BDASSZO6

Onstar notification that right front tire low on pressure. After inspection found large nail embedded. Can the Michelin pilot suoer sports be patched/plugged ? Only 4k mikes...... Bumbed!

sammyv

I was told it could be patch as long as it was more than one in. from the sidewall.

BDASSZO6

Thanks for the reply. I was informed that due to these pilot sports being 0 pressure run flats they cannot be repaired and must be replaced

madrob2020

Not true, however, it does depend on who is patching it. Some tire shops/dealers won't repair any RF on our cars, I suppose they are worried about liability. Also the tire can be ruined if driven too far/too fast is why some won't repair. As sammy said in his post it should not be within 1" of edge of tread. Michelin site (I believe) even says same.Many here have patched & gone on to use on race track. The best patch is patch the hole & place a patch on inside of tire. I patched my own 6 mos. ago with the cheap DIY complete kit found at WalMart, or any auto parts store. It consists of a T-handle punch to clean hole by pushing in & out to rough it up. Then put one of the tacky/sticky (looks like a pipe cleaner sorta) thru the eye of the punch & work it thru the hole till about 1/4" remains outside the tire & carefully trim or just leave alone (it will quickly wear off). It can be a PITA to get the sticky patch thru the tire, so work the T-punch back & forth numerous times first to enlarge the hole enough (instructions come with kit). Good thing is you don't even need to remove the tire in rear & just turn front to make it easier to get to. Good luck!

BDASSZO6

Is this a " plug" your describing vs an inside patch which would require the removal of the tire from the rim?

AZGASSER

Framing nail from new construction. Through the tire and bent on the rim. $640 Nail.

madrob2020

Yes, you simply use the tool to enlarge & rough up the inside of the hole to help hold the plug (better word than patch), then push the plug into the hole.

BDASSZO6

Is this a plug your describing vs a inside patch which would require the removal of the tire from the rim?

madrob2020

See post #7.

BDASSZO6

aww. Thanks much. I will give it a try. Hate to buy a tire at 4k miles when we reportedly only get 12 to 15 k out of these anyhow

2019 ZR1

Go on Tire Rack and they tell you that you can patch them one time. Some shops will give you **** because they want you to buy a new tire. Check out Costco.. They did mine and were very careful with my wheel. I tipped both guys $20 each because they let me come back in the shop to watch them do it. Don't let anyone try to bullshit you about not being able to patch them.. I would not do a plug!!! Probably would be ok but if you drive like I do I recommend a patch..

BDASSZO6

Thanks for the reply . Good information

2019 ZR1

No problem man

BDASSZO6

What is the mileage expectations with the Michelins pilot sports?? I do not track the car. Relatively normal driving with an occasional hard pull.....

ronsc1985

My take on plugs is if properly installed they are as good as any other method. I must have had 4 or 5 in my 2008 Z06 by the time I sold it.

The primary reason I had no worries about doing this was many years of plugging drag slicks on 200 mph RED's with no problems. If you look a how distorted a drag slick gets on a sub 1 sec 60 ft car you get some confidence they won't come loose.

I suspect the reason tire manufacturers are down on plugs is it does take some experience and technique to get them in properly.

On the RED once you did a burnout the plugs kind of melted into the tread (well the place where a normal tire would have tread). Actually getting them in properly on a drag slick was more difficult since the rubber thickness is minimal everywhere except the steel wire reinforced bead contact area.

BDASSZO6

Agree. Versus having the tire separated from the rim, rebalanced and the possibility of damaging the expensive wheel, I'm gona plug it. Should be fine as I do not run the car hard . Thanks for the reply

Warp Factor

That sounds rather odd, since I can't see how numerous patches in different places would be any less reliable than a single patch.

But Tire Rack is in the business of selling tires, not doing repairs, so that might explain some of it.

madrob2020

I "ASSUME" with runflats, each time you drive on them while flat to get somewhere to have fixed, the sidewalls & even contact area degrade a bit more. JMO

jpbls

Had mine patched a inch from sidewall at 1000 miles.First place,Goodyear would not do it,said I needed new tire.Second place did it in 5 mins,35 bucks

BDASSZO6

Inside patch or a plug?