Flat tire: repair or replace (one or two)?

Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
until today that is, so please advise:

Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
need to make a wise choice.

BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
not be available.

I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course!

"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:160620050045121413%ajanta@null.void...[color=blue]
> Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
> until today that is, so please advise:
>
> Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
> I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
> parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
> drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
> rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.
>
> Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
> tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
> one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
> need to make a wise choice.
>
> BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
> they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
> not be available.
>
> I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course![/color]

If you drive very far on a completely flat radial tire, then often times the
tire is ruined and cannot be repaired. A tire dealer will be able tell if
you can get it repaired. If you purchase new tires, you should always
replace at least 2 tires at the same time.

Just to second what Mark said.... the tire might be ruined, depending
how far you drove on it. And replacing radials is done in pairs.

Is your spare a space-saver or a full-size one?

If it's a full-size one, and you end up buying 2 new tires, this may be
a good time to replace the spare if it's fairly old. Just use the good
one that you replace.

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 23:54:58 -0600, "Mark A" <nobody@nowhere.com>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
>news:160620050045121413%ajanta@null.void...[color=green]
>> Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
>> until today that is, so please advise:
>>
>> Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
>> I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
>> parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
>> drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
>> rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.
>>
>> Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
>> tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
>> one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
>> need to make a wise choice.
>>
>> BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
>> they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
>> not be available.
>>
>> I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course![/color]
>
>If you drive very far on a completely flat radial tire, then often times the
>tire is ruined and cannot be repaired. A tire dealer will be able tell if
>you can get it repaired. If you purchase new tires, you should always
>replace at least 2 tires at the same time.
>[/color]

You could have also ruined the rim.

Have it checked, too...WBMA
--

Scott in Florida

Doesn't sound like you'll want to do this, but I always like to buy a
set of four (4) tires, so they're identical on all four corners.
Last set was Avid touring
[url]http://www.yokohamatire.com/searchresults.asp?id=p[/url]
IIRC for my size ran under $250 installed (local price match
TireRack.com)
Also, if you get in the habit of checking tire pressure weekly (an
excellent performance and safety enhancement) you will almost always
spot a nail, screw or whatever usually causes a flat before ruining the
tire such that a tire shop can remove the tire, patch from the inside
and reinstall. Never had a problem doing that long as the hole is in
the tread area.
[url]http://www.getagauge.com/DialTireGauges.cfm[/url]
The Accu-Gage® S... Series Tire Gauges for $10 works great.

It is always advisable to have the same type of tire on the same
axle. You would be better served buying two new tires, since you
drove so far on the deflated tire that its integrity has most
likely has been compromised.


mike hunt



Ajanta wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
> until today that is, so please advise:
>
> Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
> I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
> parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
> drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
> rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.
>
> Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
> tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
> one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
> need to make a wise choice.
>
> BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
> they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
> not be available.
>
> I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course![/color]

if its repariable, repair it, replacing one tire will be fine, the
differential will account for any slight tread/wear/airpressure
difference between the two tires, that's what it is there for. I have
never had a problem with replacing a single tire.

The highly corporate, highly profit-motivated tire dealer with the
crystal white waiting room, free coffee and popcorn, etc. in town
practically demands you replace all four tires for any reason (hmmm,
dirt in the treads, must replace all four).

On the other hand, the family-run dealer with the slightly run down
building that has been owned by the same family since the 1960s usually
has more budget friendly ideas.

Last visit I had shredded a front tire. My tires had about 15,000 miles
on them. He suggested that I move the remaining front tire to the rear,
and move the rear tires to the front (rotation).

Then replace the shredded tire with a new tire. He said leaving it on
the front could create some quirky handling, but it would be no problem
on the rear.

That was a year ago. He was right.

If your tire is beyond repair, and it's axle mate is down pretty far on
tread anyway, it would probably be easiest just to get two new tires
and put them on the rear. However, as in the case of mine, the axlemate
has plenty of good tread, you should ask your dealer about just
replacing one.

Unless all four tires are far gone, there is absolutely no reason to
replace all of them. Be sure if you only get two tires, the new ones go
on the rear, otherwise you end up with oversteering problems.

I was in this situation a few years ago on my '99 Camry. When I was
driving to work one morning, after some 2 miles of driving I found some
thing wrong with front right left side tire and when I checked The tire
was flat and there was a screw nicely stuck into it.

