Can't patch tire near outside edge? Advice?
 

My 2004 Z06 has 11K miles. The GY Eagle F1 tires still have a lot of tread. My right-rear tire got a nail in it about 1inch from the edge.

The tire shops say they can't patch - too close to sidewall/edge. I tried a plug myself at home and its just not working - losing 4psi/week.

Do I really need to break down and buy one (or two - whole rear) tires? Spending $300-600 just kills me for fixing something like this. I don't mind getting new tires when they're worn, but for this, dang.

Anyway, advice appreciated. Depressed,
Chris

Ask if they can patch from the inside.

You're going to have to bite the bullet on this one. Simular thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago where i had a nail enter then tear my innner sidewall up..had to buy a new set of drag radials :smash:

Why not put a tube in it? I had the same thing happen to a daily driver a few years back and it worked fine. No problems.

I would try a plug again. I plugged my rear F1SC about 3/4" from the sidewall. It doesn't lose any air and it holds up fine for daily driving

Just drill out the plug that is not working and replug.

FWIW, you might contact your local Chev dealership. If the car's still under factory warranty, the Vette has a road hazard coverage as well.
This includes tires...GM doesn't advertise this, but it's in the owners manual.

I picked up a large nail in the left rear tire...had the car towed on a flatbed truck to the dealership, new tire installed and I didn't pay a dime.(except for a nice tip to the wrecker driver for being very careful and not damaging my ride) :cheers:

I'd just buy a new tire.

Most likely they didn't want to patch it cause it's a liability issue. On the other hand they may have seen that the inside sidewall was coming apart and the tire isn't safe for the road, hard to tell without taking a look...

If you find a smaller local shop they will be more willing to tackle it. What you want is a combination patch/plug from the inside, if done properly there is next to no risk.

The Z06 is basically a race car from the factory. Why would anyone patch a race car tire? Just spend the money and buy a new tire.

about 2 months ago my pass rear had a big hole in the sidewall(almost the exact same mileage as yours). I was less than 3 blocks away from firestone when it happened. I had them put 2 firestone wide ovals on the back. There was a 3 inch nail discovered in the drivers rear at that time. The car drives and performs fine, I am very happy with them.(Car is a daily driver..) They will be going on the front too when the time comes...

sell your good tire to this guy and buy 2 new firestones..:)
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1742126

I has the ame thing happen to one of my new Nitto drags. No more than a 1/2" from the lip and patched it from the inside. No problems and I have run the car at the strip and on the e-way many times. I would let a pro do it. Forget the plug.

1. Do not use an inner tube. If you do any serious driving, it will get very hot inside that tire.

2. Patches will not stick because that hole is so close to the edge of the tire.

3. A plug might work temporarily, but over time air will leak into casing, and tire will develop bubbles and fall apart.

4. If and when you buy a new tire, ALWAYS buy the road hazard.

5. In the meantime, like someone suggested, check owner's manual and service mgr.

There is a lot of good information posted above and I for one would always urge caution on the side of safety. I would normally attempt to plug a tire with a hole an inch from the sidewall, but there could also be other circumstances that would make this impractical. The fact that you have attempted to plug it and it will not hold air is not good.

However, if you are convinced there is not another issue with the tire and it is safe to plug, I would take the tire to a competent shop and have them remove the tire from the rim. I would do this for two reasons...
1) to be sure there was not some internal damage that can't be seen from the outside
2) to install one of the below "mushroom" style plug-patches. (They are carried by most good auto-parts stores.)
http://www.toolsource.com/prod_medium/50501.jpg

If this is installed correctly (it's the only type plug-patch I will use) and the tire is not otherwise damaged, it will probably solve the problem. If you mark the tire location on the rim before removing it, and reinstall it correctly, it's very likely it will not require re-balancing.

Good luck... GUSTO

Completely untrue in my experience.

Chris,

If you don't find another way out, I have 2 295-35-18's, GY F1 SC, that have about 16k mi on them that I have up for sale. They are 5 years old, but they have more than enough tread to pass inspection. They are just not sticky enough for me--can't floor it in 1st.

Wow,

Thanks for all the advice guys (and offers if I'm in a real bind). I have way more ideas now and options than I imagined. I'll get on it...

:cheers:
Chris