Tire plug recommendations

[RocketScott]

Anecdotes aside, a patch/plug is the only way to maintain a Z rating on a tire. Not running your late '80s F-150 over 150MPH? You're probably fine putting a plug in and carrying on.

Different situations call for different solutions. What is better for one instance may not be better for another. I own a tire machine and have a variety of patches and plugs yet I still carry a plug kit in my truck. A discussion here about best practices is rather moot. Go watch some youtube videos from the pros and see how it should be done. Just because you've gotten away with something (as I have too) doesn't mean it's the way everyone should do something.

To the OP: Black Jack makes good stuff. I think my plug kit is Slime cheapo stuff and works ok.

 

[kctyphoon]

I have 3 cheap plugs in the same tire of one of my cars for like 2 years now. No issues at all.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Getting away with it?
I put 27 plugs in my friends trailer tire. It still leaked a little, but I'd run out.
a year later he put on a new set, and 2 of the other tires had blown, but not my porcupine tire.

 

[nbpt100]

In my experience, having worked in 2 shops where we routinely installed plugs;
There were no comebacks.
The most common failure using plug kits is if you use one with a plastic handle much, the reamer or driver will eventually get loose from the handle.
although I have not done a lot or had one fail, I consider a plug in a sidewall to be temporary, and will get a vulcanized patch or fresh tire ASAP

Can I take from this comment that if you have a nail hole in or near the side wall there is a safe/reliable process to repair the tire? I only ask for clarification because I have had 2 or 3 instances where a tire shop refused to repair my tire for the nail hole being too close to the side wall. I ended up having to buy a new tire from them.

Maybe this is some thing new or something many shops don't want to deal with. Can you explain?

 

[flushcut]

I ordered the Safety Seal kit.

 

[vssjim]

http://www.dynaplug.com/products.html

Dyna plug is what we use most often at work and w have no complaints, they have been around for about thirty years. I actually talked to the inverter of them about fifteen years ago when he tried to sell me the company.

 

[Htscheg]

Ive been using the NAPA kit for years for roadside quick repairs then always dismount and do a proper repair when I am safely at home

 

[16again]

I ordered the Safety Seal kit.

You will be quite happy with your purchase. Quality of this product is excellent.

 

[steveo3002]

im glad i tried out tire strings , repairs at a shop can be expensive here and then you have the worry of damage from jacking the car and damage to expensive alloy rims etc

the strings get bad mouthed but you never hear of one failing

 

[ChrisLS8]

I have always felt that tire plugs were a sub standard way of patching a tire,

have always felt that dismounting the tire and outing a patch on was the way to go,

many times on finds problems on or with the tire you would never find other wise,

Same to a degree but with that being said I've never had a plug fail.

I have one in my daily right front tire the last 6 months

 

[Stadger]

I've used plugs for over forty years and never had one failure.

 

[rlitman]

I’ve had a plug start to leak, months after it was installed. But I’m still sticking with plugs.

 

[mountain_man]

Plugs will work 95 percent of the time. They are more prone to leaking and I have removed several plugs to replace them with plug patches. I have seen 10 ply tires spit plugs out before due to the higher air pressure. And no it wasn't an installation error, it was usually a larger size puncture that did require a plug patch. For what it is worth I have put in thousands of plugs and hundreds of plug patches. I have never seen a plug patch fail. I prefer a plug patch but have tires of my own with just plugs in them.

 

[6PTsocket]

I agree, a patch plug is best but ordinary plugs almost always "git er done". I have the Astro Pneumatic plug kit AST7445 and I am quite happy with it. The reamer and insertion tool are heavy duty, the plugs are good quality and it comes in a handy case. It is also inexpensive, with a street price around 13 bucks.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[sqznby]

I ordered the Safety Seal kit.

I just ordered one myself

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Can I take from this comment that if you have a nail hole in or near the side wall there is a safe/reliable process to repair the tire? I only ask for clarification because I have had 2 or 3 instances where a tire shop refused to repair my tire for the nail hole being too close to the side wall. I ended up having to buy a new tire from them.

Maybe this is some thing new or something many shops don't want to deal with. Can you explain?

The tire manufacturer will tell you no, and many guys who make their living by selling tires will agree with them.

If the only damage is a puncture, a vulcanized patch will usually work fine. If I had TPMS, I personally would not worry at all.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Can I take from this comment that if you have a nail hole in or near the side wall there is a safe/reliable process to repair the tire? I only ask for clarification because I have had 2 or 3 instances where a tire shop refused to repair my tire for the nail hole being too close to the side wall. I ended up having to buy a new tire from them.

Maybe this is some thing new or something many shops don't want to deal with. Can you explain?

Absolutely not. There is no repair for sidewalk punctures. Anything within an inch of the sidewall you need a tire. I’ve seen many billy bobs plug something on or very close to a sidewalk to have it develop a bubble.

