Patched Tire Reliability
 

Hey, I got a flat the other day in one of my front tires. I had it patched yesterday. I usually run about 40 psi in my tires but I was wondering how safe it is to run a patched tire at full psi, or should I just change it out? Its currently at 32 and there's a big difference in that corner. What do you guys think?

If it was pached properly treat it as normal.

Why not use the "Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes" forum?

Let us know what happens if a patch fails on a high speed turn or during a racing event......

yeah, I will...if I live to tell about it. I guess I'll try pumping it up to normal pressure and leave it over night to see if the patch moves at all. I'd rather order new tires since mine are unmatched, front-rear, anyway. Anybody else have any personal experience with patched rubber?

It should be able to withstand the normal tire pressure, just DON'T go racing with it. The way patches are designed, they really shouldn't pop out, but anything is possible. Just don't race with it or do any high speed runs.

mmm....yeah, I'm on the street all the time, but I did get it up to 150 last weekend when I went down to Maryland. I actually heard a thumping on the wheel after that, but I couldn't find anything for the next few days until the tire went flat after I drove home the other night. I guess it just pushed it through on my way back. Good thing I had another car here to drive.

I've heard that a patch either really works or it doesn't

at this point you are thinking NO SHIT!

what I mean is that if it didn't work you would know it and if it did work it should be just like normal and not go bad. It's always safer to get new tires if money isn't a problem.

This information I learned when I got a flat on my last set of tires

I also think this should be in the other forum

did you just use a patch, or a combination patch/plug? Patches dont work that great, but the plug/patch does.

Wait your not in Hawaii right?

I shutter to think what would happen to you or other motorist on the highway when you go over 80mph and it lets go on you. Remember, a stock FD can get up to 140-150mph easily.


Good luck dude, your gonna need it.

You should not be doing 150mph. It's easy to have a false sense of confidence going mostlty strait on the highway. Have you had racing lessons, do you know how your FD will react to a hard jerked turn to avoid furniture, pothole, etc?

With that being said, the only problem I see is it attracts more patches. Being that I just found a third nail in the same damn tire. The two were pluged and held up fine. If it's too close to the sidewall it may not hold up. If it's on the front tire it would make me more nervous because of steering issues with a flat.

Some tire places like "wheel warehouse" will allways tell you it's too dangerous or it can't be done so they can sell you a new tire.

If it patched a nail hole or somthing, don't sweat it. If it ripped chords in the tread then change it, especially if you drive fast. Plugs suck ass, patch is way better. If a patch holds after a few days it will hold till your tire is dead. Unless you had some jerky putting it in. Plugs wiggle in the tread and end up leaking again.

Plug-Patches Long Story
 

As I recall the only RMA-approved (RMA, Rubber Manufacturers Association) tire repair procedure is to use a plug-patch IF the nail hole goes completely through the tire's belts. If the Nail hole is small, and just barely penetrates the tire's inside surface, then, then a patch may do the trick.

With that said, I've had a tire go flat on the track before. Apparently I ran over a very small screw on my way to the track event, and I did not know about it until the car started to handle very strangely during my lapping session. The back end was extremely loose. I pitted in to check all the tires, and sure enough, one of the rears was losing air. We pulled the wheel off, and found the screw responsible for the leak.

Rather than call it a day, I had a buddy drive me to a tire shop and we had my tire repaired, so I could complete the track day. The tire shop really would NOT repair the tire, knowing what I was doing that day at the track. I pleaded, and they finally put a plug-patch in my tire (which was a Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico, 225/50-16). They warned me that the Z-speed rating was now void, but I should be ok. The screw-puncture was in the middle of the tire's contact patch.

I was able to finish the track day with no problems, but in the back of my mind I was thinking of the plug-patch.

Call me lucky...but I wouldn't recommend doing what I did. If you have a chance to replace the tire under a hazard warranty, you should replace the tire, especially if you plan to drive on track...

