Is it safe ....

[Bluey Green]

........to repair a tyre on an 18" Spider. When I last had a nail in one of my rear tyres, the local tyre place fixed it with what looked like a rubber plug. They assured me it would be safe at high speed but it made me feel a bit uneasy about properly letting the car off the leash so to speak. They said it was because the nail wasn't in the tyre wall. Is anyone able to say whether this is ok for a car with the Tuscan's power - or should I replace the tyre?

[J_S_G]

Bluey Green said:

........to repair a tyre on an 18" Spider. When I last had a nail in one of my rear tyres, the local tyre place fixed it with what looked like a rubber plug. They assured me it would be safe at high speed but it made me feel a bit uneasy about properly letting the car off the leash so to speak. They said it was because the nail wasn't in the tyre wall. Is anyone able to say whether this is ok for a car with the Tuscan's power - or should I replace the tyre?

If you're going to replace it, make sure you end up with an equal amount of tread on both near/off-side tyres. Hence you might need to pay for two.

Would personally say it depends on where in the tyre the nail was exactly, how big a hole it created, and what kind of speeds you drive at.

[b17nns]

if the repair has been done properly (vulcanised) it should be as good as before.

tyre repairers are a very strict bunch these days and will refuse to repair anything where there is a possibility of the drivers safety being compromised.

not sure whether this is out of genuine concern though or fear of litigation.

[lady topaz]

Last year I had a tyre fitters refuse point blank to do a repair even though the damage was on the surface and not the wall. Thinking I was being conned I spoke to two other well known tyre replacement companies who also confirmed they would not repair. Something to do with the tyres rating, from memory. My husband experienced the same response with the tyres on his Boxster, so there may be an element of truth to it.