Found this in a tire.

[Old Dog]

I once caught a 6' piece of 1/2" pipe, swerved to miss it with front tire, clipped it in such a way that it flipped it into the sidewall of my rear tire where it punctured it, then it was thrown up in the air and out in front of me. Watched it spring up and summer sault before it went into median. Instant flat and interesting ride. New tire was needed.

 

[femurphy77]

A lot of tire stores will fix tires for free.

Nowadays that is true, however you still have the inconvenience of this free service. Much quicker to plug it, air it and go. I have used the free service on occasion though when time or inconvenience wasn't an issue.

 

[Vigilant]

Nowadays that is true, however you still have the inconvenience of this free service. Much quicker to plug it, air it and go. I have used the free service on occasion though when time or inconvenience wasn't an issue.

Much harder on the tire to plug rather than properly patch from the inside, and never plug speed rated tires if you intend to use the rating. Plugs are for bias ply old tires like 1911’s are for bias ply old Mice! Proper repair of modern tires requires vulcanizing/ patching from the inside, and no sidewalk repairs.

 

[2A_Tom]

I tend to be biased toward 1911's.

 

[Bigtanker]

Much harder on the tire to plug rather than properly patch from the inside, and never plug speed rated tires if you intend to use the rating. Plugs are for bias ply old tires like 1911’s are for bias ply old Mice! Proper repair of modern tires requires vulcanizing/ patching from the inside, and no sidewalk repairs.

I agree 100%. Sidewalk repairs tend to be real bad. Replacement is the only way to go.

 

[yeahbaby]

I agree with 2A_Tom, get the tire replaced. Not sure I would trust 2 plugs in the tire on the road. Good luck!

 

[thunderchicken]

On modern radial tires it is best to have the tire patched rather than plugged. However the majority of punctures that are patched are done so with combination patches which have a round patch with what is basically a plug made onto it. And plug or combination patch requires the puncture to be reamed out prior to repair. So a plug really isn't any harder on the tire. For safety purposes patching is best for speed rating or load purposes. On the side of the road you can plug a tire and then go have it properly patched, usually without any further damage. Any damage to the sidewall and most areas of the shoulder (where sidewall and tread come together), the tire should be replaced.
Matter of fact you can buy pfluidto be used with vulcanizing fluid that are designed for use in radial tires. Most patch manufacturers such as tec sell them. Also as a general rule a tire should never have more than two repairs.

 

[churchmouse]

Much harder on the tire to plug rather than properly patch from the inside, and never plug speed rated tires if you intend to use the rating. Plugs are for bias ply old tires like 1911’s are for bias ply old Mice! Proper repair of modern tires requires vulcanizing/ patching from the inside, and no sidewalk repairs.

i thought I felt a rift in the "Force"

 

[churchmouse]

I agree 100%. Sidewalk repairs tend to be real bad. Replacement is the only way to go.

 

[CPT Nervous]

The spikes in Stop Sticks are hollow tubes, to allow the tire to deflate rather than bursting, so definitely not that.

You should replace the tire as soon as possible. I keep a plug kit, Fix-a-Flat, and a small air compressor in all my vehicles. I've been in a situation where I lost both passenger side tires, and my spare didn't do me a bit of good since I needed two. Never again! But the plugs are a temporary fix to get you back on the road.


Also take the time to rotate the air in your tires. That really helps!

 

[Sigblitz]

The spikes in Stop Sticks are hollow tubes, to allow the tire to deflate rather than bursting, so definitely not that.

You should replace the tire as soon as possible. I keep a plug kit, Fix-a-Flat, and a small air compressor in all my vehicles. I've been in a situation where I lost both passenger side tires, and my spare didn't do me a bit of good since I needed two. Never again! But the plugs are a temporary fix to get you back on the road.


Also take the time to rotate the air in your tires. That really helps!

You're spot on. The safest thing to do would be to get some summer air in the tires.

 

[ghuns]

I have been plugging tires in all my cars since I started driving in the late 80s. Keep a plug kit in the trunk of every car I own. I have never considered it a temporary repair.

Every tire on my car right now has at least one plug, one has three.

