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  #1  
Old 03-08-2004, 04:51 AM
LarryIII LarryIII is offline
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Tire Plug Questions

Here's the story.

In late Nov. 2003, I had 4 brand new Yoko AVS dB S-2's installed on the '92 SVX (daily driver). For the last month or so, there has been a slow leak in one tire. Initially it needed air every 2 weeks, than once a week, now evry 4-5 days. Yesterday I found the cause. There was a screw imbedded in the thread. The impaled tire is the right front. I changed the tire with one of the original AVS db tires that I keep mounted on a spare rim and in the garage just for situations like this.
Anyway, I had the punctured tire plugged. I watched the fellow do it. It took five minutes and cost $10.
I don't know too much about the reliability of plugging. Does anyone here have any experience (good or bad) with plugged tires ?
I intend put the plugged tire back on the car (right rear) and use it on a daily basis, but I am a bit leery of it's reliability.

I have another fall-back position thanks to SolarSVX. I have a set of four 17" white rims with almost brand new, no-name, Z-rated tires that I recently purchased from Solar. I was planing to put them on after the Reading SVX Meet but can push that up, if necessary.

Any advice about plugged tires will be appreciated.

Thanks.
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  #2  
Old 03-08-2004, 05:30 AM
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Larry, I've been plugging my own tires for years. Cost you $6 for a kit and it's real easy to do yourself. I have never had a bad experience, nor heard of anyone else having one, with running plugged tires. I used to be in construction and getting nails in my tires was a regular occurance.

The plug, if applied correctly, will never come out and if trimmed properly it will not have an adverse effect on the balance of your tire.

Consider your alternatives, then rest at ease with your plugged tire. It sure beats shelling out $$$ for 4 new tires everytime you get a nail or bolt in your tire (yes, the last one I pulled from the SVX was a friggin' bolt. ).

Johnny
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Old 03-08-2004, 09:15 AM
96svxer
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I have a bad probem of running over nails. My old toyo proxes (completly bald) on my supra probably had over 7 plugs between the four tires. Never had a problem with any of the plugs over a two year span. I did them myself too, very easy....and cheap.
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Old 03-08-2004, 10:25 AM
Bobb Bobb is offline
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Plugs

Hi LarryIII, I know that the plugs are commonly used, but the problem is that the steel belts will chew up the plug on some flats. Of course it is easy to put them in as many times you don't even have to dismount. However I think it is best to take the tire off the rim, and apply a patch on the inside of the tire. This also allows the hole to be examined on the backside of the puncture. This can be put on even if a plug has already been used, in most cases. After my last trip to Lowes home center"a couple of years ago" I had patches on every tire but one. Some tires had more than one patch, ouch. Oh well, since then I've gotten new tires. By the way, since some SVXs are not daily drivers, tires get old and should be replaced by time and not wear. If your tires have cracking all over the outside called dry rot its time to replace those doughnuts with some new ones. Take care and see you and Rose at Reading, BOBB

P/S No a plug and patch is not like a belt and suspenders. "B"

Last edited by Bobb; 03-08-2004 at 10:28 AM.
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  #5  
Old 03-08-2004, 12:06 PM
LarryIII LarryIII is offline
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This morning I spoke to Tire Rack. The fellow I spoke to said the official policy was to recommend patches. However, he told me that he had used plugs with no problems.
The tire is plugged now so I guess I will live with it.
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Old 03-08-2004, 12:08 PM
Ron Mummert Ron Mummert is offline
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The plug, if applied correctly, will never come out and if trimmed properly it will not have an adverse effect on the balance of your tire.

Johnny [/B][/QUOTE]


Some of you will remember my fun 'n games with the Dunlop 5000 that I pumped up every other day for 6 months because of a drywall screw that was inbedded right where the tread & sidewall met. No tire repair shop would plug it, because it was in the "flex" area of the tire. The screw finally got flung loose on my trip to Reading III, & I arrived on the donut. Johnny, since it seems you have plenty of experience in tearing up tires, were these guys correct about the "no plug zone", or were they just protecting their legal interests?

