Screw In Tyre - Fix Or Replace?

[JonS]

After a couple of weeks being generally ill, contemplating a job offer and having a ridiculously busy time at work due to 'management' issues, I get home tonight and find a screw sticking out of my rear near side tyre!

 

 

It looks well and truly stuck in there. I'm going to take the wheel off at the weekend and take it a local garage to see if they can repair it, but I'm slightly concerned about doing a track day on a repaired tyre?

 

You can see there is still ample tread left on the tyre so I could always keep it for normal road use, but I'm wondering if it would be wiser to get a new one to replace it and, if it is repairable, keep it for spare, or sell it on as such.

 

Thoughts on using a repaired tyre on track?

 

Also - looking at availability of AD07's it's not looking good!

[MilesH]

I have exactly the same problem, except I had to fill mine with tyre foam to get back from Donington so I have just ordered a replacement tyre as I'm told tyre companies won't repair tyres with foam in.

 

I was also told that any repair needs to be a certain distance from the edge of the tyre in order for them to plug the hole, otherwise it's a replacement tyre. Unfortunately they didn't tell me the distance.

 

Aside from that, if they will plug the hole then I wouldn't have any issues running it on track and have done in the past.

 

Hope you get it sorted mate

[Martin R]

Jon, that looks far enough in to the middle of the tyre to be ok. AFAIK you would be ok on track with a repaired tyre. The plug they use forces the repair into the tyre using the pressure inside the tyre.

 

The repair has to be up to the speed rating of the tyre. Look at it another way if it was dangerous would tyre places repair tyres ? In this day and age i doubt it as they would be sued left right and centre.

 

You would obviously replace the tyre in an ideal world though.

[JonS]

Tyre pressue was the same this morning as last night so took it to my local garage. As soon ashe saw it he said it is too close to the side wall for a repair to be made.

 

Once the tyre would be off the rim the corners roll in a bit more so on these tyres they need about 1.5 inches in from the wall to get a flat surface to fix it.

 

So i'm now on the hunt for some AD07 rears!

[Steve J]

Road I would say it's fine to repair. Got mine done in a similar location (for £5) but I'm not sure I'd do it with track tyres.

[Dr H]

Repair should be as strong (if not stornger) than the tyre. Loads of people track cars with plugged / patched tyres and I've not heard of any issues. They even fix tyres on artics using the same method and they can trundle abound with massive weights on them.

 

Miles - when I had to use tyre foam, I took it to the tyre place, they removed it, I then took it home and cleaned it , took it back and then they plugged it. It's just the fact that it's a faff to clean the stuff out that they don't like. No technical reason for not repairing them.

[jimbo07g41]

You can buy kits to repair motorbike tyres and it is accepted practice to carry a kit for emergencies. Plenty of bikers use to go round with plugged tyres. A good vulcanised repair should last, However, it is a skill and I am afraid there is probably not much profit on a repair.

[scatty]

i would buy 2 new tyres. i dont think id take the risk,

[dobbo]

I think that's too close to the sidewall to plug ??? You certainly can't repair anything in the sidewall. Not sure how far round the tyre that limit extends, but we have spmething similar on the shoulder of our spare for the Audi and we've been told it's not repairable.

 

Best bet is to try a trusted tyre fitter for specialist advice, rather than rely on [the slightly informed but maybe not accurate] MLOC !

[a7esk]

What make of tyre is it .

As I got a spare B stone rear used put Still ok .

Free

Eddie

[Chalkey]

i would buy 2 new tyres. i dont think id take the risk,

 

+1

 

Not worth messing around, be safe, just buy new!

[JonS]

They're AD07's - speaking with Elise Parts, the supply of them is terrible. Also, to quote someone I've contacted at Lotus "we have been struggling on tyre supply over the past couple of months" Might be understatement of the year lol

 

Anyway... someone really has it in for me. On Saturday in town, we managed to pick this up on Charlie's pushchair:

 

 

...and then whilst checking the other tyres on my car, I found this in my off-side rear:

 

 

1 week, 3 screws, 3 tyres!! WTF!!

 

Having spoken with EliseParts they have a lot of tyres on back order to Yoko. Fortunately they had one set of rear AD07's in stock they have delivery miles on them only. They have come off an Elise bought by Hennessey. They buy a production Elise, strip it down, and use the chassis and some components for the Venom and then sell the rest of the parts onto part suppliers. So effectively, I'll have the rear tyres off a Venom GT lol (I wish!)

 

It is just as well EP would only sell me the pair as I hadn't found the other nail until after I'd ordered them. I guess the off-side rear would be repairable, and will ask them to have a go at fixing the other one, but we'll see.

[Steve J]

In order to repair a tyre using a self-vulcanising stem patch, the damage must not have exceeded 6mm in width and should have occured within the central 3/4s of the tyres' treaded area. Punctures that falls out of this area could have caused extensive damage to the cords that form the sidewall structure of the tyre.

A hole will be reamed through the objects entry point into the tyre to prepare passage for the 'stem' of the mushroom shaped repair patch. The inner surface of the tyre will be buffed and prepared with a vulcanising solution and the repair assembly drawn through the tyre.

A tyre punctured on the shoulder or the sidewall cannot be repaired. The fitting of an inner tube to 'repair' a tubeless tyre damaged in these, or any other areas is not permitted.

 

Usually the garages I've used stipulate the puncture must not be within 1 inch of the sidewall (i.e. only repairale on the flat part of the tyre)

[Chris_edeson]

Jon, i had the same problem the other week and needed tyres... AD07 = expensive and hard to get so i went on camskill and got 2 yoko AD08's a very good tyre newer design to the AD07 and rated by a lot of Lotus oweners... £250 for the pair plus fiver delivery within 48 hours. im running them rear and AD07 fronts...

[JonS]

Wel a lovely set of AD07's arrived this afternoon! Nobbles and all, so cant have done too many miles to wherever Hennessey build there monsters!

 

Might begin to cycle to work now though! There has been a surge of punctures at work and one of the factory staff has told me he's seen someone throwing screws and nails in the gravel car park. It's just not right.