Plug or Patch?

I would think as long as there are no cords broken in the tire, and it is holding air, I would say your fine, but I'm not a tire expert either so I will be curious what the more expirienced tire people say..

...Plugs are a temporary fix...Take it down and have it patched proper...Especially if you are going to be taking a trip...I've seen many a tire blow that have had plugs in it...For about 10 bucks for a good patch job, it's well worth the ease of mind..

I prefer an inside patch, but I have had tires plugged with no problems.

...Plugs are fine for a temporary patch and are a "Must Have" when venturing off road...

...Most tire manufacturer's will void warranty on a plugged tire that is not properly patched...

...Some follow up on this, a couple links...

"*Note: The NHTSA has stated that a plug is not a proper permanent tire repair."
http://autorepair.about.com/od/fixityourself/ss/tire_plug.htm


http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site...38dc4e3e394110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD#repair

"A plug by itself is not an acceptable repair.

The proper repair of a punctured tire requires a plug for the hole and a patch for the area inside the tire that surrounds the puncture hole. The repair material used - for example, a “combination patch and plug” repair - must seal the inner liner and fill the injury to be considered a permanent repair.
Punctures through the tread can be repaired if they are not too large, but punctures to the sidewall should not be repaired.

Tires must be removed from the rim to be properly inspected before being plugged and patched."

Well, I thought I'd let you know I did take the tire in and have it patched from the inside and rebalanced. This is the way I've always considered best to fix a puncture. But I was curious to know what people thought of plugs because I've come across statements like this and I wondered if my thinking was out-of-date:

In the old days plugs were used because they were quick and reliable. If the injury was a simple nail, a tire could be repaired in no time. If the tire was cut, then patching was preferred to completely seal the odd shaped hole. Then when radial tires came out it was found that plugs would warp the tire and make them ride differently. That's when patches became the preferred method of repairing a tire...

Now we have plugs that are designed to repair radial tires and are self-vulcanizing. That is to say after they heat up from driving, they "melt" into the tire and become one piece. This is again the preferred method because it is much faster to do. If, as in the old days, a tire was cut then patching is the best way to go.

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This is why it's nice to buy the road warranty. I know that down here, a lot of places offer a "road warranty" which includes replacement of the tire if it can't be fixed, all you pay is the tread that's worn off, and lifetime balancing and rotation for the life of the tire. I have mine blanced/rotated every 6 thousand miles, and they're 50,000 mile tires, so it'll equal out.

...Just curious, did you ask the guys who repaired the tire what they thought ???

..The second link I posted is from NHTSA and it has some good info......I was just checking out their stats on tires and rollovers...

blacksheep josh said:

This is why it's nice to buy the road warranty...

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I actually do have "road hazard" and "lifetime balancing and rotation" so I got the tire patched and all the tires rebalanced and rotated free today (though I did tip guy that did the work). I usually rotate the tires myself though though because everytime I take a car in they want me to leave it at least the day.

tbars4 said:

...Just curious, did you ask the guys who repaired the tire what they thought ???

..The second link I posted is from NHTSA and it has some good info......I was just checking out their stats on tires and rollovers...

Click to expand...

I took it to the tire store I bought the tires from. They said, "plugs almost always work, but they can start leaking sometimes." They always patch the tires to keep from voiding the manufacturer's warranty. I think I'll stay with patching, but I was curious.

Thanks for the links. You're right, that second one has all kinds of useful-looking stuff. Who knew you could get that from the government? :

very interesting stuff