How is that not an acceptable repair?
Tire plugs, who uses them?
- Thread starter sloinker
- Start date
How is that not an acceptable repair?
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2021
- Messages
- 749
Okay, but these are from tire manufacturers... With a vested interest in people trashing perfectly good tires. Especially when they are also saying all 4 tires will need replacement for AWD (for example).It took me a couple of minutes to find one trade association and one tire manufacturer that say they are insufficient.
Tire Repair Basics | U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association
Today’s tires are engineered to last, so a puncture doesn’t have to mean replacement. But how do you know when is repair an option? What steps are involved? We recommend consulting with a trained technician and considering repairs only if damage is limited to the tread area only and the...www.ustires.org
I'm not saying they're necessarily wrong, but there's definitely a conflict of interest there. An independent source would be far more convincing.
There's also been some lawsuits, where the plug was alleged to have caused a tire failure:
Are Tire Plugs Safe? | Trevino Injury Law
Tire plugs are a quick and easy way to repair a punctured tire - but just how safe are they? Read on to find out, and discover your legal position.
trevinolaw.com
Perhaps this is why the tire manufacturers do not want tire plugs to be used.
I've always had horrible luck with plugs, they've always leaked on me when I've done myself or taken to a shop when busy.
Always a slow leak sometimes a day, some times 3 never the less frustration every time. I do know many folks have had great experience with them, I do understand that just from my personal experience every single time they leaked. I've had good luck with patches, however I am of the mindset I would rather just replace a tire than air it up 2-5 times per week indefinitely.
Again I do know many folks have had good luck with them but I've never had a good plug repair which I'm aware of, maybe past vehicles had them, and I didn't know which had absolutely no issue, just one of those things where after being burnt 100% 5+ times I simply do not trust them.
Always a slow leak sometimes a day, some times 3 never the less frustration every time. I do know many folks have had great experience with them, I do understand that just from my personal experience every single time they leaked. I've had good luck with patches, however I am of the mindset I would rather just replace a tire than air it up 2-5 times per week indefinitely.
Again I do know many folks have had good luck with them but I've never had a good plug repair which I'm aware of, maybe past vehicles had them, and I didn't know which had absolutely no issue, just one of those things where after being burnt 100% 5+ times I simply do not trust them.
To be clear, the tire manufactures are not saying the tires can’t be repaired, they are saying they must be properly repaired, which generally mean the patch/plug combo. This is also the guideline from the NHTSA.
Toyo and Michelin as well, just to name a few. Basically every tire manufacture has guidelines which include patch/plug combos. This is the standard.
It took me a couple of minutes to find one trade association and one tire manufacturer that say they are insufficient.
Tire Repair Basics | U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association
Today’s tires are engineered to last, so a puncture doesn’t have to mean replacement. But how do you know when is repair an option? What steps are involved? We recommend consulting with a trained technician and considering repairs only if damage is limited to the tread area only and the...
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Plugged two in the last year - but went to tire shop that week to get them patched from the inside … easier than using the spare …
Like mentioned earlier, I have done many plug repairs over the last 50 years. I have had a handful that slow leaked after my repair. So probably 95% effective. I use rubber cement to lube the plug and always use string plugs over standard rubber only plugs. Works for me. If you would rather go to a tire store and have them use a patch instead, go ahead, your time and your money. I don't buy into the safety factor of using plugs. If one was to fail, it wouldn't be an immediate deflation. You would have ample notice of something going on while driving. Plenty of time to slow down and pull over. The talk of damaging belts and such using plugs sounds like nonsense to me.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2021
- Messages
- 749
I agree. I also don't see how a patch on the INSIDE of the tire protects the belts against corrosion from the outside, or how a patch could possibly prevent tread delamination. It just makes no sense from a mechanical / physics standpoint.
Well I've had 2 fail out of 4. Pretty bad odds!
I have an unopened plug kit in my truck, and a quarter of an opened plug kit. I guess I've put in somewhere between 50-150 plugs in my life, never had one fail. I already have a plug in one of my 3-4 month old Nitto Recon Grapplers. Every tire that those Recon Grapplers replaced had at least one, and as many as 3 plugs in it. I used to have to audit my trailer yard at my old job. It was a pretty big yard, and I had to do it weekly. Sometimes I drove my truck back there if it was miserably hot or raining and did it from there. My trailer yard was full of dadgum nails because we sometimes stored excess bales of recyclables out in it on pallets if our recycling company wasn't on the ball and picked it up in a timely manner. Pallets shed nails like a cat sheds hair.