One tire repair guy said it can be repaired but another one said since
I drove some distance with flat and no air in tire, the weight of car
will damage the side wall and though the puncture can be repaired the
side wall is weak and may give away suddenly. The tires were new at
that time so I bought another new one to replace the flat one.

Venkat


Ajanta wrote:[color=blue]
> Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
> until today that is, so please advise:
>
> Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
> I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
> parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
> drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
> rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.
>
> Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
> tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
> one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
> need to make a wise choice.
>
> BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
> they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
> not be available.
>
> I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course![/color]

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 05:44:16 GMT, Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Lucky me, I have never had a flat tire that I had to deal with myself,
>until today that is, so please advise:
>
>Today, as I drove my 98 Camry, I discovered it had a flat tire. By then
>I was in very busy traffic. I do not know if it was already flat when I
>parked it yesterday, obviously I hadn't noticed. Today, I probably
>drove around 4 city blocks before finding a safe parking spot. It was
>rather late, so I decided to deal with it tomorrow.
>
>Tomorrow I will face the problem of deciding if I should repair the
>tire (if it is repairable) or change it. If I change, should I change
>one or two? I am driving 300 miles this weekend for Father's Day, so I
>need to make a wise choice.
>
>BTW the tires are Goodyear Regata, 205/65/15. Though in good shape,
>they are probably a few years old (bought it used) and exact match may
>not be available.
>
>I can drive short distance on the spare. Please advise the best course![/color]

The tire dealer can tell if the old tire can be repaired when they
get it off the rim and inspect it, they look for tread and liner
damage, and signs of cord damage inside the tire carcass.

Some service shops condemn most of the flat tires that come in just
so they can sell you a new one, so go somewhere you feel they'll be
honest. (Not a big chain store <coughSearscough> that's been busted
for stuff like that lots of times, and they just don't learn...)

If the old tires have most of their tread left, you can replace just
one tire, but on the drive axle it's better to do both tires - if one
tire is worn more than the other (or worse, a tire size bigger), it
causes a bit more wear on the differential as it thinks you're going
around a slight turn all day. Not enough to worry about just from
tire wear, but...

And if the car is All Wheel Drive all four tires need to be the same
size and roughly the same wear, or all three differentials do this,
too. The Owners Manual will explain it all.

If you change two tires, save the good old one. (Plastic trash bag,
cool dry place, not crushed.) I hate temporary spares, if you get a
used rim for it you can use it as a full-service spare tire. (Great
for vacations where they'll ding you double for a new tire in the
boonies.)

And the next time you damage a tire, you have one. That method has
already saved me $125 once - ripped a tire open on rebar sticking out
the end of a broken concrete parking bumper. Put the new full size
spare on the car, had a good used tire at home from the last set of
four, had it mounted it on the spare tire rim, all done.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
[color=blue]
> <snip>
>
> If the old tires have most of their tread left, you can replace just
> one tire, but on the drive axle it's better to do both tires - if one
> tire is worn more than the other (or worse, a tire size bigger), it
> causes a bit more wear on the differential as it thinks you're going
> around a slight turn all day. Not enough to worry about just from
> tire wear, but...
>
> And if the car is All Wheel Drive all four tires need to be the same
> size and roughly the same wear, or all three differentials do this,
> too. The Owners Manual will explain it all.[/color]


And if you have an AWD Sienna with the run flats, replacing all four can
get a bit pricey.

All the advice to replace tires in pairs or all four will always be
followed by "it depends". In this case on your driving style and risk
taking behavior. Yes you can drive a rear or front wheel drive car with
four different tires, but your braking, steering and handling will be
less than optimal. If you drive very slowly on dry roads you are fine -
like the people in Florida. I don't drive like this, so I want all four
tires the same make/model/size/condition.

[color=blue]
>
> <Snip
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
>[/color]

"ma_twain" <ma_twain@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:42B1EF77.1020304@yahoo.com...[color=blue]
> Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
>[color=green]
>> <snip>
>>
>> If the old tires have most of their tread left, you can replace just
>> one tire, but on the drive axle it's better to do both tires - if one
>> tire is worn more than the other (or worse, a tire size bigger), it
>> causes a bit more wear on the differential as it thinks you're going
>> around a slight turn all day. Not enough to worry about just from
>> tire wear, but...
>>
>> And if the car is All Wheel Drive all four tires need to be the same
>> size and roughly the same wear, or all three differentials do this,
>> too. The Owners Manual will explain it all.[/color]
>
>
> And if you have an AWD Sienna with the run flats, replacing all four can
> get a bit pricey.
>
> All the advice to replace tires in pairs or all four will always be
> followed by "it depends". In this case on your driving style and risk
> taking behavior. Yes you can drive a rear or front wheel drive car with
> four different tires, but your braking, steering and handling will be less
> than optimal. If you drive very slowly on dry roads you are fine - like
> the people in Florida. I don't drive like this, so I want all four tires
> the same make/model/size/condition.
>
>[color=green]
>>
>> <Snip
>>
>> --<< Bruce >>--
>>[/color][/color]
I used to have to write at least 2 monthly product reports. The subject on
one was specified by the national service department and the subject of the
other was up to the district service manager's discretion.

