Getting rid of run flats any ideas

[C SEVEN GS Bob]

I picked up a screw in one of my rear tires in Tucson and it went flat overnight in the garage (got notice on dash when I started it the next day). Took it off and wet to the local Chevrolet dealer who turned me away and sent me to a Discount tire. They took the tire off the rim, did a proper patch and remounted and rebalanced the wheel within an hour. NO CHARGE for repairs!!!!! They are now my go to store for new tires for both vehicles when the time comes.

 

[Corman]

My next set will be a non run flat that will give me great traction and they must be able to be professionally patched more than once.
I will be carrying a plug kit and a small air generator in the back cubby.
I never plan on ever tracking the Vette.

 

[Keith Tedford]

Here is a horror story. Got my first nail in my run flats at 2,000 km. At 4500km I was changing the stock brake pads over to power stops and noticed the other 2 tires had nails in them. So just under 5000 km, 3 out of my 4 tires have been professionally patched. I have been told they will not patch a tire that has previously been patched.
I am dreading getting another nail.
This is insane, I may have to spend huge $$$ on tires with a car with low kilometers.

I go for short walks regularly on our street. There is a little bridge with a bump going on and off of it. Lots of nuts, bolts and nails there for me to pick up, especially those roofing nails with big heads. They will stand up and puncture a tire. People throw all their garbage in the backs of their trucks. There is a gap under the tailgate and stuff like nails bounce their way out and onto the road. I'm always picking stuff up, even a $20 bill. I asked the neighbours if anyone had lost any money but no one that I talked to had lost any.

 

[Dik]

Keith I avoid home construction sites with all vehicles for the reason you stated.



PS. I think that is my twenty. I lost one once....

 

[Rruuff Day]

I go for short walks regularly on our street. There is a little bridge with a bump going on and off of it. Lots of nuts, bolts and nails there for me to pick up, especially those roofing nails with big heads. They will stand up and puncture a tire. People throw all their garbage in the backs of their trucks. There is a gap under the tailgate and stuff like nails bounce their way out and onto the road. I'm always picking stuff up, even a $20 bill. I asked the neighbours if anyone had lost any money but no one that I talked to had lost any.

Sheesh Keith... Don'tknow where you are but ya know, I was driving east and was down around Millbrook somewhere when I opened my window and a 20 blew right out the window....... lol.... Hope you put it to good use...

 

[1 BAD 9T9]

About two years ago I saw a nail in my brand new rear 325/30ZR19 Michelin run flat, but I made the mistake of pulling the nail out at home. Of course it now had no air in it. Here is the interesting part of this story. Sure you can drive a considerable distance on your run flats, but will be buying a new tire when you get there. With this in mind I drove 3 kilometres at only 40 km/hr on the flat tire to the tire shop and when the tire shop inspected the tire they told me if I had driven another couple of kilometres I would have had to replace the tire. Apparently the driving ruins the side wall So remember run flats get you to the tire shop and save a tow, but a $600 tire is more expensive than a tow on a flat bed truck. Maybe non-run flats are not such a bad idea. All the hype about benefits of runs flats is BS.

 

[SladeX]

A runflat is only stiff on the inside portion of the tire, the outside still flexes so it will ruin the runflat after some distance. They can be patched once as per michelin, but it must not be on the side wall and at least 1 inch away from the sidewall in the middle of the tire patch where the steel belts are and the hole is max 1/4 inch in size

 

[Rruuff Day]

About two years ago I saw a nail in my brand new rear 325/30ZR19 Michelin run flat, but I made the mistake of pulling the nail out at home. Of course it now had no air in it. Here is the interesting part of this story. Sure you can drive a considerable distance on your run flats, but will be buying a new tire when you get there. With this in mind I drove 3 kilometres at only 40 km/hr on the flat tire to the tire shop and when the tire shop inspected the tire they told me if I had driven another couple of kilometres I would have had to replace the tire. Apparently the driving ruins the side wall So remember run flats get you to the tire shop and save a tow, but a $600 tire is more expensive than a tow on a flat bed truck. Maybe non-run flats are not such a bad idea. All the hype about benefits of runs flats is BS.

I wouldn't say it's all BS, but there are good arguments for both ZP and non ZP tires.

 

[SladeX]

I've done long road trips to florida, bowling green, tail of the dragon and myrtle beach multiple times in my vettes and with and without runflats. I've always kept a handjack on me, a tire pump and a quick patch kit just in case and have never had to use them. On the other hand there was this one time I had a tire blow on the 401 in a rainstorm, didn't lose control, just exited and got it patched. Tire stayed on until replacement and I had even forgotten it was patched. That tire wasn't a runflat but I made it a few km to a canadian tire to pick up a patch kit. I patched it, rolled it to the nearby gas station and inflated there.

 

[1 BAD 9T9]

I wouldn't say it's all BS, but there are good arguments for both ZP and non ZP tires.

I only meant that the tire manufactures don't tell you that you will ruin a ZP tire with no air, just that you can run safely at reasonable speed for quite a while. If you have tire pressure monitoring it will display low or zero pressure and you think great I can still keep driving. If you don't have TPMS you won't even know you have no air. Positive features are you won't be buying new rims.

 

[gone]

For a flat tire, I understand the comments on the Forums about:

1. with a run-flat, the manual says it can be driven while flat, up to 80 km/hr for a short distance. However some say doing this risks side wall damage which might require a tire replacement. So many are recommending effecting a temporary repair first, to get you to a tire shop, especially if the nearest one is far away (ie. more than a couple km away).

