flyboyslc1

I bought a 1999 FRC two months ago. It has the Goodyear run flats on it, and I believe the front tires are original to the car, so probably 14 years old. I knew I needed to get new tires, as these are loud while driving and at least the fronts were wore to the point of needing replacement. The thing that just forced me to buy new Michelin A/S plus run flats was getting a drill bit jammed into the tire on last weekends trip with the wife.

I took the tire to Tires Plus, never even mentioned how old the tire was and asked if they could repair the tire so I could drive the car a few more days while the new tires were on the way. Tires Plus told me they do not repair run flats, ever- Company policy. My understanding is that a run flat can be repaired at least one time, if the puncture is in the tread. I would think more than twice about ever buying tires from them.

QCVette

Run flats can be repaired from a puncture.

A tread repair is similar to any other tire. I have had a couple of Goodyear runflats repaired with a patch/plug and they were fine for many thousands of miles.

However, when a repair is done, I suspect that the speed rating may no longer be valid. For normal street driving I don't see a problem, but may be problems if you are doing high speed track events.

If your tires are 14 years old, it really doesn't matter, they are too old and need replacement.

My $.02, but you may get a lot of opinions.

Congratulations on the '99 FRC! Great cars. (I have a '99 FRC too)

Phanni

Typically company policy and liability insurance dictates whether or not they can do such repairs. A drill bit through the tire is pretty major damage, I wouldn't trust that tire, even it was for just a few days.

Let's try a scenereo where they 'fix' the tire and you have a serious accident, that can somehow be tracked to that repair by a ambulance chasing lawyer. The business loses it's insurance coverage, it's reputation, and you'll also be facing many sleepless nights.

Jeff T.

A typical reaction to when we hear something we don't agree with.

I asked Tire Rack to move a full size spare onto my daily driver and was told they won't touch a tire over four years old except to replace it. My initial reaction was similar to yours. Safety and date codes is the big reason these days.

I just purchased an 02 several months ago and replaced the original run flats with non run flats. The ride improved dramatically.

Keith Richards

If you are just running around town and don't plan high speed stuff you can probably get away with a tire plug kit from the likes of Walmart.

Vetteman Jack

Some tire shops just don't want to mess with runflats or have a policy similar to the one you ran into. There is no reason that a runflat in good shape and not past a reasonable age limit can't be repaired using a plug/patch method. Of course, the location and size of the puncture will be deciding factors also.

As with a lot of tires, repairing a flat may affect the speed rating as mentioned above - so that has to be taken into consideration also.

flyboyslc1

The drill bit was a 1/8 inch bit, about the size of a small finish nail. Not a big deal. The part that got me, was that they never asked, never even looked at the tire. Didn't ask about tire age, or anything else. Just "we don't do that" Maybe next year the policy is "we don't fix anything" we will sell you a new tire.

Tire Rack has the new Michelins on the way, and the tire dealer I normally use, that does not sell Michelins says he will mount em for me. So I look forward to seeing what good new tires does for the car.

MotoJB

You should have spent the $8 and bought a tire plug kit and done it yourself...in the time it took to post this here, you would have been done.

Loby 1

There are tire shops that will not touch a tire over 10 years old, except to replace them.

Discount Tire is one of them.

thisMSGgood4me

I'm with both these guys. If all you need is a couple more days' use out of the tire, and you're not going to be doing anything more than normal around-town driving, a temporary plug would be the answer to your problem. Plug the hole and take it easy on the old tires until the new ones arrive.

VETJAZZ

Congrats on your FRC (we need pics BTW). You made a great choice with the Michelin Z/P's

Evil-Twin

Run flats have a very stiff sidewall, trying to remove a tire that old to repair it would destroy that tire. then you would want them to replace the tire. New Run flat sidewalls are almost impossible to mount because of the stiffness. Their company policy is a sound one, they may have been burnt a few times trying to remove an old run flat.. they run hot as it is, that's why they are so noisy the rubber gets very hard. You have to understand that a run flat is not like a regular tire. their sidewall doesn't flex they are heavy and the compound is hard.

