[skottoman]

Just got a screw in my rear Toyo R888 tire. Noticed it while in the garage. Tire is almost flat, and I can see the screw in the tire.

Jacked up the car to relieve pressure on the tire so it doesn't flatspot too much and possibly damage the sidewall, and sometime this week will remove the wheel, and take it to a tire dealer to get a plug. the screw is in the cutout 'tread' portion, not the blocks on the tire. About 3" off center. Not in the sidewall, so should be ok.

Or I guess for the same cost I could buy a compressor, and a plug patch kit, and do it myself. Is this workable?

Question is, will a plug be sufficient to repair and drive this tire the way I usually do? I've had tires plugged before, but they were on much less high performance cars.

I think it will be fine, but just wanted to check with the Lotus group at large...
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[khamai]

Get a patch-plug. Plugging is typically done without breaking the bead of the tire and pushed in from the outside. A patch-plug is done from the inside is much better.

Good Luck,
Kiyoshi

 

[tesprit]

The proper way to fix this tire is to plug AND patch it. This will require a patch to be glued over the puncture hole from the inside so the tire will have to be at least partially removed from the wheel to accomplish this.

As far as hard driving on that tire afterward, you will not find anyone who will recommend it. Most if not all manufacturers say that once you have a puncture repaired the tire no longer has a speed rating and high performance driving is not allowed. The reality is that the tire will probably be just fine, but I am not going to tell you to push it hard after a repair......

 

[pete k]

I have plugged tires from the outside for years and never had a problem. I would suggest cutting the remaining plug flush with a razor blade after you are finished. :sad:

 

[R T]

+1 ..... never a problem and you can definitely "do-it-yourself"

 

[skottoman]

Thanks for the input. I will probably try and plug it from the outside myself. I hope it will be ok. For peace of mind, I may have it replaced in the future, but I hope a "self plug" will do the job. At least it's not on the corner or sidewall...

I know an interior patch + plug would be better, but at that point, I think I'd rather just get a new tire. The entire set only has 2k miles on them...
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Thanks for the input. I will probably try and plug it from the outside myself. I hope it will be ok. For peace of mind, I may have it replaced in the future, but I hope a "self plug" will do the job. At least it's not on the corner or sidewall...

I know an interior patch + plug would be better, but at that point, I think I'd rather just get a new tire. The entire set only has 2k miles on them...
Cheers,
Skottoman

You'll be fine.

I'm not gonna say who, but I knew a guy who repeatedly took his red 350z to well over 100mph on tires he'd "plugged" himself....He's still here to post on the web.

its a simple procedure. and has shown to hold air quite well.

 

[skottoman]

After reading a lot and talking to a few people, i'm becoming more convinced that for this particular car, a new tire would be better? Both rears only have 2400 miles on them, so I don't think diameter would be an issue... If it was a 94 honda civic, i'd just plug it, but I don't drive this car like a civic, and would like to do a track day in the future.

Why does a damn tiny screw have to be such a PITA!
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[plastique999]

do you track the car?

I wouldn't track that tire....regular driving I think would be ok

 

[skottoman]

I have done an HPDE, and would like to do more in the next year. I want the option, not "Oh great.... can't do the HPDE because I have a patched tire"....
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[xtn]

For regular street driving I would trust a plug.

I wouldn't do so for tracking the car. Sure, many people probably do it and get away with it. Most punctures probably go through the belts without really damaging them, merely spreading the wires. But what if yours was that one out of a hundred where the screw actually separated/cut some wires of the belt?

xtn

 

[tireshoppe]

PLEASE - PLEASE - PLEASE!!!!!
NEVER plug a radial tire from the outside. They are for Bias Ply tires. If you have a 1954 Ford that's on it's last leg go ahead and use them.
The ONLY correct repair to a Radial tire is from the inside. The tire must be dismounted and repaired with a plug-patch, after the inside is inspected for damage.
Yes I know there are many people that have used them and survived but there are also many court cases and large law suites for people that didn't.
Joe

 

[skottoman]

I'm just gonna get a new tire. The rest only have 2k miles on them, so they're practically new anyway. Thanks for all the advice. I'd say $200 is worth my peace of mind.
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[knucklehead]

Why not get it patched and plugged until your next track day. Then have a new set of rears put on for the track?

 

[skottoman]

Heh... my wife thought of the same idea. I dunno, just like the idea of having 'unpatched' tires. Even for daily/weekend carving use. I guess it's still an option...
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

[Iman]

I had a nail in my YOKO's, patched it and tracked it twice with no issues. But I also knew they were on their last life.

 

[ads_green]

A proper vulcanised plug from the inside is fine.
In fact it is more than fine. It'll likely be stronger than the original tyre.

they are the same technology to repair truck tyres - I have 1st hand seen a repair guy thrown about 10 feet from an exploding tyre he was repairing. He had plugged the tyre and was reinflating. Forgot to set the auto pressure and was distracted by mobile phone. Eventually at silly PSI (probably 200+) the tyre gave way. I have some great pictures of the failure in the tyre that shredded the internal structure and wire cabling (looks like something from the film "Alien"). The repair? was still fine.

A 30psi car tyre is nothing compared to that.

Finally, I had a screw in a brand new Yoko '48 and had no issues about pluging it a tracking it. Lasted 10k miles and more track days than I can remember with no issue.

Even if in the worst case the plug fails it'll deflate in quite a managble way and highly unlikely to go bang. In the elise you can feel the difference of 2-3 psi so a tyre deflating is very noticable.

 

[lapthis]

I had Toyo R1R's that got a screw in them while I was in the paddock area at Buttonwillow. Big screw which basically bled all the air out. I took it to the tire shop at the track and they put a plug in it and recommended that I don't drive it on the track ever. So I proceeded to take it out the next session. Drove perfectly. Still have the tire on the car 4 months later and its perfect. Just check the tire after its patched to make sure it is holding pressure and once that rubber heats up and melts, it becomes a part of the tire and you're good to go.

 

[xtn]

lapthis the issue isn't about whether or not it will hold air pressure.

The issue is that the offending nail or screw (more probably a screw) not only put a hole through the rubber, but possibly separated/damaged the steel radial belts. If it did, and if you subject the wound - patched or not - to enough stress, you could experience a severe failure in a sudden kind of way.

I'm not saying it's very likely. But it IS a small risk. Is it one you want to take on the track?

xtn

 

[skottoman]

XTN is correct. Just got back from the tire shop. They determined that the angle of the screw, and because it was a drywall screw, shredded too many belts. They would not fix. Thus I now have a new tire on order...
Cheers,
Skottoman