Got a nail in my run flat

[Toddh]

Freaking debris in the Texas roads! *&^%(*^(*&!!!!!

It's the passenger rear tire and it's all the way through (I checked). I'm guessing this can't be patched due to the way the tires are constructed. Any suggestions on good places to buy the replacement and have it mounted? There were only a handful of tire shops that could replace the Goodyear run flats on my Corvette when the time came. Don't know if it's the same with the Michelins.

 

[FASTRNU]

I have had several nail holes patched in my runflats over the years. No different than any other tire, unless the hole is in the sidewall instead of the tread, then you are boned as with any other sidewall puncture.

 

[Toddh]

Nope, not in the sidewall. Where did you go for the patch job?

 

[CajunViper]

Toddh,

This happened to me, check your tire warranty, Michelin will replace it for free if it is a non-servicable repair. I know I had it done. Call me at
225-978-0628

Dean

 

[Frank 03SRT]

I wouldn't hesitate, failing getting a free tire, to go to the auto store and buy a repair kit --- the kind with the glue and ropes of sticky rubber --- and poke one of those in the tire and call it a day. There are those that wouldn't even consider it, and I am sure will comment on my reckless ways, but I have done this many (maybe 10) times and have never experienced any problems.

I believe if you don't put your car on the track or drive it at 150MPH, it will be fine. It's at least something to consider if you can't get a new one or don't want to pay for one.

 

[FASTRNU]

Toddh:

I could get mine done at my Chevy Dealership or any Goodyear store, as our Vettes have Goodyear EMTs. The tires are a bit harder to work with because of the firmer sidewall construction to hold the weight if the car in a no air pressure situation.

I'd call the Dodge Dealer where you will get the car serviced, or a Michelin customer service line (if there is such a thing) to locate a place qualified to fix the SRT 10 tire.

I would think any Dodge Dealer qualified to service the SRT 10 would also have been required by Dodge to have the necessary equipment to service the Michelin runflats that come on it.

I can't speak for Frank 03SRT's experience, but personally I would never just plug a hole in a tire on a car I know I will be getting on once in a while. I'd always be worried about a high speed blowout. IMO an inside patch is the way to go. All I've ever used.

 

[Toddh]

Thanks for the suggestion on the plugs (I think that's the name for the "sticky rubber rope thingys"), but I don't think it will work well here. I have plenty of those at home that I use on the constant flats that I get with my JD tractor, but this is in a spot on the tread that could cause it to fail or leak fairly easily.

Anyone have any good recommendations for an east Dallas area tire shop that could do the work? My neighborhood NTB advised me to look elsewhere. Didn't know if the Goodyear shops could/would work on the Michelins.

I'll call my dealer and ask them if they can do the work. Not very convenient, but you're probably right about requring the dealers to service the tires, too.

 

[Toddh]

For the record, the Dodge dealer didn't have the equipment to mount the run flats, but the Goodyear I used for my Vette can do the Michelins. Figured I'd post the conclusion in case anyone else runs into the issue.

Definitely good to know that Michelin will cover the tires in event of something like this happening.

 

[SylvanSRT]

go to discount tire they will fix it for free w/ an interior patch and glue, i dont think i'd use the rubber plug(rope) type in a high performance tire!

 

[Skip White]

As Frank said, plug the tire, since it's a run flat you're ok, not to mention you don't have any risk of wheel, or pressure sensor damage. Plugs have came a long way over the years. I would not do this if it were a conventional tire and did not have the pressure sensor in it, that will let you know if you're loosing pressure. I used plugs way back in tires and never had a problem. After all the nail does a pretty good job it's self, so it stands to reason the plug is great. But like Sylvan says, if you can get it fixed free, and they are careful, go for it. I wonder if this runflat is a nightmare to mount, since the Viper wheels are wider than the tires, and the tire is so much stiffer. Hard to get it to seat to the rim when airing it up.

Skip White

 

[Toddh]

Okay, update on this:

Goodyear couldn't do the job after all and left me with a scratched rim to boot. This frustrates me more because they advertise Michelin tires and I asked them before they tried if they could help. Only after scratching my rim did I find out that they weren't a certified Michelin dealer.

