OK guys, I hit the magic 600 mile mark today. I got about 20 minutes of VTEC bliss and then heard a strange noise coming from the back of my car...tick, tick, tick, tick... To my dismay I've got a nail in my right rear tire. The car is in my garage tonight. I checked tire pressure and it seems to be holding. I'm planning on dealing with this tomorrow but before I do anything I want to get advice from the experts.

Is a plug the right thing to do here or should I do something else to the stock S02's to fix the problem? Also, is there a certain way to lift the cars or can the local tire store do the job? Any other concerns? Any recommendations for a shop to do the fix?



What a drag this whole thing is and what crappy timing...

Thanks for any input.

-Darin [in San Jose, CA.]

 

my response on thread: http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...hp?threadid=417


"I worked at Discount Tire back in the college days - definately go with the patch on the inside - if they plug it, tell them to unplug it and patch it from the inside. Both processes require the tire to be taken off the rim, but only a few extra minutes to patch it up. You've gotta grind down a little bit of the rubber inside the tire so there is something for the glue to stick to when the patch is applied. The plug, well, its just a plug that's threaded through."


hope this helps!

 

I hate to say it but these tires are puncture magnets. I've had at least two punctures in the year I've had this car and before that had never had any. Also remember if you have to change a flat and it's in the rear of the car that you have to use the spare on the front and use a front tire to replace the flat rear tire because of the Limited Slip Diff. I'd think any tire shop should be able to patch the tire. It's not brain surgery. And definitely go with a patch and not a plug.

 

Interesting point Strike and I can believe it. I have to say, however, that I have travelled (and lived) in a lot of different parts of the world but had more punctures per driving mile in the US than any other country. It's sort of like the Concorde problem in Paris - there just seems to be more crap lying around on US freeways than anywhere else - probably as a result of higher traffic densities.

 

Thanks guys, a patch it will be and then I'm back into VTEC mode. I've got something like 620 miles on the car right now! Fortunately [if there is anything fortunate about picking up a nail...] the puncture is right in the middle of the tire tread so as some have said, it should be pretty straightforward. See you on the road and thanks again,

-Darin

 

A good friend of mine worked for America's Tire Company for a few years. His fix for a flat was always to use a plug from the inside (so that the tire pressure would increase it's seal and not push it out) AND a patch on the inside. He's fixed many tires for me this way and I never had a problem from it.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Strike
[B]I hate to say it but these tires are puncture magnets.

 

I had two punctures in my rear left the week before I took the car to the track. Everyone was warning me not to go to the track with a repaired tire.

It was no big deal. I bought a tire plug kit at the auto parts store. Cost like $7. I plugged both the punctures inside of 20 minutes and then drove the car. I drove it to the racetrack 3 hours away, ran 137 miles on the track, and drove back. No problems.

Of course I melted the tires at the track and had them replaced the weekend after the track event. However, I never had a problem with the plugs.

In fact, I've plugged at least 4 other tires on other cars of mine and friend's cars in the past year. I've never had a problem with the plugs.

End of the day, if it's right in the middle of the tread, plug it and forget about it.

 

Song,

Thanks for the info. As it turns out, I went to Discount Tire and had them pull the nail. It was about 1.5 CM long. There wasn't even a complete puncture. We tried and tried to get it to leak and it wouldn't happen so the tire is back on the car and off I went. I've checked pressure frequently and it's stable.

Being that you are a Scotts Valley local, I would be curious to know what track you went to? Laguna?

I hope you will join us in the Bay Area S2000 Owners section of these boards and some future time we get together in the Bay...

-Darin

 

I've been at Laguna, but not in the S2000. The track we went to was Thunderhill in Willows, CA. This was the same track where Road and Track did the "Sibling Rivalry" story. You know, the one with the NSX vs. S2000, etc.

Yeah, I'll check out that section. My problem is that on weekends, I usually have family commitments. Often times that's when the get-togethers occur. If you did lunch meetings during the week, I could make those with little problem.