Yeah, I still have the car sitting out back right now. I'm not really excited about how I'm going to have to drive it versus how I'd like to drive it without worrying. I've got plenty of background in performance driving, but I also can't stand having anything on the car that has a reliability issue that can be fixed. I'm not planning to drive on the track anytime soon, but I don't think that's a reason to ignore what could happen with a crippled corner. I think I'll fill it up to 40 psi today and see if it holds that for a while before I start driving it around again. I hate to spend another 200 some bucks replacing something that's not totally gone, but I guess I could save this pair for a burn out contest....(probably not). SleepR1- I know what you mean about having the patch thought stuck in your mind. Sucks. Thanks again, guys.

My friend works in a Tire Center, hes not suppost to patch Z rated tires because of speed saftey reasons. But he still hooks friends and such up. I had my rear tire patched np never leaked after 125mph and spirited driving. I dont know about the plugs though... thats sketchy.

I've pluged nail and screw holes all the time, my wife just can't seem to steer clear of them, lol, never had any problems. Just make sure u use the ones for radial tires. The ones I use r about 3" long, maybe 1/4" dia. and VERY sticky.

i say,

if you have the money, and is worried about it, then replace it.

id rather have one less thing to worry aobut it if it bothers me that much

The danger is that the belts are damaged, not that you are going to lose air. If you have a tire patched and the patch comes off, you must slow down quickly since you are losing 2 psi per hour! See how silly that sounds? If you are at the track, you should be checking pressures anyway and the leak should be slow enough that you notice the car going weird before you run into trouble. I've had tires leak air on the track from valve stems and you can pretty much tell what's going on even if you lose half the pressure in a session.

I have had plugs in several tires and had them work fine (including high speed street and track stuff) until the tread was gone. Patches should be even better. The maintenance staff were I live must double their screw estimates because it seems like they drop half of them. ;)

The risk is that the nail or the plug tool cuts some cords and weakens the tire carcass. It would be interesting to see some data about failures from patches or plugs because I haven't heard of that happening to anyone I know. I am sure it does happen, but I think the danger is probably less than it is rumored to be. Either that or it is dangerous and the caution inspired by the rumors keeps the failure count down.

-Max

I ran over a tiny nail and didn't even know till they told me when my car was being aligned. I said to patch it up and I watched them, they did a very good job. The car has seen a few races and 1 trip to the 1/4 track with about 4 runs. Air pressure stays the same and so far so good. Fastest taken on the patch was 125mph. If the belt was damaged in anyway I'd change the hole tire but if its a tiny staple, nail, little glass shard, then it should be ok.

I think my patch could make it if my friend that was running in his 90's Ford Exploder and the tires kept IN-TACk!! :p

That plug looks big and ugly on mine. Sold by someone who claimed they had no plugs! I am looking to replace so I don't worry at speed.

If this was you '75 pinto daily driver, i'd say your fine, but theres no way i'd run a patched tire on any car w/ this sort of speed capability... you're asking for it.

Bump for others' experiences. I just got a nail in one of my tires :mad:

I'll preface by saying I sort of enjoy risk-taking activity..

I've driven on plug-patched tires over the years with no problems... By driven I mean 125mph+

I patch them myself. If the hole is from a nail, then even if the plug patch ejects (which can happen at higher speeds, trust me I know) then the tire starts losing pressure, but that is usually very noticable and you simply pull over and repatch. The tire is unlikely to "blow" as the belts are very strong even with a small hole in them..

You should drive more slowly on the patch for the first 30 minutes at least, lol.. My friend and I patched his rear motorcycle tire on a ride one day. He was pulling wheelies and going 125mph within 10 minutes and blew the plug immediately. Then we replaced it and he held off for 30 minutes and didn't have any other issues.. Other than the obvious brain damage he already has.

To the OP: Isn't 40psi kinda high?

175 MPH on plugged rear tires, no problem. Its funny, I whore down the bastards down to the steel wires and the plug was still OK!

I'll add that I personaly would be less comfortable going over 125mph if the plugs were on front tires.. But rear tires, I could really care less.