Has anybody had any success in hot patching run flats. I have a small screw hole in the middle of the tread and used a tire repair kit for now. I'm thinking of having a hot patch repair done at a tire shop. Does anyone know if the tire will be safe after such a repair?

 

Yes but not just any tire shop can properly deal with run flats. You should find a Goodyear certified run flat repair facility.

Check the repair details and requirements here in the Goodyear warranty:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1564263887-post8.html

 

I picked up a nail and suddenly I had 2lbs of air pressure. Drove to a Goodyear shop and they plugged it. That was 10,000 miles ago.

 

Thanks for the advise, I'm off to Goodyear!

 

Plugged or patched? It is advised not to plug run flats I believe. Especially on a car capable of 190mph. The way to do it correctly and safely is to remove the tire and patch from the inside.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Goodyear Run Flat Repair Procedure

REPAIR PROCEDURE
1. CAREFULLY REMOVE THE TIRE COMPLETELY FROM THE RIM.
2. Locate the puncture on the inside of the tire and circle with crayon.
3. Remove puncturing object if it is still in the tire.
4. Carefully inspect tire on a good tire spreader, with ample light, which will show any cracks, breaks, punctures, damaged or broken beads.
5. Check liner for cuts, cracks, or holes which may cause the tubeless liner to lose air.
6. Check the injury with an inspection awl:
(a)Determine size and angle of injury.
(b)Check for ply or belt separation.
7. Reject any tire that has separation, loose cords, damaged bead(s), or any other non-repairable injury.
8. If the hole is simple and round, steps 9 through 17 of the puncture repair procedure will be successful.
NOTE: If the hole shows evidence of fabric splitting, such an injury cannot be properly repaired using this puncture repair procedure. Such an injury must be skived out and repaired as a section (reinforced) repair, which will maintain the serviceability of the tire, but will invalidate the tire's speed rating. If a section repair is necessary, the customer must be advised, before the repair is made, that the tire will lose its speed rating, and must not exceed operation at normal highway speeds.
9. Use a pre-buff cleaner and a scraper to remove contaminants from the liner in the area to be buffed around the injury.
10. Use a 7/32"carbide cutter for 1/4" repairs to clean out the puncture.
(a)Make sure that the drill follows the direction of the puncturing object.
(b)Always drill from inside to outside of tire.
11. Using chemical vulcanizing cement, lightly coat at least 1/2 of the tapered end of the repair plug. Install the plug in the prepared puncture according to the manufacturer's instructions. Trim the liner side of the plug slightly higher than the surface of the liner without stretching the plug.
12. Center the patch (or patch template) over the injury without removing the backing. Adhere to patch or template instructions, as to positioning as related to bead location. Mark around the outside edge of the patch, approximately 1/4" larger than the patch.
13. Buff the liner and plug at the puncture location. The buffed area should be slightly larger than the patch. The buffed surface should be finely grained (RMA 1 or 2 texture) and even for proper bonding. Use care to prevent burning the rubber with the buffing tool. Do not buff through the liner. Do not buff into the marking crayon.
14. Clean the buffing dust from the tire using only a vacuum or brush. Do not use gasoline or other petroleum solvents on the buffed area.
15. Coat the buffed liner surface and the patch with one evenly applied coat of chemical vulcanizing cement in accordance with the recommendations of the repair materials manufacturer. Allow the cement to dry thoroughly. Do not touch the cemented areas.
16. Install the patch with the beads of the tire in the relaxed position. Position the patch over the puncture according to the markings on the patch. Stitch the entire patch starting from the center, keeping the strokes close together to avoid trapping air under the patch.
17. Cut off the protruding end of the plug about 1/8" above the tread surface.
18. FINAL INSPECTION - The repair must seal the inner liner and fill the injury. After remounting and inflating check the repair, both beads and valve with a soap solution to assure a complete seal.
quote-

 

I had 3 done from discount tire (i think i found every nail/screw in my parking lot and drive home for a few months. They lasted a track weekend or two so those professional patches work really well.

 

I plugged my runcraps when they were on the car and they held until the tires were junk.

 

I have 2 regular plugs that I put in myself 14-15k miles ago. I have gone 201mph since then with many runs up to 180 without issue. The front tires lasted 17k and one original is still on the car. Plug it for 50 cents and forget it.

