Help please- Nail in Tire

[98legwag]

I got a nail in a tire a couple days ago. The problem is the nail is near the shoulder of the tire and it may not be able to get patched. It is still holding air and is on the rear now. I have to rotate the tires in the next month or so. How safe is it to drive on or should I replace the tire? These tires only have about 5000 miles on them.

[Wiscon_Mark]

I would keep rolling on em if it's not leaking. If you're that worried, get advice from a tire shop that can actually see the problem.

In the meantime, keep your eye on the tire, check it before you drive the car to make sure it's not low or flat. Is the nail real long?

[98legwag]

I don't know how long the nail is. The head is even with the tread on the tire. I am going tomorrow to see about getting it plugged.

[decke48]

Any good tire shop should be able to put in a internal vulcanized patch as a permanent fix

[98legwag]

I just went to Tires Plus. They said they cannot plug it but the tires are new enough that I can get away with ordering one. I think I may be doing that later today.

[dodik]

if its not in the sidewall you can have it plugged. Tires Plus just wants to take your money. Like decke048 said if you can find a good shop that still does vulcanized patches than its much cheaper than getting a new tire. I plugged sidewall before and although not recommended it held air for 25k miles. Most shops want to take your money or dont want to take liability on patching tires or both. Small local shops usually dont care enough and will patch it no problem.

[98legwag]

My new tire should be here today. My friend brought up the idea of getting the old tire back and see about patching it for a spare. He also suggested getting a used 17 in wheel to mount it. How bad of idea would it be IF I needed to run it with a different wheel? Possibly different width, weight, and offset.

[Wiscon_Mark]

I would keep driving on it to a minimum, but it would be better than a donut spare. Or you could just patch it and keep the tire and have it mounted when you might need it. You're not going to fit a full sized spare in the space where the donut goes, so you may still want that.

[Huffer]

The tire patching works better when the tire is mounted on a rim and pressurized; the air pressure helps the patch bond properly with the rest of the tire.