Tire plug kits?

B

BoxsterCharlie

New member
I finally tracked down a slow leak to a nail. As it is nearly in the middle of the tread, this time I'd like to get a plug kit and fix it myself.



I see a few kits online, but I'm looking for something that might be sold locally at an Autozone, etc. Ideally I'd like the "mushroom" type, but I'm willing to go with the cord type since this is just a rear snow tire on a MINI Cooper.



Anyone have experience with this?
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
I finally tracked down a slow leak to a nail. As it is nearly in the middle of the tread, this time I'd like to get a plug kit and fix it myself.



I see a few kits online, but I'm looking for something that might be sold locally at an Autozone, etc. Ideally I'd like the "mushroom" type, but I'm willing to go with the cord type since this is just a rear snow tire on a MINI Cooper.



Anyone have experience with this?
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I wouldn't bother buying a kit and doing it yourself. I had to have one installed on a tire for my mustang and it took them about 2 minutes and $5.00 to do the job. Chances are the most a place would charge would be $10.00. By having a tire shop do it, then you also get a guarantee.
 
I had a tire plugged at my tire shop the other day. They did it for free. I've had other tire shops plug tires for free also.
 
I highly recommend having the plug/patch done from the inside. An outside plug looks like --I--, an inside plug, like --T--. With the outside plug, you're relying on friction to hold it in, with an inside plug, you've got the top part of the 'T', working with the air pressure, to hold it in. I've had outside plugs fail, never had an inside one fail. I had one tire store even go back and pull an outside plug done by another shop, and replace it with an inside one (at no cost) when they were plugging another one because they said that they wouldn't let their customers drive off their property w/ an outside plug for safety reasons.
 
kompressornsc said:
I highly recommend having the plug/patch done from the inside. An outside plug looks like --I--, an inside plug, like --T--. With the outside plug, you're relying on friction to hold it in, with an inside plug, you've got the top part of the 'T', working with the air pressure, to hold it in. I've had outside plugs fail, never had an inside one fail. I had one tire store even go back and pull an outside plug done by another shop, and replace it with an inside one (at no cost) when they were plugging another one because they said that they wouldn't let their customers drive off their property w/ an outside plug for safety reasons.
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That's a good tip. The next time I have my tires balanced, I'll have my tire shop replace my outie with an innie.
 
I've never had an issue with a vulcanized plug. In fact, I'm going to put one in my tire tomorrow... picked up a nail in the Cayenne.
 
I carry a plug kit in the car. I think I used it once. I worked at a garage when I was younger and I put in many outside plugs. I haven't had any fail. Get the inside one done when and if you can but I wouldn't worry about an outside one.



James
 
I have had an outside one fail. It was ripped out from going over a steel deck bridge. Big pop & then just a slow leak.



After Hurricane Hugo in Charleston, there were so many nails/screws in the streets that you would pick them up on almost a weekly basis-I had a few plugs in each tire (I know-you're not supposed to plug fronts).
 
I have repaired countless tires with an outside plug. I have yet to see one fail. These cars are mostly daily drivers without any type of performance expectations.
 
I went ahead an got a plug kit for under $10 at a Kragen. It really helped me out. Kragen opened at 8 AM on Sunday (the day after Xmas), and I was on the road to Tahoe that morning without the hastle of finding an open garage.



I pulled out a 3-inch nail from the tread, slipped the plug in per the directions, and trimed out the excess. I checked the pressure frequently during the trip, and there was no leakage.



This was a perfect solution for me. These winter tires are getting thrown out after the season, and I now have a kit which will be a nice compliment to road trips (of course, I'll also need to buy a portable 12V compressor).
 
If you do the job yourself, and you know what you're doing, there shouldn't be a problem. There's not very many steps to plugging a tire, but if it's not done correctly I can see how it could fail. You never know what the guys at a tire shop are going to do. I would imagine that a tire shop that takes the time and effort to do an inside plug is certainly going to do a good job.
 
FYI, it is now illegal to use repair plugs here (Victoria, Australia & probably OZ countrywide).



The only legal option is to patch from the inside.



I have bought my replacement tyres from Goodyear Auto for the past 10 years as they have an optional "Tyre Protection insurance" at $6.50 per tyre. Gives you free balancing, "no questions asked" damage replacement (prorata based on tyre wear) and free puncture repairs for the life of the tyre.
 
Other countries have many more laws which are more restrictive than the US. The US allows trucks to use retread tires which are dangerous as hell. I call them mapops, because they may pop at any time.
 
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