Norm Peterson

I can certainly understand why a person in your occupation might shy away from performing certain DIY repairs or mechanical work (I've been in a related business on the engineering side since never-mind-when).

But in this case, the repair just isn't that complicated, nor are the instructions that complex. You sort of have to do it once to realize that you really can make a reliable go of it, assuming that the needed repair falls within a repairable region of the tire. I've never had one of my plug jobs fail, either.

And unless you're into drifting or actually track the car out on a real road-course, I doubt that your driving gets much harder than mine does in terms of tire carcass flexing (which I suspect is the most severe sort of stress that you'd commonly subject a plug repair to).


I knew there had to be at least one more reason to not like TPMS, even if it isn't likely to happen very often.


Norm

Art161

A proper professional repair consists of demounting the tire from the wheel and inspecting the inside of the tire for damage. If it passes that test, then a patch AND plug or, in some cases, a "mushroom" combination patch and plug can be used. Check the Rubber Manufacturers Association website.

A plug inserted from the outside is only a temporary repair.

3fan

When you say a full size spare fits is that the oe wheel. Is there roon for the jack and lug wrentch.

Tylus

I wasn't very clear with my full sized car statement. A pony size car is a Fox Body, SN95/New Edge. The S197 is bigger. Hell, it weighs about 3,500 lbs and has a trunk big enough for 2 golf bags/clubs...or a few bodies. And it can still hold a full size spare

30-40 lbs will barely be noticeable in the grand scheme of things. And when Ford took away my donut/Jack/lug wrench, they didn't credit me for their removal...but they did charge me extra for the Tire Inflator and the spray stuff

it was covered earlier, but you should really look into how tires should be properly repaired.

A DIY plug is a temporary fix to get you home. I've used them before on my mudding tires. Never a street tire. Especially not a high performance tire that sees rough use. To do so is placing yourself and others around you in danger.

Easiest solution doesn't mean best solution.

Tylus

Btw, yes a full size spare will fit in the trunk. A 235/50/18 on 18x8.5" rim will fit under the carpet with just a little trimming of the trunk plastic fascia


The Jack and iron stow inside the rim.

cavediver

Really? I have a "Temporary" repair in my Ranger that is right now at 60,000 miles since I repaired it. I have repaired many tires over the years and NEVER had a plug fail or cause ant tire damage EVER.

Also, he had a roofing nail in the tire. That is as clean and simple repair that there is.

But hey, whatever floats either your or his boat is fine with me. Some people rely on others to do their repair and are happy to pay the high price and put up with the aggravation and many times end up with inferior work (just read all the "happy" threads about service work on these forums). Others, like me, do it themselves. My work is better, faster, more reliable and way less expensive.

Fred Malibu

Have to disagree with you on that one..

At first, if you try to fit one in it kinda stick out, but just let it sit there and go over some bumps, itll settle in.

I dont have pics, but my 18x9 with 275/40 fit in there quite snugly.

..this was not for spare purposes, I just had a dented rim with a tire on it and needed to get it changed out.

still.. it fits!

Tylus

Yes, physically it will fit in the hole. I'm talking about the interference from the rear plastic trim piece and if you have a Shaker Sub, the wood piece won't lay flat without a tiny bit of trimming

a few minutes with a dremel and a table saw and a full size drops right in without any finagaling, and the wood false bottom will sit flat (only an isse if you have subs)







@ cavediver: you are comaring apples to oranges. You truck tire has a nice meaty sidewall and probably the worst stresses it ever sees is during braking duties. The is little chance it sees much if any shape twist/flex

however, our tires have very little sidewall and are much more structurally rigid. Depending on how you drive the tire is subject to much more torsional force


Not to mention that ahigh performance tire will run at higher temps compared to a regular P or LT tire. Things expand and a DIY plug that wasn't properly prepped is more likely to fail since it won't have the same surface grip

is it safe? Probably. Just seems a crappy irresponsible attitude to place your life and others in the hands of a tiny chunk of rubber because your too cheap to get the job done properly. I said it earlier, sometimes the easiest method isn't the right way. Especially when it's your tires

cavediver

Reading your post shows me that you truly don't have a clue and that all you know about cars is what you've read on the internet. You've never dug into an engine, set up a suspension or anything else. Continue to limit your DIY projects to cleaning the windshield and vacuuming the interior and you'll be just fine. You go to your "experts" who can't repair a simple flat without destroying your TPMS and then spend 4 hours waiting in the process.......yeah, those sure are experts you spend your $$$ on. Be safe

157dB

I use a cell phone as a tire iron and jack.
Trip A can do the dirty work for me...