I had one guy try to get us to patch a nail on the sidewall of a slick on a drag car. Lol no

 

[bushmechanic]

Absolutely not. There is no repair for sidewalk punctures. Anything within an inch of the sidewall you need a tire. I’ve seen many billy bobs plug something on or very close to a sidewalk to have it develop a bubble.

I had one guy try to get us to patch a nail on the sidewall of a slick on a drag car. Lol no

Sidewall and shoulder repairs with simple plugs are absolutely possible, and long-lasting with a properly designed tire. Do it right, on a good tire with full carcass plies, and it's perfectly fine.

The tire repair industry simply doesn't want you to believe that, and the preaching has grown tiresome from groups that have been "converted" to an out of date business model.

Every time this comes up, a few people muddy the waters with these antiquated ideas. It's just plain time to stop, and accept that:

1: Shoulders and sidewalls can be repaired.

2: Plugs are not a sub-standard option.

3: No, people don't need to bow to the industry to use a tire safely.

There will always be individual use cases that change things a bit, but these general principals will serve you well. Most of the time, if you shouldn't be using a plug, you shouldn't be using the tire at all.

 

[anndel]

I work for the Army Public Works and we put plugs in all of our utility trucks with almost no returns. The ones that came back were due to the plug being improperly installed or it ran over another nail/screw. For our family's vehicles, we take the flats to Costco and have them fix it since we bought it there. Costco pulls the tire off the rim and uses a patch. They always ask us first if we used a fix-a-flat or slime.

 

[apollo11]

 

[toolenthusiast]

Ive had more plugs fail than patches...

None the less I still use the plugs and recommend them.

Whoa dude, how many comebacks are you having on flat repairs?! If you're having enough to establish trends, you're doing something very wrong.

 

[toolenthusiast]

Anecdotes aside, a patch/plug is the only way to maintain a Z rating on a tire.

Kinda. Tire manufacturers vary wildly. Some of them don't condone repairs, some void the speed rating and drop you back to 85mph, some reduce the speed rating to H, and a few will let you maintain the speed rating under strict repair guidelines. They all want you to follow USTMA guidelines, which means a patch-plug.

 

[flushcut]

I ordered the Safety Seal kit.

Just an update folks, I had the opportunity to use the Safety Seal kit and I am impressed! So much easier to use than the cheap Slime kit that I had. It felt solid in the hand and enough beef to grab on to. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

 

[ekk33]

Stop and go mushroom plugs

 

[6PTsocket]

Howdy, I am looking for a heavy duty tire plug set. My Slime brand set is just too cheesy and small in the hand. Looking for something that doesn't feel like it's going to break/bend and is of quality construction. Thanks for any input!

Astro Pneumatic 7445. You get a good metal handled hole roughener and plug inserter and a bunch of plugs in a nice carrying case. I just did a search for the number rather than go out to the garage and I see it is under 20 bucks. Good quality, good price. It takes a lot if force to push through a tire and with a plastic handle tool you can end up with the shaft stuck in your hand.OUCH!!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[flushcut]

The Safety Seal set has been very good to me about a dozen plugs since I bought it and worth every penny.

 

[IndyGarage]

Stop and go mushroom plugs

I bought one of these a year or so ago on the recommendation from this forum.

I've used it twice - Nice tool, and pops the mushroom plug in exactly as advertised .

First time I used it, the tire still leaked - I thought I did it wrong. I pushed the plug into the tire - not desireable but I wanted to put another plug in. Followed instructions to the letter. one week later - plug leaks again. I put at string plug in it - no more problems.

I still have the kit, but I would be hesitant to try it again after two failures in two tries. Sorry, it didn't work for me.

 

[seber]

I've had several punctures "too close to the sidewall to be repaired". In every case I questioned the person telling me this why that matters. I have never had an answer. In every case I took it home and did it myself. Never had a problem. I run 80 psi in those tires. I can't say I ever tried it in a sidewall though.

 

[bwringer]

Stop and go mushroom plugs

No. Especially not in motorcycles.

"Stop-n-Stay" is more accurate.

I bought one of these a year or so ago on the recommendation from this forum.

I've used it twice - Nice tool, and pops the mushroom plug in exactly as advertised .

First time I used it, the tire still leaked - I thought I did it wrong. I pushed the plug into the tire - not desireable but I wanted to put another plug in. Followed instructions to the letter. one week later - plug leaks again. I put at string plug in it - no more problems.

I still have the kit, but I would be hesitant to try it again after two failures in two tries. Sorry, it didn't work for me.

My experience exactly, except it took me several more tries to give up because I'm a slow learner or something. 100% rapid failure rate on motorcycles, 50% failure rate on cars.


I think I've had one sticky string fail in my life, and that was in a very sketchy angled puncture where I knew it wouldn't really work anyway. And it was just a very slow leak, so I got home safe with a few stops to add air and replaced the tire.

I once had a simple puncture in a motorcycle tire 50 miles from home with only a Stop-n-Stay on board, and when I demounted the tire a few days later there were five Stop-n-Stay mushroom plugs bouncing around inside.

Repeated sudden flats are REAL fun...