I am planning a road trip in October.
Has anyone had a tire puncture on the Interstate with more than 50 miles till the next stop? How do you deal with that issue?
Would hate to get stranded.

 

It seems that if you cannot drive the car, the only option is to have it towed, unless you have a way to remove the tire and take it for repair in another vehicle.

 

Take a mini portable air compressor and a plug kit with you.

 

I carry a portable compressor.

 

For what it's worth, I had a puncture at the track this past weekend, and nobody had a plug kit. Thank goodness they were run flats. I topped off the tire with air. That was enough to get me to the neighboring city, where I bought a plug kit and plugged the tire in the parking lot. Fortunately, there was a Shell station across the street, where I paid $1.50 for air, to fill the tire. If you are worried about being stranded in the middle of no where, and don't want to wait for AAA or OnStar help, I would get a plug kit and a portable air compressor.

 

I have driven more than 50 miles at ZP with a sidewall slice. It was on a Sunday, in the pouring rain, in a T-Mobile dead zone, on a two lane road with no shoulder, just a drop-off into the mud. I just kept driving.

I have also driven more than 30 miles with a two inch chunk of the tire bead missing and four square inches compromised. I also have more slow (er) punctures than I can count. These tires are tough!

Keep in mind the 50 mile figure still being bandied around is what the Run Flat tires were originally (over a decade ago) rated to drive and still be reparable. This figure was because it was thought that you could rarely be further away than 50 miles from a GY shop or a GM dealer, even though few of those shops could change a run flat then, anyway. They engineered the tires stronger than that, but that is what they came up with. This is no longer policy.

As has been proven, over and over, the tires (both Michelin and GY) are capable of going much longer than that to get you where you need to go.

However, now, the amount you can drive on ZP and still repair the tire (officially) has gone to virtually zero miles. My guess is lawyers. The tires are just as tough as they always have been.

Soooo, having been there and done that, I carry both a plug kit, portable compressor, and jacking inserts in the car at all times, not just road trips. I'm also prepared to sacrifice a tire to get to somewhere, if need be.

Just like any other mechanical issue, when going on a road trip, be prepared to be stuck someplace long enough to be repaired (anything could happen, BTW). If "you" (the general "you," no one specific) aren't able to accept that possibility, then maybe a road trip shouldn't be on "your" list of things to do.

 

You can still find shops that will repair a run flat tire if it is repairable. Somebody I know just had a MPSS on his Stingray repaired at a Discount Tire Store in Michigan. The dealer where he gets his car serviced said they don't repair Run Flats but Discount didn't even blink they just repaired the tire. I have had run flats on previous cars repaired at dealerships so there is some inconsistency in who does and who doesn't repair them.

However, if you find a nail or screw in your tire and have a slow leak you can drive at speeds above 50 mph until the pressure gets too low and then pull into a station that has air and top off the tire, then drive until you need to repressurize. Keeping air in the tire lets you travel far more than 50 miles without reducing the chance to repair the tire. If the tire has a huge hole in it or is obviously not repairable just drive at 55 mph for as long as it takes to get to where you are going. The tire is ruined anyways so you don't give a crap about being able to repair it. No need to worry about what happens to it.

The only issue with running run flats with no air pressure is managing tire heat. They will get hotter than hell if you really abuse them so stop every 100 miles or so and let the punctured/ruined tire cool off for a while.

Bill

 

Good advice, Bill.

However, I would advise that stopping more like every 30 miles or so to inspect and check tire temp would be prudent.

 

I also carry an air compressor and plug kit, but I have never had to use it. The reason I did not suggest it is because I have seen reports from people that have tried to plug a tire on the side of the road with the wheel still on the car and found it very difficult.
However, the air compressor can definitely extend the range on a small leak by being able to add air as you go..

I actually thought you might be worried about the case where the tire is cut bad enough that a simple patch or adding air will not help, and you have to drive on it.

 

Not going in details.

But this weekend i got a Huge Hole in my ZP. Put a plug in it, came out. Put another plug, came out.

Course it was the weekend and nobody around. { Rural Mt} Drove through the night, 200 mi, 50 mph to get home. What a relief...

New tire coming.

 

And that is exactly why ZPs are great, particularly since the OEM PSS ZP performs every bit as well as it's non-ZP counterpart!

 

I want ZP tires on my Subaru DD-I love the security that they provide. I too will sacrifice the tire to get where I am going.