Can this be patched???????

Bought the tires and rims online thru Discount tire - unfortunately not one within 100 miles of me.

Gonna take it to the local Firestone and see what they can do. I have the lifetime alignment there and they're generally pretty good. Plus - they're open when I get out of work.

Will post back with results. Thanks for the replies!

 

Another opinion that a plug would have worked. I have plugged bigger holes, sometimes even using two or three plugs in one, and never had them fail. I know it isn't recommended, but when you're a broke ass college student driving a $400 car, you gotta do what you gotta do. Hell, I had a sidewall develop a bubble that ruptured one time and I even plugged it. A hole tore in it on the interstate at about 9 or 10pm one Sunday night on the way back to college. I had no spare but was thankfully close to a gas station. I put at least 4 (maybe up to 6, it was a long time ago) plugs in the sidewall and let it sit for about 30 min. If I remember correctly, I think I put fix-a-flat in it too. I would add about 10psi and let it sit for 5 min or so, then another 10psi until I got to 28 or 30. I drove a few hundred miles on that. I bet a lot of people will think I'm bullshitting, but it is the honest truth.

Nowadays, almost twenty years later and with gainful employment and disposable income, I would still pop a plug in a hole like that and never even think about it again.

 

Agreed, and the price of a plug kit is about what a one-time patch costs, and you get gear to fix dozens of punctures. Where i used to live, flats were a monthly thing. I always have one in my truck. As I mentioned a razor, pliers are necessary, and I carry an old drill, reaming the hole with a drill bit often makes it easier to plug.

 

If by next to nothing, you mean the gas money to get you there....
They repair for free on the off chance it is not repairable and you need a new tire.

 

I've never used a drill bit, but always make sure I buy the kit with the reamer in it, then just slice the extra off with my pocket knife.

 

Linesman pliers are what I carry, but this style allows you to grab the nail or whatever then use leverage when you pull

 

Definitely looks repairable as long as that is the only damage. With those oblong punctures like that cutting steel bands is where you have to worry. Doesn't appear to be the case but you are looking externally.

Ask for a patch plug and should be good to go. They should be used normally, but not always.

 

Don't gummy plug your tire it will mess it up in the long run go to discount tire they do flat for free

 

How's it mess t up I've plugged tires that lasted for 30k miles and only replaced because the tread wore down. Plugged probably 15 tires, often the same tire, without a failure, ever.

 

Ok so this is what I know water will get in the plug leaving the steal belt getting wet Wich will rust the steal belt making air come out. I used to work at a tire shop and people will come in with ther gummy plug leaking

 

I believe you. Maybe it's because live in CA, not a wetter area....

 

Maybe, but if you could go with a plug and a patch combination it's always the best option

 

I also remember leaky plugs coming in. The correct fix is a plug/patch from the inside. Why are we even debating this.... Discount does this for FREE....

 

Some plug jobs are better than others! After making a plug repair on the road, I go to a tire shop and have a patch put in the tire.

 

Patches are probably the best, but I've had luck with plugs in the past. Have yet to put a plug in myself ( as I have relied on tire shops in the past) but I do carry a kit in my truck and wifes suv just in case.

 

+1, I have them one in my boat trailer tire and probably a couple in my Polaris ATV. Discount can be aholes about patching a tire once it is plugged so might just get it patched. Also the Discount store I go to does free repairs. The only thing they do not do for free is balancing unless you bought the tires there.

 

That just means it wasn't done correctly.

 

Thanks again for all the replies but again there is not a Discount within 100 miles of me...... I'm going the patch route at a local Firestone. If they won't help me it will be STS, Goodyear or one of the others that are close.

 

Patched at Firestone. Problem solved! Thanks all!