First of all, the only permanent repair of a radial tire is a plug patch combination. The patch makes the repair permanent and the plug portion of the patch fills the injury of the tire. People please read the information at the TANA/TIA website http://www.tireindustry.org/index.asp in the repair section. Don't forget that the steel belts that are in our tires are steel and when those belts are ruptured water and debris can get into the steel and rust them causing all kinds of problems, especially in the high performance low profile tires we have on all our cars. Just because it's been done in the past does not make it the right way. I've been banging around this industry for along time now, the tire manufactures set the standards for repair and what a repair does to a tires performance rating. Yes, some of it is legalese, but more importantly it is all safety related. One of the biggest reasons for a
plug/patch combo is that the inside of the tire can be examined for damage as well.
Sorry for the rant, but I have seen so many dangerous tires that people think are safe that it is down right scary.

 

Interesting discussion..........

 

Just for the record, the puncture was well past the 1/2" designation of the sidewall and since the car was sitting still when I saw the screw, no, it didn't drive a foot before I pulled the screw.

Last but not least, the screw was one of those tiny sheetmetal screws, when I pulled the screw, the air didn't come gushing out, it was that small.

In fact, it was so small, I had to push so hard to get the plug into the tire, I gave myself a nose bleed. (don't ask, guess the air has been dry around here lately....)

I literally couldn't get the plug into the tire.

I'm sure it's okay but just for piece of mind, I'll stop and have it plugged and patched.

Mark

 

LOL......

 

Sometimes if you catch one of those screws early enough, they may not have gone all the way through the tire. I've had a couple like that over the years. One way to gage how long the nail or screw has been in there is the condition of the head of it. If it is looking unworn it hasn't been in there long. Of course a lot has to do with the length of the nail/screw.

The shop where I have flats fixed (Discount Tire) doesn't charge me. I bought tires for my son & wifes car there.

My last flat repair was a few weeks ago. Got screwed in the right rear. The day before we left for old farts on the dragon. They had me in & out in 25 minutes.

 

I use to work at a large chain tire shop (Belle Tire) here in MI for quite a while (5-6 years total). The shop I worked at was in Metro Detroit. I've repaired more than my fair share of run flat tires. Always dismounting the tire and patching from the inside. Depending on the size of the puncture in the tire in the tire I would use either a standard patch or a plug patch for larger holes.

I do believe that some tire manufactures consider a "plug" to get a foreign object and won't warrenty the tire. I've only seen that happen once in my time changing tires.

 

Dude... you might want to rephrase that... or not...

 

What an imagination you have. I guess you get that from eating too many Krusty burgers.

 

Had my dunlop runflat plugged by Discount Tires a few months ago, no problems. They did tell me Goodyear will not allow their runflats to be repaired, they must be replaced.