I'm going to take a closer look at the rim tonight and tomorrow to see if I'm going to ask them for compensation for the damage to my wheel. They certainly didn't offer (although they at least admitted they scratched it and made the call the couldn't proceed without f'ing it up worse). If I can't see it from the outside with the tire mounted and inflated I'll probably blow it off.

Fortunately for me, there is a Discount Tire right up the road from Goodyear. Unfortunately, Goodyear took so long making me wait and figuring out they couldn't help me that Discount was closed by the time I got there. So that was The **** (as we say in video games).

Skip, you make a good point about the plugs with the run flats not failing. I hadn't thought about that. When Goodyear took the tire off I saw another nail in it (argh!), so I'll have to think about 2 plugs in one *rear* tire. The second nail is more towards the center so there's not likely to be as much twisting or torque or treadwear to make it mess up. I'll need to check my warranty closely to make sure self-installed plugs won't screw me if they fail and somehow cause some damage to the tire.

What a fiasco so far.

 

[Dixter]

ToddH, What we in Dallas are experiencing is every roofing company in Dallas is
ripping off the old roof's and replacing them after the hail damage this past spring. Today alone I saw at least four of those open trailers, that the roofing
company uses to haul off the shingles and nails, broken down on the road. I was
going from Plano to Lewisville. There is junk all over the freeways around Dallas
So be careful. As for your tire issue. Discount Tire should be able to help out
with these tires. The Dodge Dealer in Lewisville told me the just got some new
equipment in for tire balancing and such. Might give them a call too.

 

[Skip White]

Dixter, interesting thing about the roofing co. problem. I remember a few years ago when we had the terrible hail storms in the metroplex. I would see these abandoned twin axle trailers on the roadside every few miles. There not roffing companies. They are fly by nighters that get in on the action when the real roofing company's are over loaded. The trailers are severely overloaded, and all have broken axles. They do indeed spew debris all over the road, and there's nothing worse than a roofing nail meeting up with a tire. They are almost all drunkards that don't know how much is to much when loading a trailer. If you seen the old ragged trucks pulling the trailers, you would really get nervous. The local police started tracking down these guys and fining them. It cost a fortune to remove these from the road, as they can't be towed.

As for the pluging the tire. I would do a little more research on it. There may be things I'm not aware of. I do know that tire shops used to condem these plugs. After all charging $1.00 versus $8.00 to fix the tire was reason enough for them. The plug was for the poor guy that only had a dollar to his name, then they would tell you it's ok. But I may have spoke to soon saying it's great. This is a very expensive tire on a very expensive car, that you may be sprinting around in, at some pretty high speeds.

That scratched wheel, no problem, there are companies that can repair it and you can't not tell it. Evan wheels that are gouged pretty deeply. Cost is around $100.00 or so. You will be inpressed when you can't see where they fixed it.

Skip

 

[Toddh]

Skip, any suggestions on places for the wheel repair? I took another look tonight and, while small, it's scratched and you can see it if you're looking. Right on the edge, too. I might see if I can post a picture. I figured there were shops that could recondition them since they can do chrome jobs on the Vette wheels. I'll have the conversation with the Goodyear folks in the morning about getting my wheel restored to original condition. /sarcasm/ I'm sure that will be fun.

Discount says they can repair the tire, and I'd really rather have it patched than trying to plug it if the repair can be done without further damaging the car.

And you're right about the freaking roofing nails. That's what one of them is for sure, and the other looks like it might be, too.

Btw, thanks to everyone for the help and the suggestions.

 

[Brian Kelly]

Todd,
Try a NAPA store for Balkamp part BK 7101028. It's a plug "gun" that injects mushroom shaped self vulcanizing plugs into the tire. This is a kit with the tool, glue and a bunch of plugs (2 sizes). It's around $100 but it's way better than the black rope, especially for larger holes. You'll have a bunch of extras for the JD or any other tires that get punctures.

 

[Skip White]

Todd I will get the number for you Saturday. The place that does the wheeels is in Dallas I believe. NTB is where I go and they have this company pick up the wheels. Deep scratches, no problem at all.

