I noticed my left rear tire losing air every week, and heard/saw bubbles last time I washed it. I rolled it back a little bit and saw a pretty big screw embedded right in the center groove of my Ecsta XS tire.

I'm wondering if it would be acceptable to use one of those plug kits with the snake to plug it for the rest of the season, because TireRack is out of stock of the tires and I can't find any other place with decent pricing. I figured I'd just buy a replacement next year when Spring rolls around.

It's not a real fast leak, so hopefully the plug will work well enough for the rest of the warmer days. Does this sound like a good enough plan or should I really try to replace it right away?

 

Try to find a local tire shop that uses a combination patch/plug. They actually take the tire off and pull the plug/patch through from the inside. I had it done on my S02's 8 years ago and it is still holding fine. It technically voids the speed rating but I have still done 160 with it plug patched.

I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself, to have someone do it will only be $25 at the most.

 

If you do that, you'll lose the speed rating of the tire. I wouldn't recommend high speed driving or aggressive cornering with a plug in.

 

acquired a screw on the way down to vir several years back..
timing and lack of availability led to running the weekend event with a plug.patched rear tire..
certainly not recommended but should be fine for street use..

 

high speed is probably not a good idea, but cornering is fine. i've been rocking a gas station plug in my 315 V710 for almost a year now. it loses air very slowly (like 5psi in a month maybe), but i always adjust pressure at autox's so it doesnt affect me.

 

I've used plugs a few times over the years. Never had a problem with them. Good luck...








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My only worry about doing that is finding a place that isn't going to thrash my wheel. I don't know of any reputable tire places around me, unless someone here who lives in the area knows.

Yep, I'm aware of that, but I don't really drive aggressively anyway. I figured I could get by for another month or two with a plug, I hoped it would at least do the job temporarily until I could find a new tire.

Isn't the speed rating moot regardless of how you go about fixing a tire?

 

ya a plug will do fine for a bit