want some opinions. When I walked out of the Station yesterday morning I noticed my left rear tire was almost completely flat. No obvious reason. I aired it back up and drove home. When I got up I removed it and found a #8 finishing nail sticking out backwards where the tread meets the inside sidewall. :mad2:, the tire has a hot 2544 miles on it. I know it has to be replaced. The owner of a small tire shop I know opened up and plugged it for me. He advised me to replace the tire, but said keep a eye on it to see if it leaks and how the balance is. It was a puncture, not a tear. I remounted it and have not driven on it. It is holding air. Thinking back I most likely picked up the nail on Friday as I noticed a slight vibration that afternoon. Since I recently installed Addco front and rear bars I have been driving pretty aggressively to learn how the car handles. The tire would have blown out with the nail in it if it was going to.
What is the collective opinion on can I make it 2000-2500 miles on this tire until I install the snows for the winter? I have no long trips coming up and no racing planned. I just hate to replace a new tire because some dumby dropped a nail on the road :censor:

[FordNut]

I've put many, many miles on plugged tires.

[CRUZTAKER]

I too have driven on plugged tires. Driven them through their lifetime as well. Usually its all about location of plug. Most places won't plug if its too close to the sidewall. However, if it passed though the steel belt area, I am confident that the plug is good and will hold for years to come. Our tires do not last that long, so perhaps it's good you took it on the edge that doesn't wear like our centers do.

Coming from a family of tire builders and engineers, Akron, I was always told it was a good alternative to replacement if safely done.

[fastblackmerc]

I too have driven on plugged tires. Driven them through their lifetime as well. Usually its all about location of plug. Most places won't plug if its too close to the sidewall. However, if it passed though the steel belt area, I am confident that the plug is good and will hold for years to come. Our tires do not last that long, so perhaps it's good you took it on the edge that doesn't wear like our centers do.

Coming from a family of tire builders and engineers, Akron, I was always told it was a good alternative to replacement if safely done.

+1........

[sailsmen]

What about a tube?

BMW in the 1970's put tubes in very BMW.

[rayjay]

The plug is at the very top of the sidewall, not in the tread, but right next to the outside edge. He was hesitant to do it. It is a real iffy location.

[sailsmen]

An innertube! Go for it!

When u are through with it u can go tubing, wear it for holloween or summo wrestling!:D

[jdando]

Humm, plug in the side wall sounds iffy to me.
I think the answer to your question "Can I drive it for 3000 miles? Depends on what driving you will do. If you take it easy, probably yes. If you do extended high speed driving, take it to the track, or corner like a mad man I think the answer is no.

Know your equipment it's limitations. Drive sensibly and you should be fine.

jeremy

[Bluerauder]

The plug is at the very top of the sidewall, not in the tread, but right next to the outside edge. He was hesitant to do it. It is a real iffy location.
If it is in the sidewall, I would be hesitant to run on it. You describe it as "at the top of the sidewall" -- I would read that as nearest to the bead and not nearest to the tread. Either way, the sidewall gets alot of flex and movement that may affect the plug or enlarge the hole/tear. You don't need a blowout at highway speeds .... Personally, I'd replace the tire -- just for safety and piece of mind. That's JMHO.

[larryo340]

In a word NO
a puncture weakens the integrity of the sidewall making a possible blowout a reality. As a spare tire yes, but not to drive on. You will still have to replace it after the winter, why take a chance and drive on it. Your safey is worth it.

[BigCars4Ever]

I had a blowout at 80+mph. Untill I slowed down to 50 I didn't even realize there was a problem. Then the first turn off the turnpike and a little mushy steering finaly convinced me to stop and check. These cars are pretty stable with a fairly low center of gravity. Don't drive like a stuntman and you'll be fine. BTW, that tire had one big hole in it just off center of the tread. I had them plug it with one of thise plug/patch things. 5 autocrosses and 7,000 miles later and it's still fine.

