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[new2the3]

I have what appears to be a big nail in my run flat tire. Before I order 4 new tires and make the switch to non run flats (@13k miles presently) I want to see if the nail has punctured the tire or not. If I remove the nail how does that work with a run flat tire? Will it become totally flat? I know the way it is currently I can drive slowly for 50 miles on it but does that also apply if I remove the nail? Lastly, if it is not leaking then I will hold off on new tires.

Thank you

[Anthony Pike]

Hello....I had a nail in my run flat, and when I pulled the nail out, the air went HiSSSSSSSSSSSS.... and of course the tyre went flat.
I have a tyre repair kit which uses camel hair plugs. I plugged the hole myself for a cost of 10 cents for the plug, pumped up the tyre and away I went. That was 10,000km ago. I know of others who have don the same. You dont need to change to non run flats. Some say this is not legal becauce of the high speed rating of the tyres. However if you dont drive over 200km/hr there should not be a problem. Anyway if the plug did fail the runflat tyre should save you as it is designed to do. Good luck
PS you can buy the repair kit at any motor parts shop.

[n5160u]

Spray some Windex around the nail. If you see a steady stream of tiney bubbles foaming around the nail than you can be sure it went through the steel belt to the inside. You can actually drive for some distance with the nail in the tire since the steel belt will hold it in place. Just make sure your air pressure is normal. The nail will usually result in a very slow leak unless it is near the sidewall where tire flex will cause unrepairable damage. If you pull the nail out you will quickly have a chance to see how a run flat works.
I have run tires with nails stuck in the belt long enough to wear the head off the nail only because the leak was so small I did not notice it in time to see the nail. I am only mentioning this because all tire damage should be repaired as soon as it is noticed to prevent further damage, but pulling the nail out and running a flat tire to the tire repair shop will cause more damage than leaving the nail in place and going to the tire shop. Run Flats can be repaired just like any other tire as long as they haven't been run on thir sidewalls for any length of time.

[new2the3]

I ended up ordering 4 new tires for my ride. My tires had 13k on them and the 1 with the nail had 7k on it. I think it would of been weird to have 3 tires with 13k and 1 brand new. Let me know what you think based on this picture if you think its fixable. BTW, the 3 good tires had PSI of 37 cold, the 1 with the nail was 27psi so its definitely punctured.

[n5160u]

The location of the puncture is at the worst place a punchture could occur because it happened at the edge of the steel belt which is also the beginning of the sidewall, and most of the flexing a tire does occurs there. From the picture it looks too close to the edge of the tread where the longer wearing rubber meets the softer rubber compound of the sidewall. I would pass on fixing that tire because you can never be sure how a patch would react to all the flexing and frictional heat the flexing generates. If the puncture was only an inch further towards the center it would be an easy fix that would last the life of the tire. Considering where the damage on your tire is, I would say that you made the correct decision to replace it.