Fixing a flat
 

I got a screw in a new tire on my Pacifica. Dam tire is a 235/55/19 and cost $240 for one dam tire.

The screw was in the tread, but closer to the side wall. Two tire places told me that they would not repair it as it would not hold and they were worried about the liability. I am fine with that.

However, anyone know of any advanced ways to fix a tire like this that is pretty sure-fire?

yeah that happened to my dad a while back, they cant fix anything on the side wall are close to that area.

you dont happen to have a pro rated tire? thats how discount tire works theyll sell you the same tire for a discounted price depending on how the tread life is on the current tire.

but other than that i cant help you any. most shops just use a rubber plug or something like that.

I have been around tires and mounting them for years...basically if the puncture is less than an inch or two from the sidewall, the tire should not be repaired...even using the patch-plug method which is considered the most effective. reason is that near the sidewall is a constant flex point of the tire, so many repair attempts fail...plugs work themselves out, patches bend back and forth and crack...etc. Also, for each time a tire is repaired assuming it is done properly and in an eligible area of the tire, that tire loses one speed rating. never should exceed 3 repairs on one single tire and none should be within 10-12 inches of the other.

Shit man, i got a gash in the side of my tire and i used one of them Denim IRON-ON patches for jeans and it worked great

lol...yeah I forgot to mention those.

I would not risk it and at the end of the day its only a couple hundred dollars for your familys safty.

There is a specialty tire place in the Twin Cities that repairs side walls. I am going to look into it and see how they do it. Keep in mind that the screw is in the tread, but on the "corner" of the tire. It is not a blowout or a tear, just a small puncture.

It wil be a few days before the tire replacement will show up, so I might as well use the time to look at some options.

Hey Dr. NAPA sells a repair kit for heavy truck tires. These plugs are about 4in. long and work very well. Its about 40 bucks and has large strip type plugs with all the tools and cement the make a bunch for repairs. I personally have fixed many tires with holes in the same spot as yours. Repair the tire and put it on the back and run it for a while. Youll know if its OK after a couple of days

Disclaimer This is just my experence and results may vary. Good Luck

i had a hole where they said they couldn't fix it, went up to Walmart, and bought 2 things.. one was a tire repair kit. with 3 sticky, gooie, and really funky looking strips in them with a small round file and a tool to push it through.. put that in, and no air came out, but to be on the safe side i put some Slime into it to seal any small holes around the sticky strip in the tire.. its worked wonderfully!

too bad that slime will render your tire un-balance-able. if you cant feel the vibration then dont worry about it, but that shit hardens up unevenly and causes excessive road force and bad tire balance.

Do people ever put slime in there BMW's tires? Does it make them completely unable to balance or just more difficult? I've used that stuff to fix bicycle tires before but luckily never a car tire. I'm glad i know that now so I never try to fix a car tire with slime.

Welp.....thanks to Norms Tires in Little Canada,MN. my tire is now repaired with a lifetime warranty. The repair was nearly $40, which is a lot for a tire repair, but they take the tire off, inspect it, and repair from the inside professionally.

yea, ppl do sometimes. we always recommend they get a new tire after a liquid type sealer is used. The BMW M cars have come with a bottle of "slime" and a mini air compressor, instead of having a heavy spare. Once a customer uses the "slime" the tire is required to be replaced.

It is possible to balance a slimed tire...more difficult though. I have balanced a few when the customer just outright refused to buy a tire. I would see weight requirements upwards of 120 grams when the slime was in the tire. Thats bad. also, the slime usually doesn't dry completely...dunno how long it takes to dry inside there, but I have replaced tires that had had slime in them for over a month and when I dismounted them, there was plenty of liquid still inside.

tires are your only connection to the road...I will repair a tire on my own car only once...anything else happens, its new tire time. if the damage is in a questionable repair location...its new tire time. tire manufacturers dont recommend tire repair. that message gets lost in the "oh they just say that to sell more tires" thing. they also say that because the safest way to repair a tire is not to...just replace it.

good info to kno thanx zig