Patch or plug?
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Super Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 524
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From: MS Gulf Coast
1997 E320 Sedan
Patch or plug?
Finally got a flat in my wife's new ML350 yesterday while driving down some of the debris littered roads in South Mississippi, yeah I'm a Katrina survivor.
Would you recommend a patch or plug? I've heard patches are better.
Would you recommend a patch or plug? I've heard patches are better.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 717
Likes: 1
From: Manassas, VA, USA
2011 VW cc, 2004 ML350
Once upon a time in the '80s, I worked in the tire business. Mounted 'em, balanced 'em, repaired 'em. If you had asked me then, I would have definitely patched it. I didn't believe that anything was better than removing the tire and patching it. I still like the idea, but since I haven't had access to a tire machine for a few years, I've ben forced to use plugs. I simply refuse to pay someone to do something I can do myself. Well, I've come to like plugs. The whole time I was repairing tires professionally, I only had one fail and I told that guy it wouldn't work because of the location of the puncture, which was in the shoulder area of the tire. Since I've been using plugs, I've had zero failures. When our house was under construction, I came over here frequently and consequently picked up some tire damage. When I had my tires replaced last time, the guy at the tire shop noticed that there were eight plugs between those four tires whith four plugs in one of them!
All that being said, I still like the idea of patching tires. But plugs cost less, take less time(I often do it on the vehicle without even removing the wheel), and my success rate has impressed me. Also, the risk of tire and wheel damage from removal/reinstallation is avoided. Assuming your tire is punctured in the tread area, and has sustained no structural damage, I would say that a properly installed plug would be just fine.
All that being said, I still like the idea of patching tires. But plugs cost less, take less time(I often do it on the vehicle without even removing the wheel), and my success rate has impressed me. Also, the risk of tire and wheel damage from removal/reinstallation is avoided. Assuming your tire is punctured in the tread area, and has sustained no structural damage, I would say that a properly installed plug would be just fine.
