I just got done doing some work on my car, and while I had the front wheels off I noticed that my front right appears to have a nail driven square into one of the tread blocks. From what I understand, this should be repairable no problem. The question:

Take it to a place and have them plug it, or is one of those DIY kits as effective? I am unlikely to have the tire dismounted and repaired from the inside unless someone convinces me that it's cheap and/or a really good idea.

Thanks for your advice. Like everybody else, I beat the hell out of my tires, so I thought I'd better check what people had to say about repairs.

Take it to a shop. Fixing a flat is only $20. Not worth the trouble of doing it yourself.

actually it is worth the trouble cuzz its really no trouble at all. first of all. check if any of your other tires have any type of nail or screw in them. if you have to put air into your tires every couple weeks or so its a candidate. next go to your local auto shop and pick up a tire repair kit. it comes with like a T shaped tool some patching material and an adhesive type chemical. its only like 5 bux and u can patch up a nailed tire like 5 times or something. about a buck to fix tire. just read the instructions. i literally patched up 3 of my tired thus saving about (15x3) minus the five bux easiest thing in the world. hope that helps.

Go to a shop. Ask for a patch/plug. It goes in from the inside and expands in the hole, as well as molds to the rubber with heated rubber cement. It will be good as new as long as it was on the tread area. For safety reasons, take it to a good tire shop. It is only $15-20, don't pay more than that. I had one done 3 months ago, and you would never know. Tirerack even recommended the repair. I've done a few highspeed jaunts at over 120+ with no problems. Either I trust the repair, or I have a screw loose.

Originally posted by BimmerBruin
actually it is worth the trouble cuzz its really no trouble at all. first of all. check if any of your other tires have any type of nail or screw in them. if you have to put air into your tires every couple weeks or so its a candidate. next go to your local auto shop and pick up a tire repair kit. it comes with like a T shaped tool some patching material and an adhesive type chemical. its only like 5 bux and u can patch up a nailed tire like 5 times or something. about a buck to fix tire. just read the instructions. i literally patched up 3 of my tired thus saving about (15x3) minus the five bux easiest thing in the world. hope that helps.

i concur.

this is from my ancient website, when my online name was still eRRion. it's for motorcycles, but the principle is the same.
http://www.geocities.com/nsr800/holytire.htm
note section where i talk about getting a new tire applies only to race bike tires.

call around. In my experience some places will do it for free. Especially if you bought the tires there in the first place.

Just make sure its not within an inch of the edge of the tread. Even though the nail or screw may be in the tread, if its within an inch of an edge, an honest shop will not repair it. It needs to be relatively centered on the tread portion. Near the edge, it wont take, and most shops wont do it. Ask me how I know :--)

Originally posted by paul e
Just make sure its not within an inch of the edge of the tread. Even though the nail or screw may be in the tread, if its within an inch of an edge, an honest shop will not repair it. It needs to be relatively centered on the tread portion. Near the edge, it wont take, and most shops wont do it. Ask me how I know :--)



That's a very good point I failed to mention.

Thanks for the info, guys.

I will see if I can get a shop to work their magic on the tire. $20 is worth it if they patch from the inside as well as plug. It's a little over an inch in, and hopefully will be good.

When I brought my car in for an oil/lube service at a local shop, they found a screw in one of my front tires. Plugged it up for $10.

make sure they patch it from the inside. I would never drive on a plugged tires.

Originally posted by r6e36
make sure they patch it from the inside. I would never drive on a plugged tires.

yeah i second that make sure they patch from the inside...i've had numerous plugs fail on me over time (sometimes within days)

most places you have to make that request otherwise they just plug

jeff