How far on a flat?

[supton]

Wife didn't realize she had a dead-flat tire, made it maybe 50 yards, realized something was wrong, came home. I'd say about 200 yards total. 20mph tops, as she knew very quickly.

I was able to break the bead and can sorta look inside, and I don't see damage; certainly no rubber or other debris. Outside sidewall barely looks worn--you know how the scrub/flex/whatever that occurs on tires that driven on too little air? Barely visible.

Tires are 4/32's and I was going to replace in a couple of months anyhow--replacements are in the basement already. Tempted to throw a plug into it and run it for a week or two, until I can get the car into a shop to have new tires put on.

 

[old1]

MAYBE, if it looks good without any bulges etc. after airing it up, AND you are not going out of town, staying under 40 mph it MAY be ok? But I wouldn't bet on it!!!

 

[Jimzz]

I would replace at least 2 tires now, with that one being one of them, to be safe.

Running low on tires, let alone fully flat, damages them on the inside of the tire so you can't see the full damage. I have pulled tires off rims and there was a pile of rubber inside where it was run flat.

If you do try and use it only drive in town and do not go above 45mph. Make sure the spare tire is in good shape and has good air pressure.

 

[dareo]

It will either shred the side wall and leave a bunch of black tire dust inside or it may have survived. Safest way to tell is a remove/inspect of course. I would want to get them changed since your at 4/32nds and this run flat may or may not have compromised the tire. Big sidewall? probably ok.

 

[Gasbuggy]

If it looks ok on the inside and ouut I would use it. I've run on flats, different tires take it differently. The less side wall the better they hold up.

 

[SatinSilver]

I had this happen shortly after I bought some Hankook tires. After 40k miles no issues. If the tire looks decent, inside and out then it should be ok. No sense in splitting hairs over it.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

any pictures?

 

[totegoat]

If you can fix it, run it.

 

[The_Jeff]

In a chicken and egg thing I had a flat like yours and it lost 5 lbs a day after that. Whatever made it go flat spontaneously is still lurking.

 

[Nick1994]

I'd have the tire patched at a shop and run them until right before the first snow.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'd have the tire patched at a shop and run them until right before the first snow.


I need to think about that. The problem being, the new tires are DTD's and so no shop is going to want to mount&balance them, as I didn't buy from there. To have the local shop do them means I stay home from work for a day. As opposed to, drive on the spare for a day, go to a shop and have them patch the tire. Still a couple hours of my time to fix, assuming I can find a shop that I can go in w/o an appointment.

One front is down to 2/32's so I'm leaning towards having them replaced. Do have vacation time I could burn I guess.

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
any pictures?


Nothing to be seen, I'm afraid. Looks like a tire with crack in a tread block (crack being more than an inch from sidewall).

Edit: Oh wait! did not realize Walmart TLE would do walk-ins and was open 7-7 today. Was not planning on a shopping trip but that may be my best option I guess. $17/tire, cheaper than the guy in town to boot.

 

[CapriRacer]

Be EXTREMELY careful when you reinflate the tire! There is a risk that the sidewall has been damaged enough that it will not hold air. It could explode - and if you are right there when it happens something VERY bad could happen. It would be best to use a remote inflater - one where the button to let in air is several feet from the tire. If you have someone else do it - warn them!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: supton
Oh wait! did not realize Walmart TLE would do walk-ins and was open 7-7 today. Was not planning on a shopping trip but that may be my best option I guess. $17/tire, cheaper than the guy in town to boot.


I hope you're there now

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
I hope you're there now

Just got back. 45 min drive, 2.5 hour wait, 45 min home. Done, although I can't figure out how to put the Camry floor back to the way it was.

On the flip side, while waiting at Walmart, I realized I could use a new shelving unit for my shed (which will allow me to store oil outside and free up space), and I've been needing a new tool chest too--which was on sale.

I did learn a few things today:
-5 years is too long to check air in the spare
-you can go more than 50mph on said spare
-the flat full sized tire will fit into the trunk--but the floor will not sit flat afterwards
-I like my bottle jacks but they are too tall to fit under the car when it has a flat tire. Good thing I still have my floor jack, swapping on the spare probably took 10 minutes. I spent more time trying to find the darn leak.