Plugging a tire

Of course, it isn't actaully a warranty, it's insurance.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee
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Yes, of course.

Reply to
Venture Rider

I've been plugging them with the $2 string kit since the '60s and have yet to ever have a leak or failure on any size or speed tire.

When I got my new Infiniti, I heard about this and took it to the dealer thinking they would do the more elaborate "recommended" method. They used the same string plug I could have bought at Wal-Mart for $2 (but charged $17). The only places I have ever encountered that do anything else are Discount Tire and NTB.

I think this "never plug a tire" deal is another of those car repair urban legends that gains popularity simply by virtue of each successive advocate screaming a little louder about it.

Tell me - how many of you out there have ever actually experienced a tire failure due to a plug?

Reply to
E Meyer

Which one?

Reply to
Venture Rider

The I30t in '97.

Reply to
E Meyer

Read the following at this site at Tire Rack --

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Reply to
TWW

While I agree with what they say, I have never found it to be an issue. OK, the manufacturer no longer supports a plugged tire's original speed rating. When is the last time you ran your tire up to the original rated speed (130 MPH for an "H" rated tire)?

Since the vast majority of tire shops and dealers (at least the ones around here) appear to ignore this and use string plugs anyway, it can't really be that big a deal.

Reply to
E Meyer

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Good for you. You are a man of conviction. Far be it for me to change your mind. My experience with reputable tire stores is, however, otherwise as the "boot" repair that includes checking the tire out is preferred. In fact, the stores I have dealt with won't do it any other way. And, the repair usually runs around $20-25 which includes balancing. If you are on your second set of tires, many stores will also throw in repair free as a part of the road hazard warranty. I run an 01 Prelude on the highway a lot, and while I certainly have never taken the car to its 140 max, I do run around

80 or so. I like to have to best repair possible on a tire in such circumstances -- in fact under any circumstances given the cost.
Reply to
TWW

As you say, if you bought the road hazard warranty, free repairs are usually included. Around here, only Discount Tire and NTB do the "recommended" repair, and both of them, even though they have a price posted for the service, do it free even if you didn't buy the tires from them. The problem is that neither of them can balance a tire to save their lives, so you end up with a properly patched tire that bounces around like a rock, until you take it somewhere else and pay to have it re-balanced.

Reply to
E Meyer

The term 'balancing' itself is subjective since there's several ways to do it. Off the car, vs. spin-balanced on the car, vs spin-balanced on the car while UNDER LOAD. Not many shops can do the latter, although some tire experts will swear 'under load' is the only true way to accurately balance a tire and will also result in the quietest operation at highway speeds.

Reply to
New_TL_Owner

The shop I deal with uses the latest Hunter Force balancing equipment. The under load balancing is the way to go I believe.

Reply to
TWW

Most of the time it probably doesn't make a difference - I've been happy with the balance on most of the tires I've had. But I recently got a new F350 Super Duty truck at work and took it back to Ford because when I hit even small bumps on the freeway the truck shook violently for a couple seconds. They replaced all 4 tires. I was skeptical, but that cured the problem. Huh. A couple of people who had followed me on the freeway said the left rear tire was constantly flexing, so maybe it was a defect... or maybe it was a weird balance problem.

I've heard good things about the Hunter equipment - that it will identify problems that go undetected otherwise. There are sure enough weird tire problems to make the equipment worthwhile.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

My experience says the equipment is irrelevant. Some places insist their techs take the time to do it right and some don't. If you watch the techs in action, you can usually tell at a glance how its going to turn out by how irreverently they are throwing the tire around on the machine and pounding weights all over the wheel.

Reply to
E Meyer

HUNTER brand tire machines have been used in tire shops for about as many years as I've been driving, which dates back to the '60s. Obviously they manufacture all varieties of tire servicing equipment, from old fashioned manual mallet & prybar breakdown fixtures on up to the latest state of the art GPS9700 Road Force balancing system (about $28k so I was told)

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Find a tire shop with one of these and you've found "your" tire shop.

Reply to
New_TL_Owner

Which in itself depends a great deal on whether they are hourly or work on percentage/commission.

Reply to
New_TL_Owner

Reply to
MedRxman

I like the "boot" repair idea. I'll now check around for who does that repair in my area and have it noted in the event I ever need it and hopefully near them when needed.

Reply to
MedRxman

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