Tire patch or plug?

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Yesterday while parking my car I managed to pick up a construction spike, sure enough the spike entered the tire between the raised thread area, and yes resulted in a fast depleted tire. I did have a spare which I could not change do to the fact my back is effed up ( and the spare which is brand new has been in the trunk for over 20 years)............in due time AAA road service arrived and the fellow put in a plug, and it seems to be holding air after two days..........my question is have tire patches gone the way of the 15 cent slice of pizza? In the long run are plugs a safe alternative to the aforementioned tire patches?

[friskyfrankie]

Yesterday while parking my car I managed to pick up a construction spike, sure enough the spike entered the tire between the raised thread area, and yes resulted in a fast depleted tire. I did have a spare which I could not change do to the fact my back is effed up ( and the spare which is brand new has been in the trunk for over 20 years)............in due time AAA road service arrived and the fellow put in a plug, and it seems to be holding air after two days..........my question is have tire patches gone the way of the 15 cent slice of pizza? In the long run are plugs a safe alternative to the aforementioned tire patches?

Sounds like a doable area to use a plug. If a quality plug was used AND installed properly, the tire will dry rot or wear out long before the plug fails. I've been using plugs, for decades and never had one fail. I know tire shops tend to not use them and only use patches (for what they claim are liability issues) but I have NEVER had one that I installed fail. Remember, my two qualifications apply!

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Frank many thanks for your thoughts...............just waiting for the snow storm to hit, NYC is expected to get a minimum of ten inches of snow, if so my Merc will be buried under snow for several months........remember the city plows clear the roads by pushing the snow up against the parked cars, now you know why after some years my '86 is so full of exterior censer:-(

[friskyfrankie]

Frank many thanks for your thoughts...............just waiting for the snow storm to hit, NYC is expected to get a minimum of ten inches of snow, if so my Merc will be buried under snow for several months........remember the city plows clear the roads by pushing the snow up against the parked cars, now you know why after some years my '86 is so full of exterior censer:-(

Hunker down and be safe, my friend! Like I said, if the plug was installed correctly and a quality one was used, there should be no problems!

[sly]

+1 tire patches are better but tire plugs work fine most of the time. I've never had a plug fail that was able to seat in the first place. I have had one fail at initial install, but the second attempt got it. Just gotta be sure to use the reamer tool to make sure the plug has fresh rubber to stick to and not a bunch of dirt.

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+1 tire patches are better but tire plugs work fine most of the time. I've never had a plug fail that was able to seat in the first place. I have had one fail at initial install, but the second attempt got it. Just gotta be sure to use the reamer tool to make sure the plug has fresh rubber to stick to and not a bunch of dirt.

The tech from AAA used two different reamers, being a paranoid man, in the spring I intend to purchase a new tire, and might as well put a new spare in the trunk It cost me $40.00 for the plug insertion.

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Well its March 9th 2026 and as you all know back on Jan 23rd 2026 I had a plug put into my front drivers side tire as I somehow managed to pick up a nice sized spike that punctured the tire. Due to the continued snow storms the car has been buried under snow for six weeks...............today I checked on the car as the temps actually reached 70 degrees............the tire is still holding air............so I guess I can "assume" the plug will hold As to actually driving the car I hope all will be well as I will not be doing any high speed driving...........usually between 55-60MPH. Should I consider just replacing the tire for long term peace of mind??

[DerekTheGreat]

I've had tires patched. If they didn't leak, the tire was as good as new in my eyes. So no, I wouldn't replace the tire.

[friskyfrankie]

Well its March 9th 2026 and as you all know back on Jan 23rd 2026 I had a plug put into my front drivers side tire as I somehow managed to pick up a nice sized spike that punctured the tire. Due to the continued snow storms the car has been buried under snow for six weeks...............today I checked on the car as the temps actually reached 70 degrees............the tire is still holding air............so I guess I can "assume" the plug will hold As to actually driving the car I hope all will be well as I will not be doing any high speed driving...........usually between 55-60MPH. Should I consider just replacing the tire for long term peace of mind??

I'd save the money as long as the tire tech is not some sort of gorilla you should be fine. As you say, not too fast driving until you are convinced. I'd probably stay off the L.I.E. until that time....

[sly]

+1 don't worry about it.

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I'd save the money as long as the tire tech is not some sort of gorilla you should be fine. As you say, not too fast driving until you are convinced. I'd probably stay off the L.I.E. until that time....

LOL...............the only way I can reach Long Island is the LIE (aka the worlds biggest parking lot), but many thanks for the comments, I hope I am as fortunate with my Avanti..............have not started it in almost 18 months due to health issues...............I pray for three things...............1. No rodent infestation 2. Tires still have air in them 3. Car will start with the gas that is in the tank? I pulled the cables off the battery when I put it into the garage, no "battery tender"

[friskyfrankie]

LOL...............the only way I can reach Long Island is the LIE (aka the worlds biggest parking lot), but many thanks for the comments, I hope I am as fortunate with my Avanti..............have not started it in almost 18 months due to health issues...............I pray for three things...............1. No rodent infestation 2. Tires still have air in them 3. Car will start with the gas that is in the tank? I pulled the cables off the battery when I put it into the garage, no "battery tender"

Hopefully you are right! Too bad you don't have a NOCO Jump Starter. That would do the trick assuming the battery is not severely discharged. Would start in seconds! You may wish to consider it if there are long spells of not starting the car. By the way, how are your health issues? You can PM me if needed!

[sly]

LOL...............the only way I can reach Long Island is the LIE (aka the worlds biggest parking lot), but many thanks for the comments, I hope I am as fortunate with my Avanti..............have not started it in almost 18 months due to health issues...............I pray for three things...............1. No rodent infestation 2. Tires still have air in them 3. Car will start with the gas that is in the tank? I pulled the cables off the battery when I put it into the garage, no "battery tender"

Battery will be weak. Internal resistance of the battery will have drained it some. Take a jump pack with you. The gas will be rough if not very much crap if it has ethanol in it. If it's ethanol free, you're probably fine. +1 hope there's no rodents making homes.

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Hopefully you are right! Too bad you don't have a NOCO Jump Starter. That would do the trick assuming the battery is not severely discharged. Would start in seconds! You may wish to consider it if there are long spells of not starting the car. By the way, how are your health issues? You can PM me if needed!

LOL I do have a NOCO 1300 amp jump starter, but as you know it is not a battery charger, and is not intended to produce an unlimited "duty cycle" I do have a gas station charger on wheels I purchased about 50 yrs ago in he garage The battery is a brand new Interstate 800 CCA, which I as stated has the cables removed. As to the health issues, I visit the hospital infusion center once per month for my meds, LOL in the end, we are all in G-Ds hands.

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Battery will be weak. Internal resistance of the battery will have drained it some. Take a jump pack with you. The gas will be rough if not very much crap if it has ethanol in it. If it's ethanol free, you're probably fine. +1 hope there's no rodents making homes.

Before storage I put in Sta-Bil stabilizer, and Starbright to prevent fuel phase seperation, lets hope for the best