RE040 Puncture
 

My bad luck - I have a screw right in the center of my tire. Someone told me the RE040 tires can't be patched - is that true? The firestone booklet I got with the car talks about Proseal and Sealex self-sealing tires - these aren't self-sealing, are they?

Nope, they aren't self-sealing. I would not use that self-sealing goo if you want your tire pressure sensors to last a while. From my experience with C5 Vettes, they can be expensive to replace and are very alergic to tire sealant. Your best bet.....plug the tire. You can pick up a tire plug kit from Pep Boys or Advanced Auto for around $7.00. You can't use a plug if the sidewall is punctured, but it works great if it's in the tread! First remove the screw and let all the air out of the tire (if not, you will get the glue spraying up in your face). The plug kit comes with an awl to clean out the hole and you use it first. Then you lube the plug insertion tool with the glue and run it up and down through the hole a couple times (this is where the glue would fly if you still had air in the tires...I speak from experience...LOL). Then you thread a plug into the insertion tool, coat it with glue again, insert into the hole until only about an inch is left above the tire and remove the tool quickly. Trim off the excess from the plug with a razor or exacto blade. That's it! I've patched my own tire after removing a screw (my old BMW picked one up) and it worked perfectly. It will save you a few $ at the tire store and you can carry it with you in the trunk. I use the kit and a portable air compressor in the Vette instead of using run-flat tires (much too expensive and crappy performance). I plan on getting another kit to leave in the trunk of the RX-8. Hope this information helps.

thanks for the tip, o-town-racer. Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Is a plug supposed to be better than a patch? I think all my previous flats have been fixed by a patch.

I didn't even know any places still did patches?...

Puncture
 

Had a nail in mine, took it to Discount Tire and they fixed it in about 45 minutes. Cost $15. They said it took a bit longer because of the tire pressure sensor. Costco would not do it since they were not certified for wheels with the pressure sensor. Tire has been holding air fine.

sorry about the tire
I hate when that happens

my dealer tried apparently 5 times to patch mine, could not do it. A tire place (after I got the tire back from the dealer's trash pile) fixed it for $10. Of course, that was AFTER I paid for a brand new one to be delivered from Tire Rack to the dealer. $240 for a dry wall screw!

Tire places will tell you that radial tires must be patched, not plugged. This is untrue. You can do it yourself without dismounting the tire or having to rebalance it by plugging the hole providing the hole is caused by a nail, screw, etc. Any jagged tears and I'd suggest replacing the tire anyway. The tire places want you to pay $15-$20 for a $0.25 patch. After I plugged the tire on my Bimmer, it was perfect. No air loss at all and didn't have to have it rebalanced.

me too
 

I also just had a lag bolt in the middle of my tread, only two nights ago! Funny timing, too: I was in the dealer parking lot picking up my newly mounted spare tire when I saw the bolt in the tire!

The service techs went ahead and did the repair with a patch. The plug repair was not an option. They said they stopped doing plugs long ago, and the patch repair was the only recommended method.

I watched them do the patch repair. It took fairly long (45+ minutes) to complete, with much of the time spent "curing" the patch with what looked very much like a dentist's ultrviolet light source used for setting fillings and such. Seems to have worked just fine.

Well, I had it patched at Pep Boys. Took them a while to do it. The service manager said they don't plug speed rated tires because they can throw the plug. Patching actually makes more sense to me. We'll see how it holds up - I've had a lot of tires patched there, and have never had a failure.

good old pep boys, now if they could just stay open 24 hours

I hear ya! I found the screw at 9PM last night, so I had to drive all over today in my wife's SUV, and I took the RX-7 out at lunch. Driving the 8 has seriously impaired my enjoyment of all other vehicles (although I never really enjoyed the SUV)!