I will occasionally use 2 plugs (double up). The plugs I buy at wally world (slime brand I think) are scrawnier than plugs used to be. I have a few old (at least 20 years old) really nice thick plugs which are easily double the gooey ooey thickness of the slime plugs. If I can't find the cement, I double up for sure. It's funny how my little ziploc bag with the plugs, pliers, insertion tool and raspy tool eats the little container of cement......
Funny thing about what's considered safe and what considered not safe by the government. OSHA can fine you 10k if they walk into your facility and a pallet is not lying flat on the floor. If it's leaning against a wall or standing upright on its side, that's a major violation.
Drinking water has an acceptable amount of PFOA that is scientifically proven to be extremely harmful (Ya'll can thank DuPont for that) but they (Uncle Sam) turn a blind eye to it. Ohio and West Virginia peeps show me some love!
Canada won't let a restaurant serve a medium burger if I'm not mistaken as it's absolutely riddled with microbes that can and will make you sick if it isn't cooked or pasteurized properly. And that is the one I agree with. In the USA, you can order a medium rare burger at thousands of restaurants, danger be darned.
So yeah, the govment say's plugging a tire is unacceptable......
I will occasionally use 2 plugs (double up). The plugs I buy at wally world (slime brand I think) are scrawnier than plugs used to be. I have a few old (at least 20 years old) really nice thick plugs which are easily double the gooey ooey thickness of the slime plugs. If I can't find the cement, I double up for sure. It's funny how my little ziploc bag with the plugs, pliers, insertion tool and raspy tool eats the little container of cement......
Funny thing about what's considered safe and what considered not safe by the government. OSHA can fine you 10k if they walk into your facility and a pallet is not lying flat on the floor. If it's leaning against a wall or standing upright on its side, that's a major violation.
Drinking water has an acceptable amount of PFOA that is scientifically proven to be extremely harmful (Ya'll can thank DuPont for that) but they (Uncle Sam) turn a blind eye to it. Ohio and West Virginia peeps show me some love!
Canada won't let a restaurant serve a medium burger if I'm not mistaken as it's absolutely riddled with microbes that can and will make you sick if it isn't cooked or pasteurized properly. And that is the one I agree with. In the USA, you can order a medium rare burger at thousands of restaurants, danger be darned.
So yeah, the govment say's plugging a tire is unacceptable......
Buy better plugs
And before patches were developed, plugs were considered the standard and acceptable. Are patch/plugs better ? Yes, I believe they are. Did plugs instantly become "dangerous" overnight because patches became commercially available ? Nope....
The industry recommendation is to ream out the hole so as to get a better mating fit for the plug, in addition to smoothing out any bits of steel belt. Those professional plugs or mushroom patches have smooth sides. This recommends no more than a 15° angle for mushroom patches, but I believe most professional repair supply companies make separate plugs and patches. Rema calls their plugs “stems”. They also buff out the liner before applying cement, then apply a sealant around the patch, since the buffing will remove the tire’s liner.
Plug Stem Repair | Tire Repair Materials | REMA TIP TOP
REMA TIP TOP’s most popular repair unit, the MINICOMBI, part of REMA TIP TOP’s renowned Blue Bonding System has set new standards in one-piece tire repair.
www.rematiptop.com
Dangerous is one thing, although I’ve been to tire shops where they indicated a risk of a plug coming out, in addition to wanting to inspect the inside of the tire to see what it’s like inside.
At the very least, a string plug may not be the right size and the hole may not be properly sealed, allowing a slow leak. There are plenty of vids of industry standard repairs showing a sealant applied around a patch to properly seal what was injured by the hole and any buffing for a patch.
739 - TECH BUTYL REPAIR SEALER, 1 PINT - TECH Ecommerce
TECH Butyl Liner Repair Sealer is a solvent-based formula providing excellent air retention to the over-buffed area after repair Will not break down when it
products.techtirerepairs.com
I’ve plugged over a dozen tires in my 40 years of driving and never had a problem or even a slow leak from one. I always put the glue on it and set it on fire for a bit and put it out more glue and drive it home.
I plug my own.
I have to presume you missed the part where I said I believe patches are better
I have had at least two tire failures that I was able to trace to a plug install.
