I was changing over to my winter wheels this weekend when I noticed this nail stuck in the tread of my summers. No idea how long it's been there, and the tire seems to hold pressure. Should I pull this out and try to plug the hole? Or just leave it be? These are the original tires that came on my car (2014 Countryman), and my plan has always been to replace them sooner than later (they are runflats) but every season when I pull them off I always think "eh, there is still some tread left so run them for one more summer." And once again, they aren't quite due for replacement, but maybe I just use this nail as my justification.

So my question: Is there risk to driving around with a nail, if the tire is still holding air?

 

You sound like my son. He asked me the same question.

I shamed him into proceeding to the tire shop and having it plugged. If you are almost ready for new tires, just do it. Tire performance degrades as you get closer to the end of life. Those extra bits of traction could just save you from an accident.

 

Yep, those are spent, look at the dry rot. Just use this as an excuse to get some good rubber now!
Troy

 

Yeah, you guys are probably right so I'll plan to do this early next year before I swap back to the summers. (They are up on the storage racks now for the winter.)

 

While you can still drive on old cracked tires with some tread depth left you ought to replace them as soon as you can with weather that is good. The Dry rot with many cracks can show up with age is very common. The nail is stable but what if the head gets worn down and shears off, then you might loose air quickly. Usually if you find a screw or nail on a good tire you go to the tire shop and have it plugged or patched as soon as possible.

 

I always just plug it myself.