Flat Tire...to Plug Or Not To Plug...
 

Hey all just I was driving out of my garage this morning, I noticed that I had a flat front left tire. I was unable to see any type of foreign object sticking out of it (nail, glass ect.).

Should I have this plugged or do you think it is best to purchase a new tire? I put 18"'s on the car so the tires are more low profile than the stocks. I was just wondering if plugs are prone to pop out during high speed turns.

Thanks for your input in advance.

Post from last week regarding tire repair / replacement :

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/7091-flat-tires-yikes.html

Thanks Nickm should have searched for it, apparently the answer is to replace the tire. I hate to throw away an expensive tire with no wear on it for a small hole, that SUX

Do this, IF the foreign object isnt in the sidewall...Dont plug the hole, Take the flat tire to a tire ship and have them Patch the tire...NOT PLUG...some plugs have the tendensy to leak and or fallout if not installed correctly. Never the less, plugs were originaly intended for temperary use not as a permanent solution.

Patching is much more safer, reliable and the tire shop will balance your tire after installing it back onto the rim.

Hi,

FYI, the DOT/NHTSA recommends that a Radial Tire be repaired with both a Patch and a Plug. This will involve demounting the Tire to do the work and so will need to be balanced upon remounting as well. See: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/TireSafety/ridesonit/brochure.html about 2/3 down the page. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

don't feel bad just discovered a puncture on the inside shoulder of one my rears.
There goes a $300 RA-1. Since I don't plan on repairing it I will have to replace all four with a different spec tire allot sooner than I was planning on.

p.s.
does anyone ever go for the tire insurance they always try and push at the tire places? Worth it?

Apropos of nothing much, a few months ago I had a flat on one of the Michelins on my Odyssey van. The tires were about worn out, and I had planned on replacing the entire set in about a week when Costco's Michelin sale was due to start.
So I go to the Costco tire center and consult with the resident 12-year-olds about either a.) fixing the tire, or b.) extending me the sale price a few days early on an entire set. The answer was a.) No, and b.) Hell No. It seems there was not one nail hole in the tire, but two within an inch of each other, thus triggering the Costco Corporate Death and Destruction alarms.
I left vowing to find a more cooperative tire outfit. Since there are no "service stations" anymore, one is left pretty much to deal with tire dealers or the Costco/Sam's Club people, all of whom seem to have pretty much the same policies about fixing tires.
In any event, my temporary solution was to buy a can of that fix-a-flat goo at the local NAPA store and squirt it in the tire. Damned if it didn't work. Sealed that booger up tight as a drum, and I drove around on it for about a week waiting for the Costco sale.

i did a patch and plug on one tire 3 times. they held up pretty dam good if you ask me. it was on the original conti's. rear tire.

unrelated,
someone mentioned the inexspensive Ecstas at $500 (not including shipping, taxes, mounting bla bla) for 18"
I ran these briefly on my old car and they were purty good until I
tried them out on the Autocross(can you say oversteer) and quickly
swaped them for Azenis.
But for every day use? more than enough. I might give these a try since
this is the third time I tore into the sidewall of a $250+ tire
I'll have to budget for 18" snows soon too, arghhh...

here is some interesting testing data from the tirerack on the "most bang for buck" tire.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/kumho_ecsta_ast_c.jsp

p.s.
I had the summer 712's and not the all season AST's.
There's also a useful link on the tire rack site that lists local installers
and discounts. A few in my area charge as little as $18 per tire.

I've had two rears patched and plugged (both Bridgestone). Nary a problem with either one. They've withstood de's and rather enthusiastic general driving. No air loss or other problems. Now if your leak is in the sidewall that's another matter (and, I found out recently, the sidewall starts WELL before one might think, which resulted in four new shoes (damm roofers)). But if the leak/nail/whatever, is in the footprint of the tire, the plugging, at least for me, worked fine. They do have to remove the tire from the wheel, and it has to be rebalanced, but that's a rather small price in comparison to two (or four) new tires.

Bob