which tire is safer - patched or stored for 1.5yrs?

Question

Which tire is safer, one that has been patched after a nail puncture or one that has been stored uninflated for 1.5 years?

Back in Jan'02, I had a nail puncture in a front tire. Tire store tried to patch it but failed, so I got 2 new tires in front just for symmetry on the axle and stored the good original front tire for the future. Yesterday I had a nail puncture in a rear tire; tire store successfully patched it.

Should I leave this patched rear tire on, or replace it with the OEM tire that's been sitting in my garage for 1.5 years?

BTW, the car is a 99 Dodge Caravan, 23k miles. The rear tires have

23k on them, the fronts 8k, and the one sitting in my garage has 23-8 = 15k on it.

Thanks.

Timothy J. Lee · Accepted Answer

If the original poster's vehicle has a compact spare and has space to store a full size spare, she may want to have the extra tire mounted on an inexpensive steel wheel for use as a full size spare. That can be handy on a long trip where one does not want to be limited to 50 miles at 50mph (or whatever the limit on the compact spare is) after changing a flat tire 100 miles from the nearest tire store.

kgold · Answer

I've never had trouble with a patched tire. People say that it's better to have it patched from the inside. I've never had a problem either way.

My snow tires typically sit > Which tire is safer, one that has been patched after a nail puncture

which tire is safer - patched or stored for 1.5yrs?

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