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I saw a nail in my tire yesterday in the outer tread, but not the sidewall. Its clearly within the tread groove.
Anyway i went by the place i used to go to get tires patched, but they were out of business. They used to take the tire off the rim, patch it from inside, and get me on my way.
So I went to another tire place, told them i needed a flat fixed, they took the tire off my car, took out the nail, plugged the hole, and told me "its fixed."
I paid $10 and got on my way. It seems fine, but i have read pro and con about plugs, and some say patches are more reliable. However in some brief research on google i am reading forums where people say they PLUG their own tires and never have a problem, although considered a "temporary" fix by some and inadequate by others. One guy said he has 6 plugs on four tires and has driven 65,000m with no problems.
I just want to be safe. I have OEM all season tires on my Hyundai Elantra. Came with the car. What say the tire experts here?
A proper job would require a dismount and inspection of the inside ... that's extra time and money. But these days, most opt for the lowest cost solution ...
A small puncture In the middle of the tread area, you can usually get away with a plug. Properly prepped, you'll be fine here.
Closer to the outside, you better dismount the tire and get a full inspection. Too close to the sidewall, don't even think about a repair. Afterall, everything that makes a car go, stop, and turn, relies on those 4 black donuts.
I prefer the combination plug/patch setup. It does requires them to take the tire off the rim, though. do you have a Discount Tire or America's Tire near you? They do this work for free.
Usually plugs work fine.. If the nail was smaller and the tire newer a patch could be the ticket. With a worn tire say 15,000+ on it which I don't know the plugs work fine.
In the case of a big spike, a patch is the only way to go, and even then if the cords are cut the tire could be junk. Some tire cords tend to pull back retracking inside and that is plain bad news.
I prefer the combination plug/patch setup. It does requires them to take the tire off the rim, though. do you have a Discount Tire or America's Tire near you? They do this work for free.
Yep. Discount does it for free, whether you bought the tire there or not. Used them quite a few times. Always great service, though be prepared to wait.
I am lucky that I've never had too many flats with a nail/screw and the like.
Are we talking steel belted radials or old style biased tires.?
My steel belted always had a internal patch repair. Cannot fathom a plug working here.
On old style biased I would have a can of cement and a plugging tool and fix my own flats with a plug. Of course that was decades ago before steel belts came along.
I saw a nail in my tire yesterday in the outer tread, but not the sidewall. Its clearly within the tread groove.
Anyway i went by the place i used to go to get tires patched, but they were out of business. They used to take the tire off the rim, patch it from inside, and get me on my way.
So I went to another tire place, told them i needed a flat fixed, they took the tire off my car, took out the nail, plugged the hole, and told me "its fixed."
I paid $10 and got on my way. It seems fine, but i have read pro and con about plugs, and some say patches are more reliable. However in some brief research on google i am reading forums where people say they PLUG their own tires and never have a problem, although considered a "temporary" fix by some and inadequate by others. One guy said he has 6 plugs on four tires and has driven 65,000m with no problems.
I just want to be safe. I have OEM all season tires on my Hyundai Elantra. Came with the car. What say the tire experts here?
Thanks
Properly installed plugs are fine. That said, I will not drive a car on a trip with more that two repaired tires but that's just me.
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