2. One method of repair is using a plug to fill the hole (using a tire repair kit), then inflating the tire (using a small portable 12V compressor), then it's likely best to have the tire shop put a patch on the inside of the tire...after which the tire shouldn't need replacing (contrary to the advice of some tire shops, that all run-flats MUST be replaced after a flat repair).

I see a "Slime" brand of tire repair kit on amazon.ca:

Amazon product ASIN B00C5TJ1MM
and the cheapest compressor I found on canadiantire.ca that allows you to use it in the dark and will inflate a tire in 5 minutes:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/certified-12v-air-compressor-5-minute-0095006p.html#srp

3. Another method of repair looks to be using a pressurized can of sealant: injecting it into the tire and it should seek out and seal the hole, plus some will pump up the tire at the same time, whereas others require you to add air. I found this can of sealant on canadiantire.ca and it needs air added after:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/slime-tire-sealant-emergency-flat-tire-repair-473-ml-0095068p.html#srp

My question is whether a tire is reusable after it's been filled or coated with sealant? Or is there a specific type of sealant which can be easily cleaned out so the tire can be reused?

Some people mention keeping in their Corvettes both a repair kit/compressor...plus a can of sealant...presumably using the latter if they don't have time or wish to bother with a plug repair?

This will be my first foray into the "run-flat tire" jungle, so your comments will be much appreciated, to ensure I have this right and whether there's any particular brand/type of repair kit, compressor or sealant you'd recommend, based upon your experience.

 

[DavidWG]

Getting rid of run flats any suggestions

Quite a number of folks on the big US Corvette Forums speak very highly of the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+. I know they are available as a run flat (ZP) and I believe they are available as a non run flat as well. Michelin claims they have about 95% of the lateral grip as the Pilot Sport 4S (OEM for C7s) and are much quieter and better in rain. You can also drive them in the cold weather as they are technically an all season but clearly not a winter tire.

 

[Corman]

Quite a number of folks on the big US Corvette Forums speak very highly of the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+. I know they are available as a run flat (ZP) and I believe they are available as a non run flat as well. Michelin claims they have about 95% of the lateral grip as the Pilot Sport 4S (OEM for C7s) and are much quieter and better in rain. You can also drive them in the cold weather as they are technically an all season but clearly not a winter tire.

Can they be patched more than once by a tire shop?

 

[ddgermann]

For a flat tire, I understand the comments on the Forums about:

1. with a run-flat, the manual says it can be driven while flat, up to 80 km/hr for a short distance. However some say doing this risks side wall damage which might require a tire replacement. So many are recommending effecting a temporary repair first, to get you to a tire shop, especially if the nearest one is far away (ie. more than a couple km away).

2. One method of repair is using a plug to fill the hole (using a tire repair kit), then inflating the tire (using a small portable 12V compressor), then it's likely best to have the tire shop put a patch on the inside of the tire...after which the tire shouldn't need replacing (contrary to the advice of some tire shops, that all run-flats MUST be replaced after a flat repair).

I see a "Slime" brand of tire repair kit on amazon.ca:

Amazon product ASIN B00C5TJ1MM
and the cheapest compressor I found on canadiantire.ca that allows you to use it in the dark and will inflate a tire in 5 minutes:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/certified-12v-air-compressor-5-minute-0095006p.html#srp

3. Another method of repair looks to be using a pressurized can of sealant: injecting it into the tire and it should seek out and seal the hole, plus some will pump up the tire at the same time, whereas others require you to add air. I found this can of sealant on canadiantire.ca and it needs air added after:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/slime-tire-sealant-emergency-flat-tire-repair-473-ml-0095068p.html#srp

My question is whether a tire is reusable after it's been filled or coated with sealant? Or is there a specific type of sealant which can be easily cleaned out so the tire can be reused?

Some people mention keeping in their Corvettes both a repair kit/compressor...plus a can of sealant...presumably using the latter if they don't have time or wish to bother with a plug repair?

This will be my first foray into the "run-flat tire" jungle, so your comments will be much appreciated, to ensure I have this right and whether there's any particular brand/type of repair kit, compressor or sealant you'd recommend, based upon your experience.

There are literally dozens of threads here and every forum on this subject. The common theme is there are no perfect solutions as tires go flat. I do not know anyone who would put that goo sealant in their corvette tires. Rental car ok. The reasons are multiple and obvious.
Yes a cheap little air compressor and a decent plug kit with a good T-handle. Some put in a jack as well. (there are some sweet little low profile jacks available... but don't forget to buy some jacking pucks) Add some hand cleaner etc. The usual stuff.
If you are are on run-flats or not, then you put a plug and some air in and off you go. With these tires it literally takes seconds for the air. Or leave it flat and go. Run flats are intended as a method to safely perform an emergency escape from a busy freeway or some other place you really don't want to get a flat tire. They are not magic tires that will not get damaged. It is a matter of circumstance and immediate priority.
So ignore all the drama from people who insist on this or that. Decide what you need or want based on your situation/location and go with it. As I said before there is no right or wrong.

Just get the basic stuff above with runflat or non-runflat tires, and rest easy while you enjoy your car.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Just a note.... Tire shops love it when you fill your tire with sealant. NOT! The cost to clean that tire out so maybe they can patch it....well.... Be prepared.