One of the assignments was a tire survey on non-Toyota vehicles. We had to
write down the model, model year, and tires installed on 20 vehicles. I was
cruising down the highway minding my own business and a Massachusetts State
Trooper stepped on to the shoulder and flagged me down to have a chat.
Parked along the highway were about a dozen Crown Vics, and after we had our
chat, I politely explained my tire survey assignment to the trooper and
asked if it was OK to check out the tires on some of the cruisers. He gave
me permission and I was surprised to find that almost every cruiser had 4
different brands and tire patterns and many were down to 2/32" or less tread
depth.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

Unless all four tires are far gone, there is absolutely no reason to
replace all of them.
------------------------
I wouldn't say "absolutely"

When I was experimenting with slight tire pressure variations, raising
the front tire pressure slightly seemed to make the rear tires hit
expansion joints harder.
Simplest way I can put it, since your tire's contact patch is about the
size of a hand print, imagine a giant holding up your car at all four
corners. As the car's weight shifts and moves around, it stresses all
four corners. More significant at the limits of adhesion I suppose.
Conventional wisdom is that if you keep the two same brand and type of
tire construction on each "axle" you'll have no steering or stability
problems, but I don't believe that's the whole story for more spirited
driving practices.

Ray O wrote:
[color=blue]
> "ma_twain" <ma_twain@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:42B1EF77.1020304@yahoo.com...
>[color=green]
>>Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>>><snip>
>>>
>>> If the old tires have most of their tread left, you can replace just
>>>one tire, but on the drive axle it's better to do both tires - if one
>>>tire is worn more than the other (or worse, a tire size bigger), it
>>>causes a bit more wear on the differential as it thinks you're going
>>>around a slight turn all day. Not enough to worry about just from
>>>tire wear, but...
>>>
>>> And if the car is All Wheel Drive all four tires need to be the same
>>>size and roughly the same wear, or all three differentials do this,
>>>too. The Owners Manual will explain it all.
>>>[/color]
>>
>>And if you have an AWD Sienna with the run flats, replacing all four can
>>get a bit pricey.
>>
>>All the advice to replace tires in pairs or all four will always be
>>followed by "it depends". In this case on your driving style and risk
>>taking behavior. Yes you can drive a rear or front wheel drive car with
>>four different tires, but your braking, steering and handling will be less
>>than optimal. If you drive very slowly on dry roads you are fine - like
>>the people in Florida. I don't drive like this, so I want all four tires
>>the same make/model/size/condition.
>>
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>>><Snip
>>>
>>> --<< Bruce >>--
>>>
>>>[/color][/color]
> I used to have to write at least 2 monthly product reports. The subject on
> one was specified by the national service department and the subject of the
> other was up to the district service manager's discretion.
>
> One of the assignments was a tire survey on non-Toyota vehicles. We had to
> write down the model, model year, and tires installed on 20 vehicles. I was
> cruising down the highway minding my own business and a Massachusetts State
> Trooper stepped on to the shoulder and flagged me down to have a chat.
> Parked along the highway were about a dozen Crown Vics, and after we had our
> chat, I politely explained my tire survey assignment to the trooper and
> asked if it was OK to check out the tires on some of the cruisers. He gave
> me permission and I was surprised to find that almost every cruiser had 4
> different brands and tire patterns and many were down to 2/32" or less tread
> depth.
>[/color]

Did you ask the troopers if this situation was their decision? I
suspect some bean counter told the maintenance department they needed to
save money and tires was one of the areas chosen. Would you suspect
they bought used tires because they were cheaper? This would explain
the different brands, otherwise I would think you would get a better
deal buying new tires the same make/model in volume. This is how they
sell tires to consumers - buy 3 get the 4th free. In the case of a
police department buy 300 and get the next 150 free?

Mike Hunt has experience maintaining fleets - what is your experience
with tires on fleet vehicles?