Plugging a nail in tyre.....

[Silvia]

I have a small nail in the tread area of a rear tyre and it loses a few pounds a week. A Utube video makes plugging it with a Supercheap kit look pretty easy. $20 v $30 at a tyre dealer, but I like the idea of being able to fix any future nail holes on all my cars in future and being able to keep it in the car for emergencies. If its just a small nail or screw hole, safety and durability of the repair seems fine. Any advice about this please?

[1green5]

You're saving $10;
- how often do you get punctures?
- are you able to dismount, remount, and balance wheels/tyres easily and for free?
- what would the quality of a SCA kit be vs. a tried and true system by professionals?
- what would your repair skills, and knowledge, be compared to people who have done it dozens...hundreds of times? Thus the efficacy of the repair?
- "...and being able to keep it in the car for emergencies..." seriously?

[93_Clubman]

A Utube video makes plugging it with a Supercheap kit look pretty easy.

Not familiar with the SCA kit or its quality, but the vid is effectively an ad for the product, so it would make it look easy. If you want to pursue, Dynaplug <www.dynaplug.com/> has been around for a while & is used by some of the NC owners. For emergencies, thought the NB8B space saver would be the go unless you're thinking of removing it to gain more space.

[JBT]

A Utube video makes plugging it with a Supercheap kit look pretty easy.

I have an SCA one in the NC. Used it when I picked up a 2" screw - a tradie dropped a box of them on the road. Works like a charm and is easy to use. All NCs should have one in the boot instead of the goop.

[hks_kansei]

Go to a tyre shop and ask for an inner patch.

Expect to pay maybe $30 to $50

The plugs work ok, but can eventually start to slowly leak air, and frankly it's annoying.
Out of the maybe 3 times i've had the plug repairs done, 2 have leaked. Usually after maybe 6-12 months.

Compared to the maybe 5 or so patch repairs i've had, and not a single one has leaked, even after years on end.

[Mr Morlock]

If you have a slow leak like a nail in the tyre you take it to the tyre shop and they repair it- it then gets done properly and its not expensive. Kits might be good where you have no alternative but a spare fixes that and an NA has one.Join a NRMA or RACV etc. Igreens is spot on. As a young man I did my own tyre changes - in the old days - and what a wretched job.

[hks_kansei]

If you have a slow leak like a nail in the tyre you take it to the tyre shop and they repair it- it then gets done properly and its not expensive.

Correct, but tyre shops offer different repair methods, the plug, which is basically the same as the kits you can purchase.
Or the inner patch, which required the tyre to be removed from the rim and a patch applied to the inside.

I would always recommend a patch over the plug, due to my experiences above.

[Silvia]

The responses are interesting mostly,thanks. I found a tyre place nearby which will repair the tyre for $25 - saving a bit of effort and dirty hands for little more than the price of the kit.
I could add that the repair method of the Supercheap kit involves injecting the cleaned hole with a type of needle that has a thin rubbery strip fed through the eye with some goop added. This is then inserted into the hole and withdrawn leaving the strip and goop behind to be trimmed off at the outside of the tyre. Perhaps a bit different to the "plug" system mentioned but apparently with good results......

[StillIC]

I have been repairing my own punctures with puncture kits for years. During this time I guess I have repaired 7 or 8 punctures (on my cars and those of family members) with the plugs. Of those only one repair lost pressure (needed a top up every week or so). My last repair is still in one of my race tyres (last event this weekend) that achieved the times in my sig. It has zero loss of pressure compared to the other three tyres.

Yes, these kits are great for emergencies and I carry them instead of a spare. Depending on the car and the tyre that is punctured, you may not even have to remove the wheel to complete the repair, but it is generally easier if you do. I have had no problems with out of balance issues and never felt the need to have a wheel re-balanced. Consider that once you remove the nail/screw/object that you should file off a bit of rubber in the hole to give clearance for the insert. The insert is then cut of flush to the tread with a blade. There is very little extra weight out there. Probably less than the nail you have to remove!!

[hks_kansei]

I could add that the repair method of the Supercheap kit involves injecting the cleaned hole with a type of needle that has a thin rubbery strip fed through the eye with some goop added. This is then inserted into the hole and withdrawn leaving the strip and goop behind to be trimmed off at the outside of the tyre. Perhaps a bit different to the "plug" system mentioned but apparently with good results......

That is the plug method.

Different brands of kit may use slightly differnt tools and shapes, but all the plug systems are much the same principal.

And that is the same way a tyre shop will do the repair if you choose the plug.

[Silvia]

Would hope for an inner patch or "mushroom " ended plug so it can't come out.
Will report back next week....

[KevGoat]

I've had many tyres fixed by tyre shops in the past and can't recall any problems with losing pressure. Can't recall ever being asked what type of fix I wanted either - wasn't even aware there was a choice! The amount of screws I got in one of my tyres on the Tarago over a few months a couple of years ago, I reckon it's now more plug than tread ...

[hks_kansei]

Would hope for an inner patch or "mushroom " ended plug so it can't come out.
Will report back next week....

I've never seen a mushroomed plug, but that's not to say they don't exist.


Also note that the plugs are glued in place, and while I've had issues with them they never came out. The issue I had was that air would leak past the edges of the plug.
It's quite possible (and probably likely) that the shop that patched mine may have not used enough glue or something? (although it's happened twice, from separate shops)

[hks_kansei]

I've had many tyres fixed by tyre shops in the past and can't recall any problems with losing pressure. Can't recall ever being asked what type of fix I wanted either - wasn't even aware there was a choice! .

I think it depends on the shop, some i've used just do a patch as the default, others do the plugs, and one even had both options listed on the price board.

The patch does usually cost more since they need to remove the tyre from the rim and re-balance the wheel afterwards.

Where the plug is done with the tyre still on the wheel, and can be done start to finish in under 5mins.

[Luke]

Over the last 2-3 years I have just being going with the repair kit from Super Cheap. The Slime branded one to be more specific.
I have had no issues with them at all.
It also has the black strips that's you insert with the needle. And a file to make the hole the right size, plus makes the strip stick better.
I will have to pay more attention the next time a tyre is replaced with one of these, as I believe the inside should gum up over the hole when you pull the needle out.

As for tyre dealer plugs.
I would only ever go with the proper inner fitted plugs/patches(looks like a mushroom, little end goes in hole flat big flat end glued to inside of tyre), if you are spending money on it.
If they are doing it externally, you may as well do it yourself. I have seen external ones that are like a cork, that are glued in but I don't see how that has any benefit over a gooey strip.
The disadvantage of the inner plugs is cost, as the tyre has to be removed from the rim, which then equals a re-balance as well.
Most tyre shops will charge you $5 for tyre off, $5 for rebalance, $5 for tyre on and about $10 for the plug. So around $25-$30. If they are charging you $50, they are taking you for a ride, as you need the work done.
If it was a car I used on the track, I would only use this method.

As for people saying you are only saving $10 to $15. For one yeah sure, but the kits come with multiple strips. It is a lot more than that once you do about 5 of them. Try about $100.