Brian the plug gun sounds very interesting. I will check it out.

Todd it is very easy to damage the pressure sensor, while mounting or dismounting the tire. Tell them to put someone experienced on it. Final torqueing of wheels, use torque wrench. I guess most places are doing that now.

Patch is best, plugs are ok, but like I said, one should research the use of such. I think the best type of patch out there is a dime size patch that resists flexation better. I wonder if they are using this???

 

[Dixter]

The discount tire guys use a plug/patch. Looks like a mushroom. They take the
tire off of the rim and prep the tire by drilling the hole to match the plug portion of the plug. Then they ruff up the area around the hole and put glue
on the tire. The stem is now pulled from the inside of the tire to the outside
and the excess is clipped flush with the tread. From the inside of the tire, it
now looks like a patch is in place, and the plug is there to enforce the thickness
of the tire and plug's the hole. They work well.

 

[jwwiii]

Hello;

I ordered a set of HRE wheels with sensors and Michelins already mounted (by HRE) before my SRT was delivered.

This had 3 major benefits to me:

1. By installing the new wheels/sensors/tires, I have my original wheels/tires ready to go as spares/track set-up!

2. I like the looks of the HRE's much better!

3. The HRE's are 3-piece wheels. IF, I get curb rash I can send the DAMAGED WHEEL SECTION TO HRE FOR COMPLETE REPAIR. Much less expensive than replacing the whole wheel if gouged bad enough. In reality, I would surely just ship the whole wheel and tire to HRE for the repair and remount.

Although this is extra wheel/tire set-up is expensive, it ensures that I have properly mounted spare tires ready to go! My dealer only has to re-synch the sensors. The HRE's can also be purchased with "wheel Locks" to prevent theft (yet another benefit).

Jon B. at "Parts Rack" has tires IN STOCK NOW.

I just wanted to mention this option to you. I was worried about what would happen if I got a flat, and was concerned that I would have trouble getting another tire and finding someone who could mount it properly.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[CajunViper]

Remember to deflate the tire before you take it off. Then you wont have to recalibrate the computer.

Dean

 

[Brian Kelly]

With this plug "gun" you don't need to take the tire off. It pushes the mushroom shaped plug through a tube that looks like the end of the flashlight the doctor would look at your ears with. They give you a T-shaped rough up tool and cement. It comes with little pointed tips you put on the end of the tube to guide it into the tire. It is a quick fix method and has worked well for me on other tires from my JD lawn tractor up to our Gradall telescopic forklift tires which are about 4 feet tall and 12 ply rated. Luckily I have not had to use it on any Viper tires yet. You don't have to deflate the tire unless you want to.
Good luck on whatever method you decide.

 

[CajunViper]

I think the computer now's that the tire is flat. So when you remove it and fix it then it now's that it was fixed. So it re-calibrates it self. Then you may replace the plugged tire because it is a Z rated tire, when you do, deflate it before you take it off the car so the computer thinks it flat. When you put it back on and the computer will reset it self saving you a trip to the dealer to re-calibrate.

Dean

 

[Toddh]

Went to Discount Tire Saturday and got it fixed. Indeed, they use a combination plug/patch thing that's apparently authorized by Michelin to work on our tires. They told me they had done Viper work and SRT-10 work before, too. The charge was $25.

The pressure sensor is located on the valve stem attached to the inside of the wheel (I took the opportunity to observe all of this personally). It detects the pressure in the tire. There was no need to "recalibrate" or do anything special, it just all worked once the properly inflated tire and wheel were mounted on the car. I guess there's some RF signal that the sensor sends if pressure is below a certain level and the car computer picks it up. I don't know for sure.

The wheel isn't that bad (cosmetic only), but it's certainly annoying. The Goodyear shop promised to make it right, but I may ask them for some service credits instead of going through the whole thing of having them take the tire off again, leaving the car there, and letting them send the wheel somewhere for repair. I think I would prefer to just do that myself.

A lot of discussion over a silly roofing nail! I'm glad to have it done and wished I would have gone to Dicount in the first place.