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Should I have the tire plugged, patched, or replaced?

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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Marcos Storchevoy
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    You may not need to make a decision ; shops will refuse to put in a plug if they think it is a problem. – blacksmith37 Oct 06 '19 at 21:01
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    That's not a nail. – shoover Oct 07 '19 at 00:24
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    I've had a superscrew looking exactly like that. Took the tyre for a puncture repair, and screw was barely stuck in rubber at all. Tyre guy pulled it out with his fingers and no air lost. So if you have a window of time and a safe spot, try pulling it. If the tyre deflates then it was a puncture,, if its just a stub you might have been lucky. – Criggie Oct 07 '19 at 10:14
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    Yeah, I’m going to take it to a repair shop when I have the time just in case. – Marcos Storchevoy Oct 07 '19 at 11:18
  • @Criggie It might be a good idea to do that on the driveway of the repair shop (or with a spare tire standing by) so you don't have too much of a problem if it does deflate... – Jasper Oct 07 '19 at 11:36
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    @shoover If all you have is a hammer... – flawr Oct 07 '19 at 14:05
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    Yeah, don't just pull it out. If it does go all the way through, it's still helping to plug the hole. The key is to monitor the inflation over time. If it is not deflating or deflating slow enough that you can get to the shop when it's open, do that. Otherwise a can of fix-a-flat should get you there and is a lot cheaper than a tow. Unless you can and want to put on a spare. – Jeff Y Oct 07 '19 at 16:26
  • I have no intentions of pulling it out myself. I’ll just take the car to a tire repair, and see what they say. – Marcos Storchevoy Oct 07 '19 at 18:22
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    @shoover if OP keeps driving on it, it will become a nail... – Harper - Reinstate Monica Oct 09 '19 at 00:21

8 Answers8

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That one looks too close to the sidewall. Bring $$ and replace. Reference Here

Tire repair zone

Apparently that tire repair guidance originates from the guidelines set by the USTMA (U.S. Tire Manufacturer Assoc.) Now obviously that reference is designed to help sell tires, but its pretty safe, sound guidance.

zipzit
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    And good source, clear diagram. Some professional tire people I know actually reduce the repairable area as being on the edge of the steel is not good either... – Solar Mike Oct 06 '19 at 16:35
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    OK, thanks, do you know how long I can drive like this? – Marcos Storchevoy Oct 06 '19 at 19:42
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  • Its possible that if the screw is really short, it hasn't yet pierced to the inside. Pull it out, check pressure and move on. 2) Its possible that the screw is long, and its plugging its own hole. Remove it and pssssst, air bleeds down to zero. 3) Worst case is you have to change a flat tire at the worst possible time, while wearing your best clothes. 4) driving on flat tire is really a bad idea. It ruins the rim and that is big $$. Best is to get this fixed.. do what the rest of us do. Change to the spare now, wait for payday, buy a new tire. :^)
    • – zipzit Oct 06 '19 at 20:15
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    Why can't the shoulder or sidewall be repaired? – Vikki Oct 07 '19 at 04:14
  • No, too much stress loading on the sides of tire while driving. That hole would get bigger, and if it failed dramatically that could be really bad. The woven steel belt area is MUCH more stable a region. Load is better distributed to a larger area. – zipzit Oct 07 '19 at 06:21
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    @Sean you should post a separate question. – Nelson Oct 07 '19 at 06:33
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    @zipzit I would say it is impossible for the screw to plug the hole. There's no way the tire material is soft enough to go around the thread unless someone used a screw driver to screw in – Nelson Oct 07 '19 at 06:37
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    @Nelson Its possible is my get out of jail free card. so yeah, how do we know that the screw in the top photo wasn't screwed it by an unhappy ex? I've definitely seen round nails that, when removed, allowed the tire to leak air. Its all about the caltrop design. – zipzit Oct 07 '19 at 06:57
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    @Sean Long story short: the sidewall and outer-tread area flex too much for it to be a repairable area. The patch and/or plug would not seal entirely, so the flexing of that area (keep in mind that your tire bulges naturally once it's filled with air) would cause it to fail early. (When I did tire repair, we used to have people "do it themselves" on the sidewall, then come back within an hour or so for a new tire.) – Der Kommissar Oct 07 '19 at 21:16
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    I'm not following... in the picture provided, the screw appears to be almost to the second "dimple" and nowhere near the sidewall. Now I'm wondering if most of the tire is somehow not visible in the picture, because if I follow the curve of the tire down from the insertion point to the ground, it appears very close to the middle of the tire. – Michael Oct 08 '19 at 21:43
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    and it definitely looks more than 1/2" from the tread edge (though it's hard to tell without a penny or something for reference, but visually I would guess the first dimple is the 1/2" mark) – Michael Oct 08 '19 at 21:44
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    @Michael. Photo angle is a bit odd. Look at that photo again closely. See those tiny nubs? There are like two rows of the nubs running in EXACTLY the same area as the screw. Those nubs are actually drilled gas escape zones in the rubber mold for the tire. They allow gas trapped in the closing tire mold to escape and not get trapped as a bubble in the tire. And here’s the thing. If those nubs were on the tread area they’d be worn right off in 25 miles of travel or so. The fact that they are still visible is verification that the screw is at the very edge of the steel belt (or a bit beyond) – zipzit Oct 08 '19 at 21:57
  • zipzit - see photo in my answer. It's interesting how inobvious the location is in the original photo and accordingly how misleading it is. – Russell McMahon Oct 09 '19 at 07:27