Is my tire patchable?
Is my tire patchable?
Woke up this morning and my tire pressure light was on. Went out to check and I think I found the culprit, a nail in my passenger rear tire.
Is the nail too close to the sidewall to be patchable?
Is the nail too close to the sidewall to be patchable?
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,704
Likes: 290
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
That looks to me like it's just far enough away from the sidewall to be patchable. Make sure, though, if they take the tire off the rim to patch it from the inside that they remount it and balance it correctly. I did a whole thread on just the subject of proper mount/balance recently. Make sure, also, that the shop knows how to properly replace the tire-pressure sensor.....that can be difficult, and not al shops know how to do that. If they don't have to take the tire off the rim, of course, that won't be much of an issue.
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Update: I went to Discount tires to see if they could patch it, and they said the nail puncture occurred at the curvature region and they would not be able to patch it.
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed:
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed:
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,704
Likes: 290
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Originally Posted by edgeucated
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed
Also, did they mount/balance it properly and install the tire pressure sensor correctly? If so, you won't have any shimmies/vibrations in the steering wheel or car structure, and the warning light for the tire-sensor will come on momentarily (with the other warning lights) when the ignition is first turned on and then go off in a couple of seconds. If not...time for a trip back to the shop.
Last edited by mmarshall; Jun 2, 2014 at 07:44 PM.
The pursuit of F
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,296
Likes: 303
From: Toronto, Canada
Update: I went to Discount tires to see if they could patch it, and they said the nail puncture occurred at the curvature region and they would not be able to patch it.
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,120
Likes: 126
From: Southeastern PA
Update: I went to Discount tires to see if they could patch it, and they said the nail puncture occurred at the curvature region and they would not be able to patch it.
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed:
However, they were willing to sell me a used, but newer identical spec tire to my current hankook v12 tire. Price out of the door, including mounting/balancing came out to be $70.
I ended up buying the tire, but not sure if I got tricked haha. Guess it's too late for me to change my mind now, but I'm just curious to see if they were lying when they said the tire was unpatchable:
This is what the inside of the tire looked like, you can see the bump where the nail was removed:
Intermediate
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 271
Likes: 37
From: Tx
I was the go-to guy for difficult or unusual tire repairs before I recently retired. We would not normally have repaired this tire. There are RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association) guidelines for acceptable repairs and this tire is well outside those guidelines. Repairs outside those guidelines leaves the dealer exposed to too much potential liability.
I would on occasion do a repair like this anyway. It is a difficult repair because of that very curved area you have to buff to the correct smoothness. Done correctly, a repair will work fine. In 35 years, I knew only a very few people I would trust to do this correctly.
The scary part of even a good repair on or too close to the sidewall is if that tire is ever run very low or flat again, the repair can be heated and abraded to the point of failure. Once any tire has been run soft or flat long enough, the liner can become soft and tacky making any more repairs impossible.
I would on occasion do a repair like this anyway. It is a difficult repair because of that very curved area you have to buff to the correct smoothness. Done correctly, a repair will work fine. In 35 years, I knew only a very few people I would trust to do this correctly.
The scary part of even a good repair on or too close to the sidewall is if that tire is ever run very low or flat again, the repair can be heated and abraded to the point of failure. Once any tire has been run soft or flat long enough, the liner can become soft and tacky making any more repairs impossible.
Last edited by robert1408; Jun 3, 2014 at 10:48 AM. Reason: spelling
