newish tires, one got a screw

[wvcvpi2003]

i have maybe 2k miles on my new tires and one got a screw, its xmas eve, nothing is open so i put the spare on.


question, will a plug be detrimental to the life of the tire?

question two, assuming it cannot be plugged and i have to replace the tire, would 2-2.5k make any difference? i.e if the left is new, and the right has 2.5k, will it pull? will i have to buy 2 tires?

 

[beast3300]

Where is the screw? If you had to buy one, good chance it will not pull.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Most tread depth is 10/32" and 2/32" is the legal limit, therefore usable tread is 8/32", tire life is about 40k miles on average therefore 5k miles for each 1/32". Your tire wears out at a rate of 1/64" for every 2-2.5k miles, which is negligible compares with new tire of the same brand and model.

 

[XS650]

Unless the screw was close to or in the sidewall or a very large screw, a lifetime repair shouldn't be a problem. Be sure it gets fixed from the inside, not an external plug.

External plugs work most of the time but aren't as reliable as an internal repair.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Unless the screw was close to or in the sidewall or a very large screw, a lifetime repair shouldn't be a problem. Be sure it gets fixed from the inside, not an external plug.

External plugs work most of the time but aren't as reliable as an internal repair.



True.

To the OP: What kind of tires?

 

[RacerE7773]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Unless the screw was close to or in the sidewall or a very large screw, a lifetime repair shouldn't be a problem. Be sure it gets fixed from the inside, not an external plug.

External plugs work most of the time but aren't as reliable as an internal repair.

 

[mrichards]

I know whenever I get a flat here in the Detroit area, I take it to the local firestone dealer, they use a "plug" patch. How it works is they ream out the hole and install a plug, then they grind it off and patch over it in the inside of the tire. This is the way we patch our tires on heavy equipment, what the plug does is keeps the water out of the steel cords preventing them from rusing which prevents the steel cords from seperating, then the patch actually seals the injury. Its a far better way of doing it no matter where you take it make sure they "plug" patch it, at least I do.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: mrichards
I know whenever I get a flat here in the Detroit area, I take it to the local firestone dealer, they use a "plug" patch. How it works is they ream out the hole and install a plug, then they grind it off and patch over it in the inside of the tire. This is the way we patch our tires on heavy equipment, what the plug does is keeps the water out of the steel cords preventing them from rusing which prevents the steel cords from seperating, then the patch actually seals the injury. Its a far better way of doing it no matter where you take it make sure they "plug" patch it, at least I do.


Very interesting...

 

[Jimmy9190]

My neighbor put in a plug on one of my tires for me a few years ago, I ran that tire and the rest of the set too for probably another 30,000 miles and never had a single problem or leak with the plugged tire.

I do agree though the best and most reliable way is to patch it from the inside of the tire, exactly as MrRichards described in his post here.

 

[Errtt]

I have done self plugs on the road that lasted the life of the tire.
I recall only one that gave a problem because the hole was large enough I had to run 3 plugs to slow the leak enough to get me out of the mountains. It held air but I had to add air every now and then till my hunting trip was over. I then got new tires the following week which I had planned on getting tires soon anyway.

 

[MrWideTires]

I've put a couple plugs on the tires on my G35, and taken the car over 100mph many times after that, even 150mph and I'm still here, so I don't think it affects them really

 

[CapriRacer]

The problem with plugs is that they have an annoying tendency to leak. Not 100% of the time, but often enough to be unreliable.

The worst situation is when they hold air when first installed, then due to the tire flexing develop a leak later. If this is undetected, the tire could fail at high speed and bad things could result. Again, this does not happen 100% of the time, but enough to be hazardous.

 

[JustinH]

When I was younger, I used to plug tires myself with a blackjack kit. This worked, I never had a problem.

Now I take it to a tire shop. The "approved" way to fix a tire is to patch it from the inside then remount the tire.

 

[ahoier]

The patch-plugs that walmart sells/installs are claimed to be "life long" but the "catch" is, you only have a walmart 90 day warranty - so if the patch starts leaking on the 91st day, you may be out of luck....all depends on the size of the puncture really.

 

[wvcvpi2003]

long story....


took it back to walmart where i bought the tires, i was supposed to have the lifetime mount/balance and the road hazard. neither were on my receipt, despite asking for it, and the clerk telling me to keep the receipt/warranty booklet.

when i found out, i was a bit upset, so i tracked downthe guy who rung me up, and he remembered me, remembered the sale and apologized for not putting it on there.

they was swamped, and were actually closed by the time i was done when i purchased them.

he talked to the service manager and got them to add the lifetime warranty and mount/balance at a discount.

i got the road hazard for $8 per tire, and the mount balance for $5 per tire.

so the tire is fixed, i got my warranty, and the world is well.