Flat Tire - puncture hole near sidewall

[coolman]

I am a novice with car/tire repairs. I have this tire puncture that is located not on the treads but near the tire sidewall. Please see picture. My question is, can this puncture be repaired by using the tire repair kit where a rubber strip is inserted into the puncture hole? I recall someone telling me that punctures on the sidewalls cannot be repaired. Any advice for a novice do it yourself person?

The screw you see is what caused the puncture and the tool going into the hole is the thing I am using to repair the puncture.

[Falkdesigns]

Sidewall puncture = you need a new tire.

[CrimsonQ]

Yep itll blow again!

[deepsouthq]

Please don't attempt to drive on this, lost a good friend and customer to a similar situation, "just going to drive it this way til I can get by the shop".

[TXCumtrensh]

Yeah, that is a pretty much GUARENTEE to replace... the sidewall flexes everytime you drive/steer... so after a while it will leak again

[coolman]

Can I atleast drive the car 8 miles to a tire shop to get a new tire installed?Thanks,

[deepsouthq]

if it's on the rear , and never over 50 mph, please be careful !!!

[maxnix]

Sidewall puncture = you need a new tire.

Amen! That is the sidewall. No tread there at all.

[maxnix]

Can I atleast drive the car 8 miles to a tire shop to get a new tire installed?

Much wiser to remove tire and wheel then haul it in.

[bullittandy]

Can I atleast drive the car 8 miles to a tire shop to get a new tire installed?Thanks,

I have, all it will do is leak/blow again-if anything happens at all. Would I take it out at 65MPH? No.

[louiegz]

Darn shame. The tire looked fairly new. Yea, do the patch and drive your 8 miles real slow. You should call before hand to make sure they have the tire as to not make the trip twice.

[elwesso]

I agree, for the short trip as longa s you dont get going too fast it should be fine...

How in the HELL did a screw get into the tire there????

[coolman]

Thanks for the advice. I do not know how the screw got in there. My guess is the sides of the tire slightly bulges out which is where the screw went into the tire. The tire is about 3-4 months old. A replacement is about $134 shipped to me.

[maxnix]

Just remember that all of these brave members advising you to drive on that tire are risking absolutely nothing.

[92qatlanta]

I know I may be thinking alittle outside the box here, but maybe you could do nothing to the original tire and temporarily drive on.......the spare tire!

[maxnix]

I know I may be thinking alittle outside the box here, but maybe you could do nothing to the original tire and temporarily drive on.......the spare tire!

Space saver is doggy doo doo, but better than a punctured sidewall for sure.

[louiegz]

Yea, if you cant get the tire right away and you need to drive, then use the spare. The only thing is that if it's a rear tire, and you have TCS, turn the TCS off because having 2 different sized tires on your rear wheels will fool the TCS into thinking your slipping. I learned the hard way going up a hill and getting no power. After I turned off the TCS, everything was fine.
Modified by louiegz at 12:24 AM 7/25/2006

[coolman]

What is TCS?

[maxnix]

Traction Control System

It's in your Owner's Manual.

[bullittandy]

Just remember that all of these brave members advising you to drive on that tire are risking absolutely nothing.

-Have you ever driven on a flat tire? -Have you ever driven on a tire with a sidewall puncture?-Have you ever gotten a puncture in the sidewall while you were driving?

-I have.-I have.-I have.

This guy asked for advice/opinions about driving on a tire with a sidewall puncture. Do you have personal experience to back up your reasoning?

P.S. Also noticed your condesending response to his question about traction control.

[Q451990]

Condescending - maybe, but he's right. I lost a sidewall to a road hazzard on a front wheel and ended up with a totaled maxima. I would use the spare, or haul the tire to the shop in an alternate vehichle.

Heath

[louiegz]

What is TCS?

Fair question. When I got to the Nico forum, I didn't know a lot of the TLAs, (Three Letter Acronyms), but I asked and helpfull Nico members would give me the right info. Some that I asked were...

MAF sensor (Mass Air Flow) sensorCAS (Crank Angle Sensor) Which I'm still not sure what it does, but I'm not as much of a mechanic as some of the die hards here.CAI (Cold Air Intake)Even IMO (In My Opinion) Yea, I felt a little stupid about that one. Followed by IMHO.Also Four letter ones like FSTB (Front Strut Tower Bar)

The only was to learn is ask.

Traction Control System

It's in your Owner's Manual.

Brian, if your going to respond to something, try to be helpfull, for once. That tone puts a lot of people off. Not everyone can be as BRILLIANT as you.

[DrewQ45]

CAS (Crank Angle Sensor) Which I'm still not sure what it does, but I'm not as much of a mechanic as some of the die hards here.

CAS = Distributor more or less.

As far as the tire goes... It's a definate replace. The sidewall is much thinner and flexes like crazy so it will not hold a plug for long and might rupture soon. Those calling it a "patch" need to say 'plug' as a patch (flat rubber square cemented to inside of sidewall) would work much better here. Fortunately, no sane shop would ever patch a sidewall for fear of a well deserved lawsuit. Would I personally risk driving 8 miles with a plug? Yeah, but I'd drive slowly and not have my kids in the car.

...Drew...

[bullittandy]

Condescending - maybe, but he's right. I lost a sidewall to a road hazzard on a front wheel and ended up with a totaled maxima. I would use the spare, or haul the tire to the shop in an alternate vehichle.

Heath

There appears to be some discrepancy as to the efects of flat/blown tire and its effects on stability. Obviously it ain't good-BUT I saw a segment on Car and Driver T/V where they rigged up a Ford Explorer so that they could instantly deflate/blow the tire at speed (Remember the Firestone controversy). They (Car and Driver) concluded that while the stability was negatively affected that a large contributing factor to roll overs was the driver.

I myself ran over a brick/anvil/train track at 80 MPH, blew the tire, bent the wheel and moved across 7 lanes of traffic in downtown Atlanta traffic (average speed 75 MPH!!) with little difficulty.

So- when this guy asks "Can I drive 8 miles to a tire store" my answer was yeah, be careful.