I work in an industrial park where one place builds ambulances and small busses. Every one they drive out of the lot leaves a trail of screws, rivets, and sometimes tools trailing behind it for us to drive over.

 

[AtTheMurph]

My wife likes to drive in what I call "the ginch". Or about 3 feet right of center where all the BS accumulates.

She used to get flat tires about every 3-4 weeks. It got so bad I would devote a Saturday morning every 2 months to removing all her tires and pulling the crap from them. The first time I did it I completely filled a baby food jar with wire, nails, screws, scrap metal, glass and other crap.

To this day she thinks I set her up.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I once found ten zip lock bags of what appeared to be chalk powder in a spare tire of a police impound vehicle I purchased. Why would anyone put bags of chalk inside of a spare tire?

That could be balancing media or someone's facsimile thereof. The correct product is powder in plastic bags that wear through and migrate to the right place on their own.

 

[russc2542]

As others have confirmed, many stores do it for free. It is a money maker for them. If it can't be fixed, you are now a potential customer standing in their store. It also builds good will towards their store when you do need to buy tires.

Plugs, yes, should be free as they are meant to be temporary and last I checked were not supported by tire manufacturers or industry standards. I mean proper repairs with vulcanized patches from the inside. In my short stint as a dealer tech the guy in the bay across from me did a plug as a "courtesy" during other work and didn't tell the service writer much less the customer (that was far from the most unprofessional hack I saw him do).

I have been plugging tires in all my cars since I started driving in the late 80s. Keep a plug kit in the trunk of every car I own. I have never considered it a temporary repair.

Every tire on my car right now has at least one plug, one has three.

I work in an industrial park where one place builds ambulances and small busses. Every one they drive out of the lot leaves a trail of screws, rivets, and sometimes tools trailing behind it for us to drive over.

Like music and management, there are some people that have the knack. In the shop, I saw about a person a year like you that had multiple plugs that that weren't leaking and more power to you. However 99.999% of people do not have the knack and I did proper patch repairs of leaking plugs several times a week. I got out of the arts because I don't have the knack and I tell others when they talk about wanting to go into the arts that hey, kudos if you can do it but it's hard and most ppl don't have the knack, etc.

The difference in the effect on the tire between a plug and a reamed out plug/patch is that the plug is if the user doesn't ream out the hole to be circular, the plug can wedge open the corners. Also that nowhere in the plug's length is it any wider so the only thing holding it in is friction, the vulcanizing goop (if the user used it), and a prayer.

 

[HoughMade]

Been plugging my own tires for 25 years. Never had a problem. I will continue to.

...and color me surprised that tire manufacturers do not endorse plugs.

 

[MarkC]

I have been plugging tires in all my cars since I started driving in the late 80s. Keep a plug kit in the trunk of every car I own. I have never considered it a temporary repair.

Every tire on my car right now has at least one plug, one has three.

I work in an industrial park where one place builds ambulances and small busses. Every one they drive out of the lot leaves a trail of screws, rivets, and sometimes tools trailing behind it for us to drive over.

Every day when the Mrs and I drive downtown to work we go up Kentucky Avenue, past the industrial parks and the turn in for the landfill. I've lost track of how many tires we have to have repaired or replaced.

Also take the time to rotate the air in your tires. That really helps!

I'm glad you reminded us! I'm still running with the air from last fall, I need to get it rotated ASAP!

 

[HoughMade]

Be sure to use only the manufacturer's recommended air. Nothing but 79% nitrogen for me.

 

[MarkC]

Be sure to use only the manufacturer's recommended air. Nothing but 79% nitrogen for me.

I've been going rogue and DIY, compressing my own air with the aid of a helpful machine from Sears. I wonder if that voids my warranty?

And if I compress this 79% nitrogen air, is the compressed nitrogen still at 79%?

 

[woowoo2]

As others have confirmed, many stores do it for free. It is a money maker for them. If it can't be fixed, you are now a potential customer standing in their store.

They just love when a Subaru pulls in, needs a repair, and the set of four is half worn.

Part of the reason I no longer have a Subaru.