New Tires or Plug Runflat?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
New Tires or Plug Runflat?
Was having a great day until......I Picked up a 4" screw in my right rear Goodyear Runflat. Chevy dealer wouldn't patch it because it was "too near sidewall" and said I need 2 new rear tires. Since I have plugged many non RF's with screws like this over the years and since my rears only have 7500 miles on them I plugged it myself. At what mph will the tire be unsafe?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,203
Likes: 0
From: Grants Pass OR
You are more likely to have somthing go wrong with another tire on your car that the one you plugged. For freeway speeds, you should be just fine. There is probably one chance in a million at 180 MPH that you would loose air out of that tire. There is a lot of rubber along that sidewall that regular tires don't have.
I would pulg it and leave it on the car.
Dan
I would pulg it and leave it on the car.
Dan
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,200
Likes: 0
From: Branchburg, NJ
I picked my car up July 29th, and about 2 months ago we had the car up to put the Stingers on.
A friend of mine noticed something shiny in the right rear tire- a nail
So I started monitoring the tire pressures and noticed that tire was consistently about 5 lbs lower than then left rear, no matter how recently I filled it.
Took it back to the dealer to have em look @ it while they did the oil, and they found it had been plugged previously. They said the EMT tires shouldn't be plugged, but could be patched.
Well, they replaced the $350 tire FREE OF CHARGE since "it musta came off lease like that"
Based on my experience, I'd replace the tire. Or at least keep an eye on the pressures
A friend of mine noticed something shiny in the right rear tire- a nail
So I started monitoring the tire pressures and noticed that tire was consistently about 5 lbs lower than then left rear, no matter how recently I filled it.
Took it back to the dealer to have em look @ it while they did the oil, and they found it had been plugged previously. They said the EMT tires shouldn't be plugged, but could be patched.
Well, they replaced the $350 tire FREE OF CHARGE since "it musta came off lease like that"
Based on my experience, I'd replace the tire. Or at least keep an eye on the pressures
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 3,122
Likes: 2
From: MCO
Originally Posted by 1Patriot
I would have an internal patch applied and keep ot below 170 MPH. 
I thought Discount Tire would just plug it, but the actually dismounted, applied internal patch, remounted, rebalanced -- all for "free"!
Only had it to 174 MPH once -- no need to do that again
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,079
Likes: 24,732
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Per your warranty book on the tires, the Goodyear EMTs can be repaired for a flat as long as the puncture is in the tread area. I was told that the acceptable method of repair is the plug and patch method. I had a flat in a rear tire and it was repaired using this method. Didn't have a single problem afterwards with it.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,890
Likes: 1
From: Indiana
St. Jude Contributor
I've had one front tire handled both ways..........1st time was early miles and we patched from indside............next time was late in it's life and we plugged. As for safety....I'm not sure.........I've been to 171 with the patch and 160 with the plug so I can say MINE were ok to those speeds.
I sure wouldn't buy a new one UNLESS it's really close to the sidewall.
I sure wouldn't buy a new one UNLESS it's really close to the sidewall.
Banned Scam/Spammer
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 9,121
Likes: 1
From: Southeast Va.
Originally Posted by 01_BBB_Vert
Was having a great day until......I Picked up a 4" screw in my right rear Goodyear Runflat. Chevy dealer wouldn't patch it because it was "too near sidewall" and said I need 2 new rear tires .
Sound like a bunch of freakin' idiots trying to make a profit on two tires instead of one. Now if you had perhaps 20k or more miles on the rear tires two may have been a consideration but 7500? 
Back to the original topic.......it usually is a wise decision to replace one of these EMT's if the hole is near the sidewall. Internal patches aren't known to hold very well in these locations. If you simply do in-town driving and short trips well plugging or patching may work out for you. But, if you go on long trips or you do the occasional 100MPH plus burst(you know because the accelerator gets stuck
) personally, I'd go on and replace it.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 12
From: Vancouver
2015 C5 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10
I plugged my right rear and put 20k on it and did up to 150 mph. No problem. Now I have GY D3's and love them. I carry a compressor plug kit and jack. One happy camper.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,854
Likes: 8
From: Pearland, TX
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '20
Back when I had my EMT's I had a screw in it ... Goodyear dealer patched it. I ran about 15k more miles on it no problem at any speed.
Patch it and drive on I'd say.
Patch it and drive on I'd say.