 

When I was vacationing, I pulled a nail out of my rear G.Y. runflat and used my plug kit that I keep in the car to repair it. I drove another 5k miles before replacing all four tires without any issues.

The proper way to repair a flat, if repairable, is to plug & patch. This prevents moisture intrusion that can cause damage to the tire structure.

 

plugs are not speed rated.......

the plug repair is getting ready to be outlawed by NHTSA for very good reasons. It does not seal the inner liner of the tire, which.. on a tubeless tire, is the inner tube. What happens? air begins to migrate under the inner liner of the tire, and "charge" the casing .... it carries moisture with it. When you check your tire pressure, it reads fine, but the damage is happening...as this moisture reaches the belt package, it causing rusting... there have been numerous cases where belt separations have occurred, leading to blow outs, and fatalities......

While I was manager of the Federal Tire Qualification Program, I served as expert Govt witness on several litigation's of this nature. I've seen the damage first hand...... you are playing Russian roulette my friend.

Please take the time to get the tire properly repaired

 

In Germany, owners tend to replace the tires after punctures, probably for the very reasons Wolfdogs explained. With the high speed capability of these cars, plugging or patching may not be the way to go, but if Good Year stands behind patching, I would plug the tire to get to a place where a patch can be installed.

Wolfdogs: when the tire is repaired on the inside, the hole is still on the outside of the tire. It seems to me moisture can get into the belts from the outside, why would this be any different or worse?

A plug I intend to use has a mushroom head and is forced into the inside of the tire. Once plugged, I have a small 12v inflator and can bring the tire up to pressure.

 

thats why this is the proper repair: (like you used). It seals the entire injury. The good ones even have a radial direction on the inner liner patch when applied.

patching alone does not get it in my book...

 

You got good info from the previos posts, especially wolfdogs' expert advice!!

This Goodyear website has good info on using a patch/plug like wolfdogs' picture in his post above and, if done properly, will maintain the speed rating:

http://www.goodyear.com/cfmx/web/gov...e/psb_9811.cfm


It says:

A Goodyear tire shop isn't the only place that can do a proper repair. I've had a couple of punctures repaired at my local Discount tire - and they do it for FREE!! Obviously they've earned my return business. I've had a number of sets of tires mounted and recently took a pair of front wheels over to get balanced because they are careful with my wheels and I know they'll take care of any punctures I get.

When recently at Discount Tire, they had this tire in their showroom and I took a picture and added the text:




Bob

 

A lot of tire places won't repair run flats for liability reasons. They have no way of knowing if you have driven the tire a long way with no pressure. They fix it and then the tire disintegrates anyway and they get sued...

I just went through this issue with my wife's C6. She picked up a small screw in the main tread which produced a slow leak. I took it to the local Goodyear guys who fixed it in half an hour for $25. Patch *and* plug *and* balance. They babied her (very low) car big time, too. Used a rubber pad on the jack (she has Elite skid strips so pucks weren't an issue.) I was impressed. (Los Gatos Goodyear for those of you in the South Bay area - avoid Skip's...)

Z//

 

Would inflating with Nitrogen lessen this "moisture" impact?


I realize ambient is 78% N, and also that a tire that is filled with "100%" N is still going to have some ambient air (unless it's filled in a vacuum.)

 

If anyone has a front tire they dont trust repairing for fear of failure, I will buy it.

 

with ya', Spin!!!

I put up the "official line" in a previous post. I've had several punctures repaired properly for free by Discount Tire.

In the 5-1/2 years I've had 3 different c6s, I've had more punctures than I think I ever had in 40 years of driving prior to that. These runflats are nail/screw magnets!!!

I also have had one puncture just outside of the tread (I know some punk skateboarders I saw in the parking lot when I came out of a restaurant must have hammered it in there - no way it would get in that area by driving over it). I thought the tire had maybe 1,500 miles of tread on it, so I plugged it for local driving to run it smooth. I've got a couple sets of wheels/tires/sensors, so I could swap on some good ones for road trips.

I also had a puncture on a road trip. It was in the middle of the tread, but I plugged it and it lasted great for another 3,000 or 4,000 miles over the next few months.

Bob

 

Good information wolfdogs.