IZoomZoomI

Quick question, nothing major. I have a hole in one of my tires, its a z rated tire. I went to goodyear today and they said they have to repair the tire from the inside. Also mentioned it would be $50.00. Not fussing about paying, but is the job really that complicated? I've had holes in tires before (non z rated tires) all that was involved was puncturing and filling the tire up, takes 1 minute. Does it make a difference with z rated tires?

mikeb

I had a screw in my tire and my tire shop filled it for free last week

Mikelikes2drive

go to american discount tire company and theyll repair it for 15 dollars and that 15 dollars will become a down for your next tires you purchase from them.... i had a nail in mine and i was in and out in 30 minutes

rx8daniel

The one I had a drywall screw in last fall (compliments of Dan Ryan Builders) was plugged by a local Goodyear dealer. The car dealer tried over two days several times to patch it but it wouldn't take to the interior surface and they scarred the wheel on top of all that. The plugged tire sits in my garage now as a 'spare' after I ordered a new tire from Tire Rack. The car dealer tried to trash the damaged tire. When I was cleaning my wheels/tires to put the winter set on I noticed a nail in that new tire now - but it's not leaking so I won't worry about it for now. Good luck! If they can't patch yours they may not recommend a plug. Let us know how it goes.

StewC625

Guys:

DO NOT "plug" one of your high-performance tires - a plug is when they shove a sticky bit of rubber into the hole from the outside of the tire without properly patching it from the inside.

The plugs are not designed for high temperatures and/or high speed. I suppose if you are not planning to EVER drive your car over 70mph, then plug away to your heart's content ... but the only proper way to fix a tire is to partially dismount it (they deflate the tire, break the seal with the rim and using the tire machine, pop one bead over the edge of the rim), then apply a combination plug/patch from the INSIDE that both fills the hole and covers it, which is then "vulcanized" to the tire through either heat or chemical reaction. Properly done, the tire is as good as new. It WILL need rebalancing when they remount it because the plug/patch weighs a good ounce or so and will alter the balance of the wheel/tire combo.

Externally-applied plugs are only good for temporary repairs, and the "reaming" of the hole that you do to enable the plug to be applied makes doing a permanent repair very difficult and can damage the steel belt on your tire. Plus, the plug can be easily shed from centrifugal force at speeds above 100 mph (yes, we all do do that occasionally, don't we?), and from tire heat from aggressive cornering (and yes, we do that as well).

Quoting Michelin: "so much is riding on your tires" ... don't screw around with half-assed repairs. And if there's any question, replace the tire. The $200 could well be the price tag on your life and those of others in the car with you.

Stew

Dark8

Funny you quote Michelin. In Car and Driver (Jan) Michelin states that they make a plug repair kit that will work for up to 1/4" holes in their performance tires. They are the new mushroom type plugs. If Goodyear recomends putting a patch on the inside of a tire they produced, that's what I would do. I have never trusted the old style plugs and had one leak a few months after the repair.

The new mushroom shaped plugs look like a good solution:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/...gId=-1&TID=100

rx8daniel

My guess is that is what I have in mine. I looked at it again this weekend. The inside of the tire has a round , likely vulcanized patch, and the outside appears to be quite like the same material as the tire. Whether or not I ever use it depends largley if I ever acquire a like set of 3 RE-040s. Or sell it.

StewC625

The "plug" michelin refers to is an INTERNALLY APPLIED plug. That is how a normal quality tire repair is done - the "plugs" that people commonly refer to are those that are applied from the OUTSIDE of the tire (tread side) and shoved in and pulled back through, leaving a wad of sticky goo in the hole. There's nothing on the inside of the tire to anchor the plug and seal it to the air chamber there. They are prone to ejection and leaks.

You're thinking "patch" like those awful things that came in a bike repair kit and never worked. A commercially-applied tire repair is normally a patch/plug combo that includes a wider repair on the inside of the tire (the "mushroom" that Michelin refers to, or a patch like shape) that it is part of a plug that is pulled into the hole from the inside to the outside. As part of the application, the installer applies vuclanizing cement that chemically bonds the repair to the native tire, making the fix permanent. Or, depending on the system, they may heat that part of the tire to activate the repair.

But, key difference - the tire must be partially dismounted and then remounted and rebalanced for the repair to be effectived and installed.

mikeb

now you have me worried
I had my tire filled with that goo crap ten days ago
but I have been driving over 70 for the last ten days and no problems yet

rx8cited

Yep, I'd be worried to if I did that. Did you read what the owner's manual said about using "that goo crap"?

Dark8

The goo is a temporary sealant to get you to a tire repair shop. You are driving on borrowed time.

rx8cited

I thought so too. I bought one of these:
http://www.stopngo.com/Contents/1075.htm

Of course, since I have it, I have not had a flat tire in the RX-8 to see how well it works.

StewC625

Best of luck using that gizmo. Ask your wife to let me know when your funeral is.

There's two things that DIY people should never do:

1) paintless dent repair (that stupid gizmo they sold on TV)

2) Flat tire repair - read my note above and note Michelin's info as well.

rx8cited

StewC625 spewing dreck again