Favorite Tire repair kits?

If you’ve never plugged a tire before, visit your local tire store and ask them to give you a few pointers. Most will be glad to do so and will likely have an old baldy for you to practice on. Even the best tools aren’t much good if you don’t know how to use them properly.

 

If you spend more than $10 or $15 on a tire plug kit, can you put your gold plated iphone down and post a link to your #Instagram page? I'm sure it's EPIC.


Seriously, I have one of those $6 Slime plug kits and I have used it, and it stops air from coming out just fine.

Those fancy kits with the 45 different accessories (that you already have in your tool bag) and a big hard plastic (or stained hardwood even, lol) carry case don't work any better than the cheap kits.

 

I will say there are some nice benefits to some of the tools listed. T-handles are much better than the screwdriver type handles, Metal handles are generally more durable(my brother could break a plastic piece by just looking at it). If my cheapass plastic T-handle tools ever break, which at this point I think they won't with how much I have used them, I will buy the metal T-handle ones.

 

My slime kit has the plastic T-handles... I've never seen one with a screwdriver type handle. Mine seem to be holding up fine. I've ever actually had to use it on my tacoma while wheeling (never gotten a flat with my E rated KOs), but I've used a few plugs on my wife's car or other vehicles.

In actuality, all you really "need" is a rat tail file and a flathead screwdriver, and obviously the plugs/glue. But for $6, I'll take a T-handle, lol

 

Having that plastic T-handle break when you're trying to ream a hole in an 8-ply tire will quickly convince you the extra cost of a metal handled tool really ain't all that bad.

For plugging an occasional passenger car tire around the house, the slime kit might be enough but tire failures here on the farm are fairly common so something a little more robust is needed. I probably have somewhere around $40 in my kit and yeah, some of the contents are duped and its all stored a a fairly large plastic case. But, when needed, I know everything (strips of multiple sizes, lube, pliers, knife, valve cores and tool, valve stems, valve caps and even an extra pencil gauge) will likely be at hand and that's worth a lot....... to me. Considering how much most of us have tied up in our trucks. another $20-30 really isn't that much.

 

I have a cheep napa kit, but i use a 1/4 in drill bit on a cordless drill to clean out/ream the hole to be plugged.