2003-2011 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
There are patches installed on the inside of the tire, that have a stem that goes through the hole in the tread. This is an excellent repair. Just putting a plug through the hole is not well regarded, mostly by the lawyers of tire chains perhaps. I have used plugs that are installed without removal of the tire and run them for years after with no problems. If the plugs leaked, it would then be another flat tire, not a blowout. The rubber is stretched when installing and the rubber that protrudes into the inside of the tire forms a larger 'button head' of rubber. This is not going to blow through the hole. The rubber in the hole itself, after installation is pressing on the surface of the hole, again as the rubber was larger than the hole it is installed in. When installing a glob of rubber cement is used as the lubricant to put all of this in place and with the pressure of the plug an excellent bond can be achieved. Perhaps this can be done incorrectly in by some. But I feel that plug repairs do get a bum rap. But in a shop, you will get the combo batch and plug for many repairs and that is very good. The nice thing about the plug only repairs, is that you can do this on the road and be on your way. I always carry an air compressor. You can often do the repair without removal of the wheel. But on the Saabs with little ground clearance, this might be tough on a rear wheel. With the front wheels, the wheel can be oriented and turned outward to make things easy. Some consider these patches 'temporary' and in Canada, Ontario at least, the plugs were changed to orange or such to make them obvious. In many cases, I would take my chances in a road side DIY plug install over use of the fake tire anyday. On a road trip, using a fake tire may not be a viable option when you have miles to burn in the middle of the night.
posted by 68.93.19...
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