About how many miles did your rear tires last before you replaced them

 

So I get this right. What you guys do is have one of these kits in your frunk and if you get a flat you don’t use that crappy gunk but instead find the puncture, use the kit and then use the electric pump?

have you had to actually do this yet?

 

There are so many threads on this.....

1) if you opt for a repair, you MUST take it to a tire shop, have the tire dismounted and an internal pull-through plug installed. Do not use those Do it Yourself Kits

2) Depending on the tire brand, a tire repair will step down your speed rating on the tire. Check the tire manufactuer's website for details as they do vary by maker.

My personal thoughts....I have tires on my $ 30,000 Ford Ranger repaired, it goes to Home Depot and rarely over 60 mph. My Porsche tires I do not repair, i replace, because my $ 170,000 car goes 100 mph at times. Be smart about it.

 

at about 1500 miles I picked up a nail on the right rear of my 992 GT three touring. It was a small nail about a 16th in diameter, but was about 3 inches long. I have the tools to remove the wheel which I did, and then prepared the hole and inserted the plug . i’ve used this for years on multiple cars I’ve never had a problem with a plug that was inserted properly in a safe position in the middle of the tread on the tire.

 

Not always. Many manufacturers are OK with what is called a “Compound Patch”. Also, not all manufacturers reduce the speed rating of a properly patched tire. The location, the number of any previous patches and/or their proximity to the new patch, can vary from one tire manufacturer to another. None of the tire manufacturers make a secret of their policies in this matter.

 

Depends on the manufacturer and repair type / size. List of manufacturer, repairs and whether they void the speed rating.

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-gar...s-speed-rating

 

How many properly plugged tires have you seen fail?

 

I think a plug away from a sidewall is a good fix in an emergency to get you to a reputable shop where they inspect from the inside to look for structural damage that may have been cased by the nail- and any other cause (eg from driving on a deflated tire). If there is none, a proper plug and patch and rebalancing should do ya.

 

very true. when i got a nail in mine i replaced both rears (the other side was at 4 or 5 mm).

these wheel shops no matter how many beg them will still make marks on your wheels. i just don't get it.

 

yes on the wheel marks
is there a wheel changer that has plastic as the prime contact points so the wheels don’t get tweaked

 

I know you didn't ask me, but I've seen 3 fail (one personally on my own car).

 

An individual's personal anecdotal experience with tire failures is worthless. We'd need some statistical evidence to form a reasonable conclusion about this.

Perhaps there is a national database that tracks catastrophic tire failures. Shy of that, I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Both my life and my expensive cars are worth the cost of a new tire. Although I have some ex's that would surely disagree.

 

That's always a legitimate fear. And with my Porsche's, I'd always use Porsche to do the tire swap on the theory that they'll make good on any damage to wheels.

However, with other cars over the years, I've used a local STS (same as Discount Tire, more or less) to do dozens of tire mounts and swaps and so forth. They've never marked up a single wheel.

 

Personally, none. I've never been a witness to a Florida Execution either, but still pretty sure the convict was dead when they were finished. You may need a better argument than requiring a witness to an event in search of truth.

What I have done however, is speak with tire engineers from Michelin, BF Goodrich, and Goodyear at the race tracks back when I was into that sort of thing. They will tell you that any repair breaks the steel band inside the tire with the puncture, and over time, water will make its way into that repair area and rust the belts, which may cause catastrophic tire failure. It will be a blow out / tread separation not a leak down of air pressure and typically at speed when the tire is hot.

That bus in New York that went down that embankment and killed two people last week had a front tire failure at speed resulting in immediate loss of control. What caused that failure has not yet been reported. But that's why Commercial vehicles cannot have retreads on the steer axles.

I don't care if you or anyone else plugs your tire with a kit from Wal Mart. Your car, your life, your choice. I cannot understand why some people own cars costing over $ 100,000 yet want to cheap out replacing a $ 400 tire. <shrug>

I can tell you that I will NOT to be in the car Instructing at an HPDE if you have plugs in your tires, however. When I get in a car with a new student I don't know, I do ask if he has plugs in his tires and if he has dustless brake pads on the car. If he says yes to either, then I pass on right seating with them and they need to find another Instructor. That's MY Choice because now its my life and my wife expects me home in one piece at the end of the day..

.

 

That bus used a Walmart plug I heard