Marine One

My car's previous owner had one of the original GY run flats plugged after he picked up a nail, at the local Chevy dealer.

flyboyslc1

Thanks for the congrats, both QCVette and VETJAZ!! I am happy with the car, especially its ability to do highway travel at 30 miles to the gallon. Awesome. As stated, I have owned the car for 2 months and credit this group with letting me know that the tires needed replaced. So I did a lot of searching and thinking about keeping run flats or conventional tires. The thing that tipped the scales for me to the run flat was this episode with getting a run flat punctured.

People that choose the conventional tire and buy a plug kit, 12v compressor, or a bottle of tire seal and go about their business, I wish you all well and hope it works for you. My experience at removing a tire and finding the puncture tell me that it was difficult enough in a clean dry garage, with good light, with the car still reasonably supported by the run flat.

Now place yourself along the road, with a little rain, it is dark outside, the tire is totally flat, and your task is to find the puncture, remove the nail or whatever (you have your pliers right?) you get the dirt and water and whatever else out of the hole, and try and plug it. How much of that tire can you really see when it is flat? You can't find the puncture, so you start the car and roll it forward. You get lucky, plug the hole, and on your way. All that takes maybe an hour to do, now you have clothes that are a mess, and your gonna sit in your nice shinny corvette.

Others say AAA is the answer. I have AAA. And yes, they will come and CHANGE a flat tire. I don't know if they will come and REPAIR a flat tire. Especially when they check the owners manual and find you changed the car from a run flat to conventional tire.

I would like to hear the experiences that someone has had with a roadside flat of a conventional tire on a C5.

After thinking about all that, I chose the Michelin A/S Plus ZP and will mount them up on Saturday and reply back.

Another good thing this post did, is give me a chance to practice my picture posting skills. It's hard for an old fart to learn new tricks, but I will give it a try.



My 1991 Coupe, after I re-painted it last winter, alongside my red FRC



The 1999 FRC the day I bought it



Always wanted a Red Vette

VETJAZZ

Same argument I've made in the past regarding run flats. I don't want to be trying to fix a flat out here in the desert.

olbear1962

I agree with ET and others, it is company policy to negate risk, and not to give poor service etc. if I was them I would do the same thing, being how "suing happy" the US is these days.
I used my local Tires Plus here in WI and was extremely pleased with their service and support. The pricing I received was also very favorable.
I chose no run flats, when I replaced my tires, lower noise, comfort etc etc. I have the 12v compressor, the "goop", and AAA. Good thing I don't live in a remote location for service etc.

You have a real nice looking C5, i only see the red one. As one oldish fart to another, hard to learn new tricks huh!

strand rider

I bought my car with regular high performance tires fitted.

I don't see using run flats unless the technology improves. Not that I am a tire expert, or even close.

I favor the spare tire in a can approach.

I never went for car repair in a can stuff, but had a co worker that opened my eyes about tire repair chemicals.

She had a Toyota pick up and said she had spare tire in a can in two tires for over five years and regularly visited her sister in the high desert, running sustained high speeds for long periods of a time with no problem. She never even thought about her tires, not a car oriented person.

I was running an antique Jag that required inner tubes, and getting occasional flats around town. Kind of a drag to come out after a long day and night at work to find you now have to fix a flat . It happened a couple of times. Being able to grab a can , fill the tire and then drive home with little delay was a great advance for me. Made a believer out of me. When I took the SUV on vacation, I had a few cans in the emergency supplies.

I don't carry the cans in the vette, because of the bulk. I have the slime and a plug in pump. When I had a flat in my front right, I unscrewed the valve stem, squeezed in the slime, and filled the tire with air. No plugs are needed, but a bottle of slime is one pound, and they say to replace the stuff after two years.

The slime is nicer than the can stuff. The can stuff is like liquid latex and is a sticky mess. Guys running the tire machine will give you dirty looks when you tell them whats up. Slim washes off with water, quite a different deal. I haven't been to the tire shop yet with the slime, so don't know how that will work out.

The scene with a guy looking for a puncture hole in the dark is not how it works. The problem I can anticipate is loosing the inside of the valve stem in the dark by the side of the road. I have a good stem caps and a spare valve assembly, just in case. I also have a AAA card for a flatbed, if needed. This car has given me a lot of AAA experience. I now know to call AAA in the daytime, that is when the better truck operators tend to work .

Enjoy the new tires. I'm running Kumho's and will probably repeat as needed. I think my repair budget will cancel high line tires.