Ron (my tires are screwed on).
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  #7  
Old 03-08-2004, 02:15 PM
Bobb Bobb is offline
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Screws

Hi Ron, C J is an expert on dry wall screws. Take care and see you in Reading, BOBB
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  #8  
Old 03-08-2004, 02:46 PM
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Larry, I've had my tires plugged many, [i]many[/] times at Tire Warehouse, a local place. It's cost me about $6 a shot, and I've never had any problems or complaints with them.
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  #9  
Old 03-08-2004, 07:05 PM
greg
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Quote:
ill remember my fun 'n games with the Dunlop 5000 that I pumped up every other day for 6 months because of a drywall screw that was inbedded right where the tread & sidewall met. No tire repair shop would plug it, because it was in the "flex" area of the tire. The screw finally got flung loose on my trip to Reading III, & I arrived on the donut. Johnny, since it seems you have plenty of experience in tearing up tires, were these guys correct about the "no plug zone", or were they just protecting their legal interests?

Ron (my tires are screwed on). [/B]
Hey Ron,
I had the same thing happen to me the first week I had my new tires... I had hoped that they could patch or plug them but they told me also that there was nothing they could do to help that tire. I had to finally buy a new tire, luckily I had the tire only a week and I chanced that there was not enough wear to worry about replacing the other three...

~G
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Old 03-08-2004, 07:47 PM
calmone
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i've had about 6 tires plugged over the years and never had any problems.
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  #11  
Old 03-08-2004, 10:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ron Mummert
The plug, if applied correctly, will never come out and if trimmed properly it will not have an adverse effect on the balance of your tire.

Johnny

Some of you will remember my fun 'n games with the Dunlop 5000 that I pumped up every other day for 6 months because of a drywall screw that was inbedded right where the tread & sidewall met. No tire repair shop would plug it, because it was in the "flex" area of the tire. The screw finally got flung loose on my trip to Reading III, & I arrived on the donut. Johnny, since it seems you have plenty of experience in tearing up tires, were these guys correct about the "no plug zone", or were they just protecting their legal interests?

Ron (my tires are screwed on). [/B][/QUOTE]Ron, I have had tons of experience with drywall screws and tearing up tires. I do agree with them that you should not plug along the flex or sidewall areas. Generally almost all of the plugs I have put in the flat tread area. I do recall one going near the edge close to the flex area but I never had any problem with it. Could you get away with a plug in the flex area? Maybe, but I would not chance it. Too much movement to break the bond between the plug and the tire rubber. But then, the worst that would happen is a blowout and at best a slow leak. I had a front tire blow out on my SVX while doing 90 on my way to the crab meet last summer. Solid as a rock even with the tire flopping around on the rim.

-Johnny
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  #12  
Old 03-09-2004, 08:39 AM
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The worst failure I have ever had with a plugged tire was a slow leak, and I have plugged many tires myself over the years.

I would never consider taking a long trip without having a plug kit in the toolbox. Make sure you get the gooey, fuzzy looking plugs, not the smooth round ones or the ones with the peel-off paper on them. The former are hard to work with, and the latter tend to break in half when you try to push them into the hole... just my personal experience though.

-Mike
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Old 03-09-2004, 11:07 AM
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Larry, I also fixed my front flat tire(toyo) on my MX3 GS. The tire had a slow leak in every 4-5days. I bought the tire repair kit cost about $6. (I can fix 5 times for 6 bucks ). I fixed it when it was snowing. It was not too difficult. It has been 3 months till now. I check the tires every two week that's no leak at all. And, I have tried the speed like 90-100mph. The tire is still good....so I have already set my worries aside long time ago...
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Old 03-13-2004, 10:39 AM
Bobb Bobb is offline
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Plugs or Patches?

Hi LarryIII, Just a little update on the tire patch or plug question. In the April issue of Road and Track in the Technical Correspondence the question came up about plugs and patches or should he junk the tire. The answer has a little more info than we had before Quote "Local tire stores may plug-repair very low-performance tires on something like a farm utility trailer, but an interior patch is all that is commonly used for auto tires. The official word is that high-performance tires can be patch-repaired, but are considered a standard -performance tire from then on. Many shops won't repair such tires due to liabilityy concerns, and if they are repaired, they have lost their high-sped rating" end of answer. So on some super hot Maryland summer day with your foot a little to far down on the pedal, remember you now have NO speed rating on the tire with the plug and a low rating with a patch. Take care, BOBB

Last edited by Bobb; 03-13-2004 at 10:51 PM.
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