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The picture shows a plug patch in the right front PSS tire of our 2017 Z51.
This is the original factory tire with about 15k miles. All grooves on this tire have 4-5/32 tread remaining and the plug sticks up about 5/32" from the bottom of the groove, so it is getting slightly pressed inward every time the tire rotates and that may increase as the remaining tread wears down Is it normal for the plug to stick up like that? Should I have DT trim it off flush with the bottom of the tread groove?
BTW, the tire only leaked down to 15 psi while sitting in the garage for 3 days, and I aired it up before driving to DT, so it was never driven below 30 psi.
I also think it's ok, and I'm assuming it's a new plug/patch. Still, I've really not seen one left like that. In almost every situation, I've seen it trimmed flush. Maybe in the ones I've seen it was snipped for aesthetics. And maybe the guys who left it on yours know that it'll wear down eventually to be flush with the tire. Unless that's an old one, and still hasn't worn down....oops!
The patch has only been in place a couple of hundred miles, so no chance to wear down; good or bad.
I'll stop by and show it to them tomorrow, see what they say.
This morning I called the local DT and explained the "proud" plug patch. The fellow on the phone said it shouldn't be a problem, but asked me to bring the car in so he could look at it. Half an hour later I pulled up and my contact man was standing there. Mask and social distancing. He had me move the car (outside) so he could see the bump, said it wasn't a safety issue but looked unsightly. He cut about 1/8" off so it's slightly above the bottom of the groove but slightly below the the high area of the tread. In and out in 3 minutes.
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Probably should have been trimmed even with the tread when the plug was installed, but it is not really hurting anything the way it is. It will eventually wear down to even with the rest of the tread.
First, that sure doesn't look like 4 to 5/32nds of tread to me. It looks shot and is surely unsafe in any rain. Second that doesn't look like the end of a proper mushroom type plug. Last, it should have been cut flush with the tire with nothing protruding when it was first installed. If all your tires look like this one, I'd be replacing them now.
First, that sure doesn't look like 4 to 5/32nds of tread to me. It looks shot and is surely unsafe in any rain. Second that doesn't look like the end of a proper mushroom type plug. Last, it should have been cut flush with the tire with nothing protruding when it was first installed. If all your tires look like this one, I'd be replacing them now.
Originally Posted by Sids04
You can almost see the air in those tires
That's the appearance, but not the reality.
No matter how many times I measure it, the tread depth in every groove of that tire is 4/32"+, more like 5/32. Same with the other three.
The surface and groove edges are rough from the rough Illinois pavements and autocrossing, and the dust we have from lack of rain makes it look worse. They looked like that at 2k miles/8/32" tread.
That is a proper mushroom type plug, I watched them install it.
Rain grip decreases as tread depth decreases on any tire. If I were going to take a long road trip in conditions where it might rain, I'd replace all 4. But right now, it's all dry-as-toast local driving. Maybe a couple of autocrosses yet this year to finish them off. If it rains, I just slow down and allow extra distance.
I checked with two different tire stores and both said that a protruding plug looks ugly but has no effect on safety. By the time the tread has worn down enough that this plug is touching the road, the tires will be down to 2/32" and I'll replace them.
I have a set of like-new takeoff wheels and PSS tires sitting in my basement, so I can ditch these easily when I decide.
Good patch or bad patch?
