99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Is it ok to plug a Z rated tire?

A a flat on the T/A, discovered two nails in the tire. Took it to Pep Boys and they refused to patch or plug the tire, claimed it would be unsafe and it was against company policy. They were willing to sell a new z rated tire. They also claimed no one else would plug it either.

I took to an indepentant tire place. They dismounted the tire put plugs in the two holes, put sealer on the blind side of the plugs after they'd set and burned the seal.

Since I've had many tires pluged before I wasn't sure if they were right or not, however the other tires I've had pluged were all H rated or lower.

Thanks

[ December 14, 2001: Message edited by: 99 Black Bird T/A ]</p>

minty

hell yeah its safe if its done right.....they just wanted to sell you a tire instead of repairing it....dont sweat it...oh, dont be going 120+mph on the tire...that "might" be unsafe.....

02 SOM WS6

I've been patching tires since the mid 1960's off and on. In the old days plugs just flat sucked. Now days they are not bad at all. I plugged one of the RSA's on my old Z28 and ran it for a couple of years before trading the car in. No problems. Several runs up to 130 mph and better.

Les

minty

alls i said is to watch out and if possible NOT go over 120..you never know what MIGHT happen....why take a chance...thats all.....

QuikSSilver

Well I dunno about the speed limits where you live but around here the highest speed limit is only 70mph.... therfore you will never see speed in excess of that.....
Us f-body owners never speed.... we always obey the speed limits!! <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_tounge.gif" border="0"> <img src="gr_grin.gif" border="0">


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Unless of course your a <img src="graemlins/gr_devil.gif" border="0" alt="[devil]" /> like myself

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: QuikSSilver ]</p>

cantdrv65

iTrader: (3)

Don't plug it. Have them patch it, which is what most tire shops do now. They use a vulcanizing compund which probably makes the patch the strongest part of the tire. You won't have any problems or worries. Discount tire will even do it.

red ws6 99

From what I remember reading in some DOT publication that they could patch/plug it once and after that it had to be trashed. If you do have it fixed have them combination patch plug it. This should be the best of both technologies. At anyrate if they are small holes it should not be a problem. I had sheet rock screw go through my F1 with only 3000 miles on it. Hole ended up being about 3/8 diameter so there was no way I was going to fix it.

Gary

02 SOM WS6

Well, I searched around and you can find all sorts of advice depending on who's selling what. Here is something from a Dunlop tire site:

Tire Repair

Any puncture or injury to a tire's tread area obviously affects performance and safety. Proper repair is critical. The puncture must be repaired on both the inside and the outside of the tire. Since all parts of a tire are engineered to function as a single unit, any repair must take that into consideration. Only small straight through 3/16î diameter or less punctures in the tread area may be repairable, if no secondary damage has occurred.

Note: A tire repair can be properly made only if the tire is removed from the rim; a thorough internal inspection is carried out; and the repair is made from the inside out. A repair must fill and seal the injury, i.e. vulcanized plug and patch. Only specially trained technicians are qualified to repair a tire. Do not attempt to repair it yourself.

Dunlop Safety Advisory, Speed Rated Tires: Repaired tires must not be used in excess of posted speed limits, in race or other competition. Speed ratings are not valid for repaired, re-treaded, under-inflated or overloaded, excessively worn, damaged, or altered tires.

Steve Underwood

As long as it's not on the side wall, you should be fine with a good patch. I've gone over a 100 several times on mine with no problems.... <img src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">