Rio Grande

I have a screw in my fron driver side tire. It caused it to go flat over night. I need to know what is better pathing it or plugging it?

I have a plug in one of the tires on my Jeep and I can't stand to look at it. So is there any possible way that a patch would work for me?

rashley

Patching is the preferred repair. It allows for inspection of the tire to see if there was any damage due to low pressure and the patch is not subject to being cut by the steel belts.

Matty Mooling

I had a tire plugged a month or two ago. They told me when i took it in that they don't patch them anymore they just plug them. i forget his reasoning but its holding up and you can't see it at all.

Kevinlane

Pep Boys here in Missouri, used the patch on mine just the other day.

Bogie

Both! There is a plug-and-patch out there somewhere, I saw it on Motorweek. However, I have plugged several tires with success.

Rio Grande

For me it's not whether or not a plug will work. I'm concerned about how it will look.

Matty Mooling

you're not really going to see it unless your looking for it. it's not noticeable at all.

i guess it depends on how big the puncture was though

Roddimus Prime

buy a new tire.. Patches and plugs are temporary use only. While a patch holds longer neither should be used excessivly. Once the structural integrity of the tire is compromised it's just all downhill from there.

Rio Grande

I don't have much money right now so a new tire is out of the question. How long can I go with a plug or patch?

Roddimus Prime

i've seen people go YEARS on them.....it's just not the safest thing to do.

think of it as holding a grenade without a pin. It's safe as long as your hand doesn't get tired and let go...but eventually it will let go!

Just save up for a decent tire or a pair and throw the 2 new ones up front and your two best used ones in the rear and you'll be fine. should be about $150 shipped for 2 nice tires.

Bogie

I have been driving with a plug in my ES for about 3 years now (57k miles on the car now); the way I look at it is: by the time the plug fails it will be time to replace *all* of the tires anyway.

FWIW, I plugged a rear tire on my '93 300zxtt and drove the car at plenty of lapping events without drama.

FWIW2, if you are going to replace the tire it is best to replace 2 tires at the same time and put the new tires on the rear--the tires with most traction should always be mounted on the rear.

olddognewtrks

I had a tire fixed a few months ago; they used a combination patch that had a plug in it's center. Kinda looked like a huge black rubber thumbtack. It seals as a patch, and plugs the nail hole. They just cut off the extra length that sticks out past the tread.

Bogie

I just had a flat repaired (on our other car) at Discount Tire in Mt Prospect, ILL, and they also used the combo plug 'n patch.

Roddimus Prime

This is 100% incorrect. Even on a RWD car your best tires should ALWAYS be mounted up front. Front tires carry more weight than rear tires. Front tires do 70% of all braking. Front tires do 100% of all steering duty. Front tires are more involved in todays complex suspension systems.

If drag racing a RWD vehicle is your only concern then Yes, rear tires should be better but for a street car that is daily driven andsafety is a concern always put your best tires up front.....even on a RWD car.

Bogie

IMHO, I disagree. As you yourself have stated, most of the weight is up front, hence, by virtue of weight distribution the front end inherently has more traction. The rear end is lighter, therefore, there is less traction at the rear wheels. For that reason alone, wouldn't it make more sense to have the tires with the greater tread/traction mounted at the rear. Why do people put bags of kitty litter in their trunks--even for fwd--during snowy/wintery months?

I would debate you, but, I'll let the experts handle it.

Allow me to paraphase Phil Romba of Michelin North America, as taken from Motortrend, 8/2004. I think we both would agree that anyone from Michelin would know more about tires than you or I.

"In any car, minivan...front tires provide steering force, while the rears provide stability. If water is deep enough to cause hydroplaning, half-worn rear tires can't offer adequate stability to keep up with steering power of new front tires. As the tires move through standing water, the rear tires will hydroplane first. If the rear tires lose traction because of hydroplaning, the vehicle will begin to fishtail. It's unlikely that the average driver would be able to react in time and control the vehicle when the rear tires let go first."

"This is far less likely to occur when the tires with greater traction are put on the rear. If the tires with deeper tread are put on the rear, the front tires will hydroplane first. The driver will feel this happening through the steering wheel and can make the necessary speed and/or steering corrections to reduce the likelihood of losing control."

And the Tirerack had this to say...

"Most vehicles are equipped with the same size tire at every wheel position. Ideally all of these tires should also be of the same type and design, have the same tread depth and be inflated to the pressures specified by the vehicle placard or owner's manual. This combination best retains the handling balance engineered into the vehicle by its manufacturer.

However due to the front tires' responsibility for transmitting acceleration, steering and most of the braking forces on front-wheel-drive vehicles, it's normal for front tires to wear faster than rear tires. If the tires aren't rotated on a regular basis, it's also common for pairs of tires to wear out rather than sets. And if the tires aren't rotated at all, it's likely that the rear tires will still have about 1/2 of their original tread depth when the front tires are completely worn out.

Intuition suggests that since the front tires wore out first and because there is still about half-tread remaining on the rear tires, the new tires should be installed on the front axle. This will provide more traction, and by the time the front tires have worn out for the second time, the rear tires will be worn out too. However in this case, intuition isn't right...and following it can be downright dangerous.

When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the worn tires moved to the front. The reason is because new tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads because new, deeper treaded tires are more capable of resisting hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning occurs when the tire cannot process enough water through its tread design to maintain effective contact with the road. In moderate to heavy rain, water can pool up in road ruts, depressions and pockets adjacent to pavement expansion joints. At higher speeds, the standing water often found in these pools challenge a tire's ability to resist hydroplaning.

Exactly when hydroplaning occurs is the result of a combination of elements including water depth, vehicle weight and speed, as well as tire size, air pressure, tread design and tread depth. A lightweight vehicle with wide, worn, underinflated tires will hydroplane at lower speeds in a heavy downpour than a heavyweight vehicle equipped with new, narrow, properly inflated tires in drizzling rain.

If the rear tires have more tread depth than the front tires, the front tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the rears. This will cause the vehicle to begin to understeer (the vehicle wants to continue driving straight ahead). Understeer is relatively easy to control because releasing the gas pedal will slow the vehicle and help the driver maintain control.

However, if the front tires have more tread depth than the rear tires, the rear tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the fronts. This will cause the vehicle to begin to oversteer in which the vehicle wants to spin. Oversteer is far more difficult to control, and in addition to the initial distress felt when the rear of the car starts sliding, quickly releasing the gas pedal in an attempt to slow down may actually make it more difficult for the driver to regain control, possibly causing a complete spinout.

Members of The Tire Rack team had the chance to experience this phenomenon at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths — one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front, and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear.

It didn't take long for this hands-on experience to confirm that the "proving grounds" name for the facility was correct. The ability to sense and control predictable understeer with the new tires on the rear, and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising oversteer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven.

And even though our drivers had the advantage of knowing we were going to be challenged to maintain car control, spinouts became common during our laps in the car with the new tires on the front. Michelin advises us that almost everyone spins out at least once!

Experiencing this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic on an Interstate ramp in a rainstorm is definitely preferred!

In case there is any doubt, when tires are replaced in pairs, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the worn tires moved to the front."


Isn't this why most manufactures dial in understeer vs oversteer? Because it's easier to detect and control a car that understeers vs a car that oversteers. Also, several years back, in our 1990 Protege, I mounted the better tires upfront and had a "trouser check" moment in a snow storm when my wife, while making a lane change, did a 180 and we sat there like deer in headlights.

If you're tracking your car, go for the 5h!++!er tires on the rear, but, for the average driver, put the better ones on the rear.