I take my General Altimax RT43's to Discount Tire for free rotation/balance. 8 days later and 75 miles from home i notice my back left tire is low on air. I check and it's at 20 psi. I have a cig lighter air pump and pump it to it's usual 34 psi (4 over placard), stop halfway home with zero drop and make it home fine. Next morning, it's back down to 25 psi, so I refill with air and drive it to Discount Tire to have them check it.
They show me a micro pinhole leak right where the edge of the tread meets the upper sidewall and states to me "you probably hit something", to which i reply "on the inside portion of the tire?", to which they retort "probably from a pothole" (sure, pothole, middle of the summer). They offer to prorate the one tire, knowing that I've driven 51,000 miles on them and at that point might potentially buy a whole new set.
I instruct them to put the tire back on, to which he states "be careful, you're more likely to have a blowout". The next day, I put some Goop 2 (essentially shoe goo with UV protection added) onto about an inch by 2/3rd inch oval of cut denim, put it over the hole, feel two bubbles "pop" as I'm pushing the makeshift patch into place, then repeat the process for a 2nd layer. This material cures in 24 to 72 hours and surprisingly, 14 days and 1000 miles later, this patch is still holding with zero air loss. Even if this fix fails, it's still a micro leak underneath and I have the ability to immediately add air at any time, so I"m not especially concerned about a weakened sidewall since I've been vigilant on keeping my tires properly inflated throughout their life.
I'm about 6/32's left on my tires. Most likely I'll buy another set by the end of fall when I can find a good sale.
They show me a micro pinhole leak right where the edge of the tread meets the upper sidewall and states to me "you probably hit something", to which i reply "on the inside portion of the tire?", to which they retort "probably from a pothole" (sure, pothole, middle of the summer). They offer to prorate the one tire, knowing that I've driven 51,000 miles on them and at that point might potentially buy a whole new set.
I instruct them to put the tire back on, to which he states "be careful, you're more likely to have a blowout". The next day, I put some Goop 2 (essentially shoe goo with UV protection added) onto about an inch by 2/3rd inch oval of cut denim, put it over the hole, feel two bubbles "pop" as I'm pushing the makeshift patch into place, then repeat the process for a 2nd layer. This material cures in 24 to 72 hours and surprisingly, 14 days and 1000 miles later, this patch is still holding with zero air loss. Even if this fix fails, it's still a micro leak underneath and I have the ability to immediately add air at any time, so I"m not especially concerned about a weakened sidewall since I've been vigilant on keeping my tires properly inflated throughout their life.
I'm about 6/32's left on my tires. Most likely I'll buy another set by the end of fall when I can find a good sale.