Small nail in tire, plug or inside patch?
 

Since the temperature have been dropping and I don't drive the car daily the PSI of the tires has been dropping at around 5PSI.

However there is one rear tire that drops 10PSI. My first tought was that the tire caught a nail during a trip to W. Virgina but I could not located. Today after a close inspection I found that is a litte tiny nail in the rear tire in between (channel) the beefy grip part of the tire.

Now, I can do the plug myself.

However with a patch they have to disassemble the tire and not a lot of shops around here have the equipment for 19" tires, plus I don't want then to damage the OEM rim and go thru all the troubles.

So the question is by you guys experience, would you guys recommend a plug or an inside patch?

Thanks!

Patch it! $30 is worth your safety. When you go to the tire shop, just let them know that you don't have any scratches (have them visually confirm it), and you should be good to go.

As an additional precaution, look for shops with the 'touchless tire mount' machine.

Just replace the whole tire not worth if you use those as track tires also.



DAN

Thanks, but I don't track the Z.

Patch. You can only patch a performance tire 2x before replacing it, even for street driving.

inside patch

A plug is fine, a patch is better, and a new tire well thats just more $$

My tire shop doesn't even do plugs anymore. They do a "permanent" patch. I had two patches on the same tire within one week and have not has any problems with them.

patch on the inside, much safer.

Ahh..No bueno! I'd see if they could patch the tire from the inside.

I just replaced my rear tires with RE-11's thanks to a large chunk of metal in my tire. Instead of patching, I opted to replace both rear tires because they we're almost due to be replaced anyways.

I've put 3 vulcanizing plugs in my rear RE050As and tracked them at 125mph at Road America afterwards. Plugs are fine. If you want to buy into the hype that you need to replace or patch, be my guest. Worst that happens with a plug is that it comes out and you have a slow deflation...and that won't happen with a vulcanizing plug.

BlackJack Tire Repair | The Leading Manufacturer and Worldwide Distributor of Tire Repair Products

It is a little tiny nail, however I don't have a problem with getting it patch inside, the problem is to find the right Tire Shop that IS NOT going to f*ck my OEM rims. :mad:

Thanks, by any chance to do have the Part Number?

Is not coming up as vulcanizing plug on the search.

Replied to your PM. For everyone else, all of the BlackJack plugs are vulcanized (or self-vulcanizing). Just look on their site under the 'passenger vehicle repair kits' after clicking 'tire repair kits' on the left-hand sidebar.

you could go on Tirerack.com and look for the list of their preferred installers in your area, call them up and see what it would cost for a patch if that's the way you still want to go.

What about the Dealer? at least if they fuk it up? You stand a better chance for a repair or replacement.

I'm going to call the Nissan dealers tomorrow around the area to see if they fix tires.

Thanks

Sorry just couldn't resist after reading this thread!

http://blastr.com/assets_c/2010/02/S...x412-34346.jpg

Well, I guess with technology, the 'plug' is making a comeback (at least per the article below). I am open to this now (again):

Tire Repair: Patch vs Plug

Q. When I first began driving in the late 1950's, if you got a nail in your tire the only way to fix it was with a "plug" which would be inserted moments after removing the nail. As radials became more prevalent, dismounting the tire and applying a patch on the inside was apparently the preferred method of repair.


Now I notice that the plug repair technique is making a comeback and in many instances is the preferred method. Please comment about the pros and cons of each method as it applies to todays steel belted radials.

A. In the old days plugs were used because they were quick and reliable. If the injury was a simple nail, a tire could be repaired in no time. If the tire was cut, then patching was preferred to completely seal the odd shaped hole. Then when radial tires came out it was found that plugs would warp the tire and make them ride differently. That's when patches became the preferred method of repairing a tire. There were two kinds of patches, cold and hot.

The cold patch required buffing the inside of the tire and applying a cement. Then the correct sized patch was placed over the injury and a special tool was used to "stitch" the patch to the tire. I don't mean stitching in the sense it was sewn on, but that this special tool was rolled over the patch until it was sealed against the tire. The drawback to this method was if you didn't do everything perfectly, the patch would leak.

Hot patching involved essentially the same procedure except the patch was heated and melted to the inside of the tire. There was a special heating clamp that went on the tire to do this. It usually took about 15 minutes to heat the patch to the tire. The advantage of this method was that the tire and patch become one piece.

Now we have plugs that are designed to repair radial tires and are self-vulcanizing. That is to say after they heat up from driving, they "melt" into the tire and become one piece. This is again the preferred method because it is much faster to do. If, as in the old days, a tire was cut then patching is the best way to go.

Patching a tire can take about 30 minutes and installing a plug takes a few minutes and usually can be done while the tire is still on the car. Patching a tire can cost $10.00 to $15.00 and plugging can cost as little as $2.00 but usually $5.00.

I would do the self plug. Its not like the tire is going to explode just from that. If it wasn't for the small scissors that cut through the tread on mine it would've just plugged it myself from he outside. Fking tireshop with the right equipment but failed staff made a few marks on my wheel on the spokes. I was very pissed.

I'm still trying to decide, I call around but they have to see the tire.

Not that I'm cheap but to me it doesn't make sense for that small of a nail to have a patch and risk having the OEM rim f*ck up by some idiot.

But I'm taking the car to my friends shop that I know he will do the right thing even that is like 40 mins away.

What is wrong with asking? This is the first time I have a problem with a tire on the 350Z that I had or my 370Z. :confused:

Unless you want to be an a**hole.... I don't lose anything by asking when someone could had the same thing happen to them.

those plugs are junk, take it to a shop and get it done properly. If they scatch your rim they have to replace it or have it fix no questions asked. inless they say before doing the tire repair " if we scatch the rim theres NO warranty."

That is what I'm going to do to be on the sure side.

Plugs work fine if done right.

Got the tire repair today! Off the list...

let a professional plug your tire...it only cost like $15...or get it plugged at a dealership for $30

:iagree:

:iagree: 100% correct, a vulcanizing plug is the way to go. A patch on the inside won't stop water from entering the hole in rain conditions, and if you keep the tire for a long time could actually affect the steel belts. The tire industry is a racket at local shops like Goodyear, with their "it's too close to the sidwall, you have to buy a new tire" bullshit. In many cases the nail is a good inch or more away from the sidewall. Go online and search and read, do some homework, a vulcanizing plug works great. I had 3 plugs in one rear and 2 in the other on my old 350 and drove those tires for 20,000 miles, daily driver, with zero issues.