[alpha1]

Sidewall punctures can be fixed.

B U T !!!

Listen to this first:
My car had rear left tyre punctured and got it plugged and repaired.
I felt that phew, its done and no need to change the tyre.

In fact I forgot about it.
Few months later, was driving on Bombay-Pune expressway. It was hot in April afternoon.
Suddenly felt that rear side is vibrating.

Stopped the vehicle. Reached out to look. The Rear left tyre had a gaping hole, right where it was plugged over. And hot gases were spewing out of the hole.

You wouldn't want to suffer same fate doing high speed ... would you?


Just change the tyre.

[jaguar.runs]

My first GT had a side wall puncture on one of Yoko's. It was only a needle hole puncture and the repair shop had hard time finding it. The tyre guys suggested a patch repair from inside, but still recommended to use it only as a spare. Luckily, I never had to use it. For me changing a single tyre was a costly affair as the the guys were quoting me 1000 - 1200 AED for a single tyre.

Normal tubeless repair is not at all safe for side wall repair as the process it self will make the puncture hole bigger and the plug it with a foreign body, which never actually blends into the rubber wall and will get disturbed in normal run.

[pamishra]

I too had a small puncture on the right front wheel...the air came out slowly at the rate of 4ps per week. Went to a puncture shop, and the puncture is at the shoulder of the tyre (slightly towards the inside than outside) as shown. It has been plugged and fixed, now there is no leakage; but what do you guys suggest...is this location ok to repair? should i replace it with the spare wheel (which is a unused one)?

[pamishra]

Originally Posted by pamishra

I too had a small puncture on the right front wheel...the air came out slowly at the rate of 4ps per week. Went to a puncture shop, and the puncture is at the shoulder of the tyre (slightly towards the inside than outside) as shown. It has been plugged and fixed, now there is no leakage; but what do you guys suggest...is this location ok to repair? should i replace it with the spare wheel (which is a unused one)?

Also my tyres have run 23k and the spare tyre has not run at all. Is it ok to replace the punctured tyre with the spare one forever, since the other 3 have some wear-and-tear??

[pcpranav]

hmm, I agree, it may pose some issues. touchwood, allz is well yet.
now that I have plugged it, can a patch be sticked inside such tubeless (removing the plugs) ? or would it be better to get it tubed ?

OT: I got the 5 tyres filled with Nitrogen last week; yet to notice any diff.

[goandude]

for information to people reading this thread. I have been running with a sidewall plugged for last 19,000 km of the 21.5 k km of my A drives. got it repaired at RTO road parallel to OMR Bangalore and the tyre repair man didn't voice any caution. so I forgot about it and happily drove highways expressways etc. No problem so far but this thread has me worried, esp as the plugged tyre is on the front right hand side now.

[sgiitk]

trying to repair / patch a sidewall is a very hazardous fix. Obviously some people value Rs.2000-3000 more than the lives and safety of themselves and their near and dear ones. I am quite shocked by the posts I see here.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

trying to repair / patch a sidewall is a very hazardous fix. Obviously some people value Rs.2000-3000 more than the lives and safety of themselves and their near and dear ones. I am quite shocked by the posts I see here.

Don't be shocked. All people do not have the necessary knowledge about side wall punctures being different from tread punctures. Me included. It is the responsibility of the tyre repairer to enlighten the user. In fact at many places they will refuse to repair a sidewall, (this is with retrospective googleing). I have been plain lucky to have traveled 19 k km without an incident.

[goandude]

A pic of the puncture repair done almost 19 k km ago. It has withstood some spirited driving in extremely hot conditions and high speeds. What should I do with it now?
Ignore it and let it continue to be a rear tyre. Use it as a stepney for emergency only and get a new tyre.

[SCH]

Originally Posted by goandude

A pic of the puncture repair done almost 19 k km ago. It has withstood some spirited driving in extremely hot conditions and high speeds. What should I do with it now?Attachment 537785
Ignore it and let it continue to be a rear tyre. Use it as a stepney for emergency only and get a new tyre.

Pls. use it as a stepney now. You have been lucky that it did not bother you earlier.

[Jaggu]

To be very honest such normal punctures which can be fixed with regular tubeless puncture kit is ok. I dont think they are a big issue. But if its cut then you have an issue ^^ Which is not the case in the above picture.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by SCH

Pls. use it as a stepney now. You have been lucky that it did not bother you earlier.

Yes I agree, But has anyone had a sidewall puncture suddenly fail?

Originally Posted by Jaggu

To be very honest such normal punctures which can be fixed with regular tubeless puncture kit is ok. I dont think they are a big issue. But if its cut then you have an issue ^^ Which is not the case in the above picture.

Same here jaggu. I didn't think much of it till I read this thread and some articles after googling. Like this article says that sidewall repair is only to get you to the tyre shop where you are expected to buy a new tyre!! Repairing a Tire Puncture in the Sidewall - Autos.com
buffetfan and kingofmyworld also have punctures in same location

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by askmaddy

41k kilometres on Avon Tubeless tyres (stock tyres)

Your tyres are already in their end of life span. Also looking at the condition of roads you drive it is better to replace them.

BTW how did they last for 41k with the tough roads?

[askmaddy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Your tyres are already in their end of life span. Also looking at the condition of roads you drive it is better to replace them.

BTW how did they last for 41k with the tough roads?

Thanks for the advice. In fact I was not very amused when I got my car with Avon Tubeless tyres. These tyres were not available everywhere and i had not heard of the brand. But on searching on the net i found these tyres are sold in UK and other european countries. The thread is still good to last another 5-6k kilometres. But they indeed withstood the grind for 40K kms in bad roads. Probably they have been designed for bad roads. Any suggestions on which tyres i should buy.

Originally Posted by Jidousha

How are the treads? With 41k KM and 4 years, I suppose the tire has become weak and worn out.
I would suggest replacement of all the tires if you expect reliability and safety from your car.
You can choose tubeless tires and there are lot of choices in the market.
I am not familiar with the shops in Kochi, may be local T-BHPians can help you with this.
What is the current size of your tires? The tire size mentioned by you is alright for Santro.

Thanks. Tread still good to do 5-6k kms more. Present tire size is the same. Which brand should i go for if i am looking at durability. If someone can help me with that.

[mn2363]

Greetings everybody! This would be my first post on T-bhp - mainly due to my laziness and because all t-bhp gyaan is always just a search away.

Anyway, the rear left tire got punctured last November (2010).


I didn't get it repaired because
1. I'm lazy (did I mention it before!!)
2. No air leakage problems
3. Nail was almost on the shoulder/sidewall (was unsure about repair/replace)
But sometime in August this year the tire finally gave up (after running with nail for ~8K kms ).
It's in boot since then. The tires have done ~10K now (were brand new last Nov.)

I have done a lot of online search regarding this, most advice tire replacement, some give case specific advice; what do you guys suggest given that:

1. Tire is 10K old
2. Ran ok for 8K with nail & puncture - Should I get it repaired - is hot vulcanization possible OR simple plug will do. Are mushroom patch type plugs available in India?
3. The rear tires will come to front after balancing/rotation - If I go for new tire should I get a pair - will different tread depth tires cause problems in the front.