Grrrr-nail in my 305/50-15" :(

The plugs do work well,and if that doesn't work you can always tube it.
In a tyre that size a 16" tube works best.

The proper way to repair that tire is to apply a patch to the inside of the tire at the puncture. You shouldn't plug a high performance tire. It can throw the plug at speed and cause a blow out.

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
The proper way to repair that tire is to apply a patch to the inside of the tire at the puncture. You shouldn't plug a high performance tire. It can throw the plug at speed and cause a blow out.

I ran a patch on one of my BFG 305-50/15 tires for years and never had a problem. They say that you lose the speed rating on the tire, once you repair it, but I never figured out what the rating would be. The tire that I had repaired had many 140 mph runs and it never failed, however the runs never lasted more than a minute or so.

I agree with Doug on the internal patch. When you see how much bigger the plug tool diameter is than the original nail hole, you have to force that tool into the nail hole which probably increases the hole size double or triple which tears the internal tread plys apart doing more damage that you originally had. When I was in high school I worked at a gas station and did some plugging and internal patches on tires. To get the plug tool through the tire so you could insert the plug, you really had to apply some major force and you could hear and feel the tread structure tearing apart as you went through the case. I would think that follows the comment of JFFR about losing the speed rating. IMO if the internal structure of the tire is altered that trashes the structural integrity. Maybe if they are steel belts there's enough strength that it won't matter, but I have always insisted on intenal patches on my daily drivers and never had problems. Above 80-100mph I would think the forces are pretty high and you could lose the tire. Just my two cents. Good luck.

Thank you all for the suggestions of applying an internal patch to the tire.

BTW, my new roof (where I assumed the roofing nail came from) looks great!

BTW, my new roof (where I assumed the roofing nail came from) looks great! Smiler

Kerry that is too funny....at least you are a good sport.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom@Seal Beach:
BTW, my new roof (where I assumed the roofing nail came from) looks great! Smiler

Kerry that is too funny....at least you are a good sport.

After building my new garage, I added a budget line for tire repairs...as I got 3-4 nails in my daily driver tires.

I took my wheel and tire to Discount Tire this morning and they declined to repair the tire because it was more then 10 years old. They were concerned that the bead on the tire would fail when it was remounted on the rim. The tires are in great shape so I did not want to toss them.

They referred me to a "Hispanic Tire Store" that would not ask too many questions and plug the tire.

I want to make the currently mounted BF Goodrich 305/50-15's last a little while longer, since there is plenty of tread remaining on them. Since I have 4 brand new Toyo Proxies ST's in the 295/50-15" size stored in my garage, I will go ahead and mount those in a year or two.

I really like the look of the factory 8's and 10's in the 15" size, so I want to make these wheels and tires last as long as possible.