Tire with 5 plugs

[gallydif]

I had a tire that was slowly leaking air. Went to the tire shop today and they found a small nail. He also showed me there were 4 other plugs on the tread in different spots around the tire. He asked if i wanted a plug, patch, or get a new tire. Told him to plug it. Now am thinking should’ve of opened my wallet more for a new tire.
anyways, how worried should i be if at all the tire has 5 plugs now in different areas along the tread area (none on sidewall). Still a lot of tread left on the tire.

 

[Jetronic]

don't run the daytona 500 with it

 

[AutoMechanic]

In my state a business cannot legally plug a tire lol. I always do plugs though because it’s easier and they are just as good. I can say though I’ve never seen that many plugs in one lol.

 

[Jetronic]

Plugs are not always 100% but it's definitely easier. I'm not sure a patch is any better when it's getting close to the sidewall though, the patch sure gets worked harder there...

 

[DGXR]

5 plugs and still lots of tread depth? Interesting. Each plug represents a compromised belt in the radial tire design. If you have a full size spare, I would rotate this plugged tire into the spare position and keep an eye on the pressures (along with all of the tires in service). If your spare is donut/space saver, I would definitely get a new tire. My $0.02

 

[cb_13]

I was taught many years ago that a tire can be patched or patch plugged two times but not a third time for safety purposes. That 3 punctures were pushing the limit as far as affecting the integrity of the tire carcass. Also along with that was the fact that a plug is a temporary repair but was not to be used permanently as it did not seal well enough. I only used patch plugs as a tech, where I work now mostly uses patches. Some of the older techs will still use patch plugs.

Looks like 3 was the legal limit in some places but we were told by our tire guru at the time not to exceed two repairs.

 

[Dave9]

Unless the tire has practically all its original tread, you're probably going to want two new tires not just one, "IF" you opt to replace it. Tread depth differences will make for squirrely handling, especially on the front axles, and if kept on the rear, you'll suffer wear patterns from never rotating them.

You might get lucky and find a fairly new used tire of very close diameter, or find a place that will shave down a new tire to the same diameter so you don't need two.

It's not our money, very easy to advise that you spend more on safety... but if I were taking this vehicle to remote areas or driving it hard, I'd get at least two new tires, or 4 if it is AWD/4WD. If money is tight and you're gentle with it, I'd wait... and look at the age of the rest of the tires, since you must have bought the vehicle used to not know it had all those plugs, so possibly the tires are pretty old?

 

[miden851]

i'd use it as long as there is no existing air leak

 

[Malo83]

Drive slow

 

[spasm3]

Are the plugs close together or in the same tread? When my house was built, i had so many nails in my gravel drive. I plugged tires until most of the nails were gone. I would not have driven on a long 6 hr drive on those tires, but i did have several plugs in each.

So if you have a gravel drive and anticipate more, I might plug it , unless the plugs are close together. Run it as a drive to work. In a few months if no more flats, new tires.

If the plugs are close together, i would just get a tire, not worth the blowout risk.

 

[dishdude]

Time for a new tire.

 

[BigCahuna]

I had a friend years ago that owned a roofing business. He was like a Ninja tire plugger. I'd bet if any tire on his trucks had 1 plug, they probably had 10. He never had any problems with multiple plugs in tires. If he bought a new tire every time he needed a plug, he would have went out of business. People worry too much about worst case scenarios, that never happen.,,,

 

[AZjeff]

Wondering how you have a tire with 4 plugs you didn't know about?

The different comfort levels of people always amazes me. (And makes me a bit nervous knowing what other people are driving.)

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Get a used tire

 

[CKN]

OP-do you have .25 cent hoarded oil as well??????

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I would buy a new one. You've got a lot riding on your tires.

 

[dishdude]

Wondering how you have a tire with 4 plugs you didn't know about?

The different comfort levels of people always amazes me. (And makes me a bit nervous knowing what other people are driving.)

Maybe he bought the car used and from the outside the tires appeared to be in good shape.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I dismounted an F150 tire with multiple patches at a farmer's co-op in 1994. The number I remember is 17, but I'm not sure if I put on the 17th or 18th patch. Our shop only did patches, not plugs. The boss recommended a tire, but the customer said he was putting that off until spring.

 

[AZjeff]

Maybe he bought the car used and from the outside the tires appeared to be in good shape.

True and looking at OP's fleet he might have owned that tire for 20 years!

 

[gallydif]

Maybe he bought the car used and from the outside the tires appeared to be in good shape.

This here ^ bought the car used less than 1 year ago. Didn’t think to inspect all the tires for plugs and if so how many when I was buying it.