[Blackened300a]

Any chance of checking out if Nitto could help you with a replacement??
Some of our trailer tires have been plugged and patched in the same area's you are talking about and have lasted for years without any issue hauling tons of materials all over the city.
Not the wisest thing to do but we have over 50 tandem trailers with 8 tires each on them at $375 a tire. It would be a small fortune to replace every tire that picks up a nail or gets a hole in them considering all the construction sites that we haul through.
So we fix the flat and move on until the tires is either completely torn to shreads, low threads, or dry rotted.

[larryo340]

http://www.safercar.gov/Tires/pages/TireMaintRepair.htm

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

No when he says "top of the sidewall", I assume he means closest to the tread, not the bead.

In that case it may or may not be fine. Do you really want to take a chance with your life over $150? I don't.

That said, if you don't replace the tire, at least get it balance checked. That plug is now throwing the balance that was done without it, off slightly.

PS Even the patch/plug will void your manufacturer's warranty. And those things are heavy enough to require a lot of additional balance weights. Definitely get it rebalanced if a patch/plug is in there.

[1stMerc]

You've heard it before, location, location, location. If in the meaty part of sidewall/tread it will probably be safe. I've run many miles on plugged tires with nary an incident.

Good luck with your decision.

[CanadaMarauder]

Not sure if you could use these or not but I wused to use them at my last employer....the rep. states you COULD use it on the sidewall.. I call BS but still...may be better than just a plug

http://homepage.mac.com/reddog99/.Public/tire-patches.jpg

[larryo340]

Not sure if you could use these or not but I wused to use them at my last employer....the rep. states you COULD use it on the sidewall.. I call BS but still...may be better than just a plug

http://homepage.mac.com/reddog99/.Public/tire-patches.jpg
abosolutely yes for punctures in tread

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Yeah that's the patch/plug people are talking about. The sidewall of a radial tire is constantly flexing (bulging on the bottom side). The tread area flexes nowhere near as much.

[rayjay]

I plan on replacing the tire for next season. Just for clarity the puncture was where the tread is molded to the sidewall. 1/8" over and it would have been in the tread. I'll run on it for a few days then pull the wheel to see what it looks like. Being a holiday weekend I had no choice but to go this route. There are no Nitto dealers within 50 miles of me, I also doubt they would cover a road hazard. It just pisses me off that a bascially new tire is ruined through no fault of mine.

[whoskal]

I would replace it just based on the fact of the puncture being on the sidewall.....better safe than a sucker

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

I had a plug blow out of a sidewall repair that was right on the edge of the tread. This was a few years ago w/ modern radial tires on a 73 Charger.

[CRUZTAKER]

How about you just post a picture of the repair location for us?

It will direct the feedback accordingly, and answers won't be all over the board.

[Shora]

Next time, buy your tires at Costco and you won't have this problem.

Why you ask?

Because they pro-rate their tires. Basically, if your tire cannot be repaired safely (and free) they will replace the tire and only charge you for the amount of thread that you used. In this case (2K-2,500K miles) it would be around $6.00 for your new tire and free mounting and balancing of the new tire.

I already had 2 tires replaced by them because they would NOT plug a tire anywhere on the side wall. Who am I to argue?

If not costco, find another place that will prorate for you and fear no nails!

[CRUZTAKER]

Next time, buy your tires at Costco and you won't have this problem.

Why you ask?

Because they pro-rate their tires.....

That is wonderfull in theory...
However, one must have MM rear tires to MM replace rear tires.:D;)

The best warranty in the world won't correct the fact they are on national back order.

[Ken]

Thanks for jinxing me! Zainoed MM today, found a spike in L/F. Pulled a small lag bolt out of truck L/F, just two weeks ago.

I had a blowout at 80+mph. Untill I slowed down to 50 I didn't even realize there was a problem. Been there, done that! Brand new 1990 Probe GT, less than 2000 miles. Heard the metal hit the bottom of the car, saw it fly into median. Had bad feeling about that, pulled over, huge hole in L/F sidewall and tread. Never felt the blowout.

Ken

[cyclopsram]

I would not do any aggressive driving on a plugged or patched tire...put the winter tires on early and save your $ for a new pair of oem style in the spring.

[rayjay]

How about you just post a picture of the repair location for us?

It will direct the feedback accordingly, and answers won't be all over the board.

When I pull the wheel off in a few days I'll take a picture of the repair and email it to you.