Tire plugging question…

exactly this... non issue.

 

If that is an E tire I would be ok with a plug in that area. It is not directly in the sidewall.

I have never heard of a high flex area on a tire and would need proof of that. If it it is E, most likely the sidewalls are stiffer. I am not an expert or have stayed at a holiday in so take it for what it is worth.

 

The sidewall area on any tire is high flex, even a 10 ply. That said, its kinda on the border between the sidewall and tread area

 

I had some toyos that seemed to be nail magnets. One plugged, another one with 2 plugs, one of which was about the corner like yours.

Ran interstate with them. Ran 2-3 auto crosses with them. Stayed till the tires wore out.

Had a couple of plugs in some Azenis I autocrossed heavily. Sold them used, with plugs, to a drifter. He didnt care either.

Lawyers and insurance companies ruin a lot of things. Practical use of plugs by professionals is one.

 

Exactly why I said I know tire shops won’t fix it in my original post. I plugged it myself.

 

Thanks, well said/good data points. We’ll see how my plug holds up, looks solid so far.

 

This is what happen when you stay at a Motel 8

 

In the late 80’s I had a truck with BFG A/T’s all around. They had about 15 plugs between them, no leaks and no troubles. I will always trust a high quality plug.

 

I ain't no expert but I wouldn't drive highway speeds with a plug in that spot.

Tire shops won't touch it with a nine foot pole - for a reason -

Now if you're just messing around town 15-20-35 mph you could probably get away with it but
you should update your life insurance if you are doing 60-70-80 on it. Name me as the beneficiary 'eh ...

 

KO2 Broz say the best tire, best sidewalls, toughest tire.

 

Yes, you can plug .

 

My understanding is that the problem with plugs (in any location) is they don't reseal the inner lining, so you can have a separation of components internally and not know it until a tire blows out. The long term problem with only an internal patch is that it repairs the internal lining, be leaves the steel bands exposed, over time corrosion can weaken the tire, resulting in a blowout. So, a stem patch (or mushroom patch) is the proper repair. However, in that location it may not hold leaving you with the same issues.

Odds are you will have no issues using that tire on your trip. However, it has a higher chance of catastrophic failure than a normal tire. Off road I would have no issue using it for a while. It is at highway speeds that I would be more worried as a catastrophic failure is more likely to result in injury or death. Most tires do just fine with plugs only, however long term I don't see it as worth the risk and personally only use plugs to get by until I have a new tire if I cannot use my spare for some reason.

 

I’ll go ahead and get this out of the way.
The safest thing to do is replace it.

Now that being said,

I know a guy that has plugged a tire in just about the same spot. And more than once. If it spits the plug, it will be more likely to on the front tires. And when it did, it did it fast with in the same day. I’d didn’t actually spit it out. It worked it’s self out to the point I noticed it. The front flex in more ways than the rear. And if I were to run it. I’d keep it on the rear.

I won’t mention the guys name.
He don’t need a
And if you want to know how he stopped it from spitting it out. He might have added a 2nd plug.

Like I said, safest thing is to replace.

 

Allow me to take the soap box.

This is a question about relative safety. No tire that has been punctured can be repaired to 100% of its original condition. Every repair is a risk. The problem with any type of repair is that you are only able to return the tire to a status that it is able to retain air. Tires are a sandwich of various materials and when they are punctured those layer can break. The tire industry generally accepts of repairs in the tread area because that is where the steel belting is located. Compromising a few strands of steel isn't as risky as the sidewall where you don't have steel. You have rubber and some sort of fiber like nylon, rayon, polyester, etc. When those fibers break, the surrounding fibers may not be able to support the compromise. If they break, then the neighboring fibers will break, next thing you know, you have a blow out. That is the reason that that shops don't want to repair sidewalls.

In a real world situation, can you repair sidewalls? Sure. It happens every day. Stop by any used tire shop and give the guy $20 and if he can get it to hold air, you will be on your way regardless of where it is punctured. Is it safe? Sure as long as it doesn't blow out. I had two brand new tires ice picked once. I saved for months to buy those things. I didn't have money for new so I did what I could and that was patch them. I put 60K on them with no issue. By the book, it wasn't an accepted practice, but you do what you have to and I knew the risk.

 

The worst it will do is blow out on the highway because it's in a high flex area, that's a dangerous area to plug.

 

If you do use it, put it on the rear. That's what I would do if I had to get home on it.

 

Thanks for all the opinions. Decided to throw my old stock wheels w/265/75 wildpeaks on for now, until I can get a new 255/75/17 ko2 to replace the damaged one.

On a side note - my old set of wheels/tires no longer has TPMS in them. I was expecting a dashboard light, but nothing/nada over the 50 or so miles I’ve driven so far. Interesting, I guess if it doesn’t register any sensors, it doesn’t throw the light on the dash.

 

I have plugged several dozen over the years. If it is a front tire I always rotate it to the rear a soon as possible if not when I plug it. Run it in the rear for a few thousand. No issues then I wont hesitate to run it in the front. In 20 years or more I have never had a plug fail. I have been in three vehicles that had blow outs. All were related to a bad side wall or on low air pressure from a leaking valve stem. None from a plug or a patch.

 

A 1plug hole is not a big deal to me. Sure it’s not ideal on the sidewall but my last plug job was a couple year’s ago climbing to the Top of the world in Moab. Took out 2 35” tires with 1 slip. The best one took 5 plugs in the sidewall hole. I still went to the top and back down.

 

Tangentially related… my friend ran over “a nail” the other night in his Explorer and sent me this