Almost all dealers and tire guys plug a flat tire. Almost all web sites by Tire companies advise the user to pull off the tire and patch it from the inside. Am I nuts trying to get it patched instead of plugged?
Richard.
The tire shop where I take my flat tire to always patches them on the inside then they re-spin balance them. I remember when you could buy a 7.50 X 14 Goodyear whitewall tire for what they charge to patch/repair.
Because they are lazy.
Unless you have no other choice and need to get rolling again, always patch instead of plug.
------------ Alex
Patch is much better. Just don't expect them to do it for free, or the same price they plug for. Some tire places around here will plug a tire free, even if you don't buy all your tires there. It's good business, I think.
Not the best advice.
What is really bad about the plug is that plugs are always bigger than the hole left in your tire. So the first thing the guy repairing the tire does is he shoves a sharp metal object into the hole to make it big enough to accept a plug. When he does this, eh cuts the cords/belts that keep your tire together. Compromising the strength of your tire even more.
I've never heard of someone every getting second flat that ended up in the same place as the first. It is virtually impossible.
Impossible odds that any object will catch the tire in the exact same spot and then follow through the same path up to the patch. Try to see if you can make it happen.
------------ Alex
Shop around. I know a place that will plug a tire for $5, but only charges $12 to patch. The patch job includes re-balancing the tire.
------------- Alex
Free is worth every penny you pay for it!
There is a new "plug/patch" that has a bulb on the end that does similar work to the patch (prevents air from getting between the plies, while the plug portion, with the rubber cement, vulcanizes the with the tread.
Can't be done with the same equipment or knowledge.
Dan
It depends....
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