Need Advice On A Tyre Puncture

[eyepea]

Had a Tyre puncture.

OK no big deal. Went to a Tyre repair shop and got it patched. Nothing to write about.

But later I googled about Tyre punctures and now am a bit worried due to reasons below.

Hence the questions.

The puncture was caused by a bolt about 3" long and a bit thick in diameter. I did not bother to measure it and threw it away at the Tyre repair shop. It was about 8mm dia.

My previous experience with punctures are with very much smaller screws etc which were fixed with a plug type repair done from the outside of the Tyre.

Tyre repair place said since hole is big, a plug won't do and a patch has to be done from the inside of the Tyre. Such a repair was done where a heated press was used for about 20 - 30 mins.

A pic of the Tyre after repair is here :

I hope it is clear enough.

Concern #1:

The info from the web in general says if hole is more than 6mm or 1/4 inch, do not patch. Replace Tyre. Well I wonder if there can be black and white definitions, where a 5.5mm hole is safe to patch and a 6.5mm hole is unsafe to patch. I suppose these are guidelines but numbers like less than 6mm have to be used to give the idea. Also this info may be for higher speeds in USA, Europe etc, than in an SL context. Hole is bigger than 6mm but less than 10mm, perhaps 8mm and a precise measurement can not be made. Is strict compliance of guidelines better? For the moment this Tyre is used in Colombo traffic. Tyre repair bass 'thinks' OK. What is your opinion please ? Would you do 100kmph on a highway with this Tyre ?

Concern #2:

The hole in the Tyre is not filled from the outside. The info from the web says the hole shaft has to be fully filled. I hope I understood the info correctly. The Tyre repair bass says this is the way they repair and no need to fill from the outside and it is OK. I have no experience in getting Tyre repairs for holes this size. But from what I see, I don't feel comfortable with it. Since that spot is a bit soft, I feel that a piece of rock like a typical kalu gal piece about 1" in size with a sharp corner, found in the road side 'may' damage the patch applied from the inside. I wonder if the pic is clear enough (if you zoom it). Is any filling from the outside done when Tyres are repaired (here in SL) ? Or it does not matter ? What is your opinion please?

Safety is a major concern. I wish to make an educated decision on replacing the Tyre. I feel replacing the Tyre (I guess it will have to be two Tyres) just for any hole in the Tyre that can be safely repaired is a waste. But if it is safer to replace the Tyre I will do that.

Your ideas and advice are most appreciated.

Thanks!

[tiv]

Had a Tyre puncture.

OK no big deal. Went to a Tyre repair shop and got it patched. Nothing to write about.

But later I googled about Tyre punctures and now am a bit worried due to reasons below.

Hence the questions.

The puncture was caused by a bolt about 3" long and a bit thick in diameter. I did not bother to measure it and threw it away at the Tyre repair shop. It was about 8mm dia.

My previous experience with punctures are with very much smaller screws etc which were fixed with a plug type repair done from the outside of the Tyre.

Tyre repair place said since hole is big, a plug won't do and a patch has to be done from the inside of the Tyre. Such a repair was done where a heated press was used for about 20 - 30 mins.

A pic of the Tyre after repair is here :

TirePunctureAfterPatchRepair.png

I hope it is clear enough.

Concern #1:

The info from the web in general says if hole is more than 6mm or 1/4 inch, do not patch. Replace Tyre. Well I wonder if there can be black and white definitions, where a 5.5mm hole is safe to patch and a 6.5mm hole is unsafe to patch. I suppose these are guidelines but numbers like less than 6mm have to be used to give the idea. Also this info may be for higher speeds in USA, Europe etc, than in an SL context. Hole is bigger than 6mm but less than 10mm, perhaps 8mm and a precise measurement can not be made. Is strict compliance of guidelines better? For the moment this Tyre is used in Colombo traffic. Tyre repair bass 'thinks' OK. What is your opinion please ? Would you do 100kmph on a highway with this Tyre ?

