Plug and patch in shoulder of tire

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I had a nail in the middle of the shoulder tread of a tire this week. The place that found it said that they couldn't repair it, and since they couldn't replace the tire with the same ones that I had on the rest of the car, I thought I'd wait to consider my options. I went to another tire place that I frequent, and they said that they could repair the tire, so I let them do it. Now I'm having second thoughts about the tire, as I have found a replacement on line.
 
No way Id use that tire, and if they are more than a few k miles old, Id likely replace both tires on the axle.
 
Generally speaking, if the nail is in the thread they can patch it...if it's in the sidewall they can't.
I wouldn't have a problem running a patched tire unless it was a high performance vehicle....in other words I'd run it on my daily driver...


PS: I'm talking about fairly new tires with a load of life left in them....if the tires have 20K on them already i'd replace them..
 
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+1 I would replace it too. Have had the same experience. As the previous poster said I too would replace both tires on that axle unless the tires are like new.
 
The plug is used to keep water out of the steel belt area, the PATCH is used to keep air inside which is why BOTH are used by the pros. The sidewall of a radial is a difficult area to patch properly and flexing there will often loosen th eplug and the patch. It's a judgement call. If a tire professional is willing to patch it, I'd trust his judgement, but I don't think you will find many who will.
 
Shoulder damage cannot be repaired safely.

This is why I always spend the $20 per tire and get Discount Tire's Road Hazard Warranty. If they can't fix it, you get a new tire.

Has saved me from buying several tires over the years.
 
usually it cant be repaired in sidewall or the outermost tread block (ie shoulder).
 
If they say it can't be repaired....then it can't be repaired safely...the other place is willing to let you take a chance on a blowout or failure...but I wouldn't be willing to take that chance.

Buy a new tire.
 
The inside patches are about 1.5" in diameter and have a stub in the middle that pokes/ gets pulled through the hole. So any holes 3/4" or closer to the outside are no good. Worse, the inside of the tire starts curving before the outside shoulder does so it can be even further in that's the limit.

When I worked at a tire shop there were a LOT of tires that came in with debris in this particular shoulder region. Curious as to the cause. They were also usually rear tires; consensus is a flat-laying nail gets flung up by the front tire in time to poke the rear. Or for all I know the customer went to another store in our chain where they were refused and thought they'd try again.

One customer I literally had to explain why there were nails in the road: They fall out of trucks on the way to the dump. "Well why do they do THAT?"
crazy.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
You can't put tubes in radial tires. There is too much friction between the tube and tire casing which causes excessive heat and blowouts.

I had CN36's (Pirelli) on a Volvo which were tube tires, from the factory. Some bike tires are radials and require tubes when used with non airtight rims. There are tubes made especially for radial tires.
 
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Originally Posted By: eljefino
One customer I literally had to explain why there were nails in the road: They fall out of trucks on the way to the dump. "Well why do they do THAT?"
crazy.gif


I thought tire stores had people on the payroll to do that
smile.gif
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Originally Posted By: Astro14
If they say it can't be repaired....then it can't be repaired safely...the other place is willing to let you take a chance on a blowout or failure...but I wouldn't be willing to take that chance.

Buy a new tire.

+1 I have had customers sign a waiver when they insist upon having a tire repaired. If they want to take that risk it is their choice but I have it in writing that I warned them.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
This is why I always spend the $20 per tire and get Discount Tire's Road Hazard Warranty. If they can't fix it, you get a new tire.

Has saved me from buying several tires over the years.

I imagine in some parts of the country it pays off to have a road hazard warranty.

Personally, I've bought many tires over the years, and find I come out ahead to waive the warranty, pocket the money, and use the money for when it's needed.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: dparm
This is why I always spend the $20 per tire and get Discount Tire's Road Hazard Warranty. If they can't fix it, you get a new tire.

Has saved me from buying several tires over the years.

I imagine in some parts of the country it pays off to have a road hazard warranty.

Personally, I've bought many tires over the years, and find I come out ahead to waive the warranty, pocket the money, and use the money for when it's needed.


I'd also be surprised if they don't pro rate the tire after a certain amount of treadwear making that warranty a lot less valuble (as Sams and Costco do, though theirs are free so I can't complain). Also, that flips the cost so now the tire store has a greater interest in repairing this (or any) questionable tire rather than rolling you out a brand new one.

But yes, the patch and plug are the same piece of rubber (like a silver dollar flat on a golf tee) and if the inside patch part is on a curved surface I imagine it won't work well.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: dparm
This is why I always spend the $20 per tire and get Discount Tire's Road Hazard Warranty. If they can't fix it, you get a new tire.

Has saved me from buying several tires over the years.

I imagine in some parts of the country it pays off to have a road hazard warranty.

Personally, I've bought many tires over the years, and find I come out ahead to waive the warranty, pocket the money, and use the money for when it's needed.

My LS400 spare had been used 2-3 times in 18 years. The E430 is 12 years old with more than 140k miles never use spare tire. The S2000 spare is brand new in the garage since I bought the car in 2003.
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
I had a nail in the middle of the shoulder tread of a tire this week.


That tire is done IMO. Unless you've mis-described the area, shoulder or sidewall damage spells the end.

Depending on the vehicle, replace just the axle.

I don't like buying used pass/LT tires. Unless they're EXTREMELY low mileage, you're buying someone else's alignment issues. Poor value in the end. Been there, done that many years ago when a poor kid. Commercial re-sale is a different deal.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm planning to replace the tire. The three good tires have between 8/32 and 9/32, so I suspect that a new tire won't cause any alignment problems.
 
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