I picked up my '84 Z wheels and tires today... the tires only have 2K on them but I noticed a tire plug in one... can i trust this tire or should I get 2 new ones? BTW they look to be in perfect condition except for that plug... no dryrot ect...

 

For just a tire for basic transportation to putter around town with, I'd say they work fine. If you're gonna do any and I mean any kind of "spirited" driving (braking/turning if on the front, esp. burning out if on the rear), I'd be a little less prone to trust them. Especially if there's no patch on the inside of the tire to go along with it.

 

I don't really like tire plugs, they are really just good for a quick do it yourself fix out on the road somewhere. If it was my tire I would take it to a good tire place and get them to dismount the tire and replace the plug with a good internal patch, that way you can have it balanced too. I worked for a GoodYear place a long time ago and we didn't even have tire plugs in stock, every tire with a hole was dismounted and had a internal patch put on.

 

If you're not sure have the tire dismounted to see if there's a patch inside. If there is you should be okay. We use patch/plugs at work and they work fine if installed properly.
If the plug is towards the edge of the tread then I would definitely replace the tire. Tires are considered unrepairable when they have damage to the outer edge or anywhere on the sidewall.

 

The problem with plugs is that tires get hot.

the plug expands, and can cause the belts in the tire to shift or break, which can cause a crash.
Have the plug removed and have it patched

 

plugs are an acceptable way to repair a tire if the installation is correct and the plug goes in a puncture that is somewhere on the tread to within a half inch of the sidewall, or so. i have been putting them in for years without problems, you know though, now that im reading this thread, often times i am asked like "a plug, hmmmmmm..) as if its no good. i have never had a problem once, maybe the attitude is there because too many people arent doing the job correctly or using it within its designated use guidelines, that people are leery about it. when i say years its like 15-20 not 1-2. now dont be installing a plug in your tire if you are going to be, how to say, pushing the envelope with your driving antics-probably wont be happy yourself with a plugged tire in that scenario.

 

My driving is at the least "spirited", and I always have plugs in my tires. When you put down a lot of dough for tires, you use them up, and I get nails in them constantly. I plug mine myself and have never hade one leak.

 

exactly what im saying-the bottom line in my post was my edit-a disclaimer for those inevitable crash victims. :hail:

 

That's my take as well. They've always worked fine for me on regular tires.

Keep in mind too, that a lot of Z-rated tires (and probably some other high-rated tires) say that if the tire is ever repaired, that it loses it's Z-rating. Just one more thought on the fire.

 

Without some recent indirect experience, my answer would have been tire plugs are unacceptable. However, here is what I saw last year regarding tire plugs:

I took my IROC to an open track day last summer. This was on a 13-turn, 2-mile road racing course. Everyone was flogging the hell out of their cars. My dad came with me in his pickup truck in case "something happened". Another driver there with a 2nd gen Trans Am (with the 455!) got a flat tire and came into the paddock. This was early in the day. My dad lent him his truck and the guy took the tire to a local tire shop where a plug was put in. The guy came back, put the tire on the car, and proceeded to flog it for the rest of the day, with the plug in.

That is a heavy car, and that guy was doing some sliding in some of the turns. It didn't fail all day.

I don't know if I would have the courage to do this, but I have seen it done and learned that plugs CAN holdup under severe conditions. I'm just not sure I want to do this myself.

 

I would only rely on them in an emergency. At least until you can take the tire to a get repaired or replaced.

later

 

I've had the good fortune of having a bunch of my tires plugged, and almost always right when they're brand new.

I parked my IROC for the winter with a set of wheels that used to reside on my firebird, along with 2,000 mile Dunlap tires. One tire went flat and there was a puncture in the tread and one in the sidewall. Both were plugged, and now I'm running them on my sport coupe. They've been there for quite a while with no problems of any kind, other than looking like my tire has a tumor.

My GTA managed to get a flat with 2 miles on the new tires.

That tire had a hole in the tread that got a plug. So far so good on that one.

My firebird had a tire plugged on a previous set of tires (yeah, those were new at the time too) and I ran them for the life of the tires.

 

I think the closer they are to the center of the tire the better. The closer they are to the side wall the more prone they are to failing.

 

The plug is toward the center of the car... and my driving -is- spirited. I'll take it to a tire place to have it internally patched and checked out, then I'll put that tire on the rear laft side... not in the front so I won't have to worry too much about a blow out, and not the drive tire so I can spin it up and not worry too much...

Sound good?



Thanks everyone!

 

I use plugs CONSTANTLY here at work (ski resort) and never have a problem. The trucks the plugs get used on are driven almost exclusively off road -that's pretty hard on a tire, and a good test of the plug IMO.

I also bought some BFG GForce R-1 tires for my T/A a few years ago, and right after getting them, I punctured one w/a nail. I plugged it and proceeded to put a full summer of aggressive driving, road trips and a FULL auto cross schedule! as well as trips to the drag strip w/warm ups!! No problems. I stand by the tire plug.

 

i've raced and ran high speeds with plugged tires, no problems even on tires with less than 1/16 inch of tread.