Concern #2:

The hole in the Tyre is not filled from the outside. The info from the web says the hole shaft has to be fully filled. I hope I understood the info correctly. The Tyre repair bass says this is the way they repair and no need to fill from the outside and it is OK. I have no experience in getting Tyre repairs for holes this size. But from what I see, I don't feel comfortable with it. Since that spot is a bit soft, I feel that a piece of rock like a typical kalu gal piece about 1" in size with a sharp corner, found in the road side 'may' damage the patch applied from the inside. I wonder if the pic is clear enough (if you zoom it). Is any filling from the outside done when Tyres are repaired (here in SL) ? Or it does not matter ? What is your opinion please?

Safety is a major concern. I wish to make an educated decision on replacing the Tyre. I feel replacing the Tyre (I guess it will have to be two Tyres) just for any hole in the Tyre that can be safely repaired is a waste. But if it is safer to replace the Tyre I will do that.

Your ideas and advice are most appreciated.

Thanks!

Machan by the look of it, I wouldn't run that out of my drive way assuming its the dimensions you say it is and assuming this is from an average sedan,

As for 100kmph, its more or less a joke to be even asking that,

Besides its sorta patched up from the other side innit? Likely to seep out air when laden. What its the condition of the tyre overall? looks <50% from the picture

But there are institutions that completely repair stuff like these and bumps etc, they did a feature in Autovision ages ago, I've no idea of the whereabouts now.

If safety is your concern, please immediately tend to a new tyre, as even a blowout at 60kmph Colombo you might bump into some chap and end up fixing a Prius for the cost of that tyre.

[Kavvz]

Okay I'm no expert, but that repair looks okay to me as far as temporary repair jobs go. I'd be looking to get two new tyres for that axle anyway as the tyre looks close to being worn out (as far as I can tell from the picture its pretty much at the point where you should replace it, can't say for sure as I don't see where the wear bars are) but until you get that sorted out I think its fine.

Just to be safe I wouldn't run it on the highway etc, but personally speaking for general side roads etc I think it'd be fine temporarily till I got the tyres (the cash for tyres really!) sorted out.

[Davy]

Looks like a pretty bad puncture. I'm not sure if I'm seeing things, but I see a small bump on the sidewall as well.

As you said, since the puncture is large enough to allow small bits of rocks and stuff to enter it, the repair might not hold for long anyway. I assume the patch applied from inside is just a small piece of rubber from a tube.

If I were you, I'd get a new tyre and not risk it. Especially if you are driving out of city traffic. In any case, move the tyre to the rear. If you have a full-sized spare wheel with a better tyre, consider using that for the time being.

Just my two cents.

[Shack]

I would defa go for a new than running with that!. Even a used one will be safe than that bro. Hope you ain't running on highways with that.Don't let things to make you regret later, go for a new machan.

[jerryda]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=225

[eyepea]

Tyre has done about 25k km.

Davy is right, there is a small bump on the sidewall. Ugh!

Yep going to replace it.

Oh well, now to find the $$

Many thanks for the input guys.

[Rumesh88]

You should change your tyre not just because of the extent of the damage. For a bolt of 8mm in diameter (even 5 or 6mm) and 3 inch long to puncture through a tyre during normal usage (unless you do it deliberately of course) the tyre material must have lost its resilience for some reason (may be a manufacturing defect or due to aging etc) and has become unsafe anyway. So you can change the tyre with a clear conscience but keep an eye on the other tyres as well.

[Kavvz]

Tyre has done about 25k km.

Davy is right, there is a small bump on the sidewall. Ugh!

Yep going to replace it.

Oh well, now to find the $$

Many thanks for the input guys.

Ah! The constant battle with cash for tyres: Sounds familiar! Why on earth are tyres so expensive?! Oh well, at least you got pretty good run out of those tyres (as you did use them for pretty much their useful tread-life / mileage). So I guess its not too bad after all....

Edited February 9, 2016 by Kavvz

[terrabytetango]

He's got another 7-8K left on the tire, but that's a pretty big puncture, and together with damaged sidewall, you could easily suffer a blow out at the most inopportune moment.

[eyepea]

ok thanks.

You should change your tyre not just because of the extent of the damage. For a bolt of 8mm in diameter (even 5 or 6mm) and 3 inch long to puncture through a tyre during normal usage (unless you do it deliberately of course) the tyre material must have lost its resilience for some reason (may be a manufacturing defect or due to aging etc) and has become unsafe anyway. So you can change the tyre with a clear conscience but keep an eye on the other tyres as well.

will monitor. tnx.