Got the lovely TPMS light on today accompanied by the "LOW TIRE PRESSURE" message, at first I thought it was just cuz of the 40-degree temps we're enjoying, but then after a short drive I figured I'd check my pressures.

The left rear tire was at about 15 PSI, the rest at 32.

Closer inspection revealed a screw right in the middle of the thread.

Got air at a nearby gas station, drove home and pulled out my trusty tire-plug kit and went to work.

Now, I've plugged tires before, and I've driven fairly quickly on those plugged tires (up to about 110-120 mph), but these Pirelli's being summer performance tires, I'm not sure if I compromised the tire enough that I should think about replacing it.

If I do, and I kinda wanna talk myself into doing that, I'm going with 285/35's instead of the 255/40's on the back now ...


Thoughts?


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I'll have it patched too and keep on driving.

 

I don’t know about Pirelli tires, but Goodyear says to repair their (performance) tires with a plug and patch used together. Then the repaired tire speed rating becomes reduced down one letter. As an example, if the tire was originally V-rated now it becomes H-rated. Worth checking into for safety purposes.

 

Yes, good advice to check with the tire manufacturer to see how the repair changes the service description for the tire.

Always use a patch in combination with a plug to form the most effective repair.

While a plug can prevent air from leaking in a tire, its proper purpose in a tire repair is to seal the belt package from outside contamination.

Likewise a patch by itself just seals the inner liner preventing air loss as well as preventing air from leaking into the tire and creating a seperation but does nothing to prevent outside contaminants (water, dirt, salt what-have-you) from entering the the tire and breaking down the materials inside.

Also the location of the repair is important, the RMA (Rubber Manufacturer's Association) is backing something called "Repaired Right" which reccomends using a patch with a seperate rubber plug only in the main tread area of the tire (pretty much everything from the inside of the outer tread block which seems to be about an inch or more from the edge of the tread depending on the tire).

Accordingly anything outside the main tread area of the tire renders the tire unserviceable and should be considered a temporary fix at best allowing you to get to where you can have the tire replaced.

YMMV on that last bit, people can and have done some "creative" stuff when it comes to improper tire repair but the offcial line is that catastrophic and life threatening failure becomes a serious concern if the proper standard is not adhered to.

http://www.rma.org/tire_safety/tire_...pair/index.cfm