So I just took a mini road trip/vacation for the weekend. I drove 250 miles, got within a mile from the hotel and got an exhaust hanger stuck in my rear tire. I called AAA and the guy came and plugged the tire. The hanger that got stuck in the tire is almost 1/2" thick, so there was a sizeable hole in the tire.

Has anyone had any experience with a tire plug? How long do they last? I'm trying to figure out if it'll get me home on Sunday night or if I should shop around for a tire tomorrow morning. I'm thinking most tire shops won't carry a 205/45/17.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I've used several tire plugs before, but a 1/2" hole is huge in terms of a useable tire plug.
A 205/45-R17 is actually a common size; you should have little trouble finding a replacement.

- Erik

 

I had a 3/8" steel pin get lodged in a tire on one of my Jeeps before. I had to put 2 plugs side by side to seal it up. I never had a problem but i would not recommend doing so to anyone else, especially in a car like yours.

 

Actually nowhere around here has the size I need. I'm in a tiny town in the middle of Ohio so there aren't many options. I'm going to a Firestone right now to see if they can patch it the right way.

 

Was the tire also patched in the inside? It should be plugged and patched. Also, they say you should not plug runflats. But from what I hear that is Minis standpoint . My tire shop says it should not be a problem.

 

The proper patch has an integral plug. Half-inch, ouch! Be careful u til you get home and get a new tire.

 

Yeah I had a few problems this morning. I looked up the exact Potenza I had, and found out it's not a runflat (grid 019) When I bought my car used last fall the dealer assured me that the car had brand new runflat tires on it, so I never really thought anything about it. I found a Firestone this morning 30 miles away with ONE Potenza Grid 019 in stock, also the only tire place within 50 miles that had a 205/45/17, so I limped the car there right away.

$184 later everything is fixed. I'll update with a picture of the crazy thing that got stuck in my tire when I get home, it was about 1/4" from hitting inside of the rim. I know I could have bought that same tire off TireRack for $100, which makes me a little mad, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

Thanks for all your responses.