 

Center of the tire rather...

The plug will probably be fine, true... but the consensus is, the plug is good, but the patch is better.

I'd rather be safe than sorry, so a 15 dollar patch it is.

 

Id like to hear one person who has had any type of bad luck with the plug. Save your "It still leaked" stories, I'm talking about the stories about how bad they are for "spirited" driving. No one has given any support to their claims that they will fail. Im not trying to start an argument, I just want some real facts, not what everyone thinks will happen.

 

excellent idea, hulk. but im sorry that i can not help. ive put a poopload of em in and cant come up with 1 bad luck story, not even an "it still leaked" shorter story. had i screwed up the job on any percentage of cars im certain that a few customers would have been back by now and the first to let me know how incompetent i am. but i would like to help. i like your thinking. :hail: to the chief

 

a lot of good points... myself I'd rather have a patch... I've used many plugs and used the tire to full life... as far as bad experiences there have been rumorus tales of plugs being the cause of a dangerous tire failure but the tire was probalby beyond repair to begin with... I do my own when I can and insist on inspection of the repair when I can not do my own... there is another thing about tire failure stories... dead men tell no tales... inspect the tire and make sure its road worthy... thats the best insurance be it plug or patch...

zroc

 

Common sense will always put you ahead.

 

I've alway had plugs and never had any probs. They even held up to smokey burnouts. Just my 2 pennies.

 

Installed correctly, plugs are usually just fine. If you are concerned, find a shop that has the plug and patch combo. It's all one piece--a plug sticking out from the center of the patch. If it hole is large enough just installing a patch may not be an option. Also, the quality of the plug should be taken into consideration. The 'cheapie' plug kit you can buy aren't as good as the rubber plugs some shops have that must be installed from the inside. If you are really concerned, take it to a good shop and have them inspect it from the inside or have a plug-n-patch combo installed.

 

ive also never had any problems with plugs and i like to flog my cars. which means driving as aggressivly as i think the car, or better yet, i can handle.
then I'll put that tire on the rear laft side... not in the front so I won't have to worry too much about a blow out
two things to worry about here. one, you might have to remount multiple tires if you have offset rims as my stock 16s are. two, as a rule, good tires to the back for both front and rear drive cars. i'v lost back tires before (none were plugged) and i'll tell you it gets squirley really fast. then the car does this thing where it tries to throw you in every ditch available. mind you this was at highway speeds.
jess

 

I don't have any problems with tire plugs. What always troubles me is finding good tire plug WIRES. They just never seem to last...

And it seems that nobody knows how to correctly gap their tire plugs any more, let alone index them.

 

:sigh: You're a crazy one Vader.

Anyway I took the tire to my mechanic and he said it would be fine... what the deal is, the plug is some cord dipped in vulcanized rubber... once you heat the tire up the rubber melts and seals up the hole and locks itself in place. He said either a plug or a patch is fine, however if I have it patched they're going to have to cut the plug out to patch it, and it was ultimatly my decision.

What he said makes sense, so a plug is good enough for me.

Oh yeah, and what is the deal with putting the good tires on the back? A friend of mine had a front left blow out which threw him across a lane of oncoming traffic onto the front steps of a locl church... and that was moving at 40 MPH... I'd hate to see what would have happened at 80... I would think that having a blow out on the back would be better... less of a chance to be thrown off into those wonderful ditches (or churches as in my friends case)... Can someone shed some light?

 

since i'm the one who said that, i'll tell you why i did.
first off, what i said mainly applies to tire tread.
front wheel drives - the back just follows. without any tread the back tires tend to pick up and want to float around, especialy in braking and poor weather conditions.
rear wheel drive - you ever try to apply force to a bald tire, whether taking off or using engine braking, it's very easy to loose stability. try to think of it as your front wheels are your guides and rears are faithfull followers (to the car, not the front tires). if you blow a front, it will try to pull you in that direction. you can at least man handle it to go in the general direction you want to go. with the rear and loss of stability, the car then tends to move from side to side, changing the direction the car is pointing, and thus heading. it has just become a general rule of mine, and others, that good tread to the rear for the stability and if you must blow something, then i would rather have it be the front.
of course, speed will have a factor, results may vary, see your local dealer for tax, title, and dealer incentives.
jess

 

Vader, does your dog have any thoughts on tire plugs? :sillylol:

 

I worked at a Shell service station for 2 1/2 yrs. About 90% of our tire repairs were plugs. Never once did we have a return. And we did Dirt Track cars, Mustangs, Camaros, Vette's, etc., etc. I even used a few myself on my own cars. I was about 16-18 yrs old then, and I was definitely a 'spirited' driver.

We used Bowes plugs, and caked them with Bowes bead sealer. Hell, a few times I used 2-3 in the same hole if it was from a 1/2 bolt or what not.

I even used one (don't tell anyone ) on a sidewall of a Mustang I had. It was my own car, so I wasn't like trying to kill anyone. So don't think I'm a massive lunatic. I'm only a partial one. :lala:

AJ