I wouldn't take the risk of the tyre remaining airtight if you remove the nail. If it's penetrated part way through the tread but not pierced right the way through, there could be a fairly thin layer of rubber left to contain the pressure, and it could start leaking. Get it repaired properly.
We had a very slow puncture on our car - tyre lost about 0.5 bar (out of 2.5 bar correct pressure) over a couple of weeks. I couldn't see any sign of anything in the tread, so I was suspecting a leaking valve.
When I eventually got round to taking the car in to a tyre garage they found a screw with its head buried in the tread which had closed over it and a very thin layer of rubber on the inside with a pinhole pierced by the tip of the screw. Easy repair - no need for new tyre which is a good thing when they are that expensive and only had about 10,000 miles wear.
Hasn't happened to me, but I know a few people that have pulled nails out with no problem, and not one has leaked. OTOH, although there aren't many people as parsimonious as me :-), I wouldn't take any chance at all with tyres, since I usually have the family in the car with me. I would always get it checked.
Since you mention DIY, you can buy the patches that the tyre place would use, although it's not going to be easy. Especially when it comes to balancing it.
Costs £10 for a puncture repair at my local place. There's only been two times they haven't done it on the spot:
- When it had been driven on for about 20 miles on it flat, causing serious damage to the inside of an almost brand new tyre (and I saw the damage - s till have the tyre on my old tyre pile).
- When it was close to the sidewall, and it needed to be sent off to be don e. May have cost £20 in this case.
Given the tyres are ~£150 new I've no problem with this, and wouldn't bother to give it a go myself.
If it is really short, so it can't have damaged the plies, you should be OK.
If it is right at the edge of the tread, they will probably want to plug it anyway. If it's not, they will almost certainly want to sell you a new tyre.
I had an "edge of tread" one which turned out to be short (a 6 mm bayonet tack) a few months ago. Since it was on a car with no spare, only a pump and a bottle of goo, I took it to my local (good) tyre place and they plugged it. Had it been one of my vehicles with spares I would probably have pulled it out to see. (They usually leak when you do that IME).
I had just that the other day and the nail was in the middle of the outer block of tread where I'm not sure if they would repair it or not (because of how much flex and heat a conventional plug or patch would have to deal with).
So, because the tyre was reasonably new, I used what I have now used several times for such things (even though it's not designed to be used retrospectively) and that was Punctureseal.
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It is *NOT* one of these pressurised can of vinyl foam that you use after a puncture to get you home, this is a very sophisticated and highly tested, pre-puncture preventative and as you don't actually have a puncture right now, could be considered the ideal use. ;-)
So, once you have the stuff you (ideally) jack up the wheel, (or put a suitably sized block under the suspension at that point) and deflate the tyre. Remove the valve core, apply the correct amount of the 'liquid', (clean out the inside of the stem) replace the core and re-inflate the tyre. Ideally you would drive a bit (20 mins?) before testing to see if that nail was actually penetrating the inside of the tyre and be amazed that the tyre doesn't (and won't ever, within reason) go flat from a puncture. ;-)
It's the exact same (type of) solution as offered pre applied by the likes of Continental:
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FWIW, daughter has just had new tyres fitted to her van and because of the damage that could be done if she was to unwittingly drive a loaded van with a deflating tyre ... or just the risk / inconvenience of having a puncture in the wrong place (on a motorway, in the rain, at night) or anywhere for that matter , she has Puncturesealed all 4 tyres herself.
And please don't be confused by anyone who says 'tyre fitters don't like it' (although I can understand why some might not ('tyre sales') ) or that 'you can't wash it out' (Punctureseal is water soluble and I have washed it out of an old tyre *easily* myself) or that it 'affects the balance' (I have applied it to most of our cars and motorcycles and only noticed a slight inbalance for the first few hundred yards as it spreads evenly around the tyre).
I am a member of several motorcycle clubs (where having a puncture can really ruin your day), most of those who have used Punctureseal (not any other similar looking or sounding product that is likely to be inferior and not as rigorously tested etc) now swear by it. They only realise how many punctures they would otherwise have suffered when it comes time to replacing the tyre and seeing the little tell-tale coloured markers. ;-)
I have only had positive feedback from people I have recommended it to (including users of ride-on-mowers, cars and motorcycles).
No connection other than a very satisfied and long term user. ;-)
If it hasn't penetrated all the way, then how do they repair it when there isn't a hole on the inside to take a plug?
I don't think anyone mentioned asking for a discount either - I think that is termed a straw man where you suggest something stupid then announce that it is a stupid idea.
If the nail has only penetrated through half the rubber, then what is going to make it fail? Especially if it is in deep tread which is designed to be worn away anyway.
us damage to the inside of an almost brand new tyre (and I saw the damage - still have the tyre on my old tyre pile).
one. May have cost £20 in this case.
t bother to give it a go myself.
Look at it as an opportunity to find a decent workshop. If they just quote you silly money for new then go elsewhere but leave the tyre in and drive s lowly to a well respected local garage.
The days of making a fool of yourself with a modern masterpiece of engineer ing faded a long time before top gear became popular.
You can buy DIY tyre repair kits you ignorant fool.
-- =
The skeleton found in the car park has been confirmed to be that of Rich= ard III, but one question remains unanswered: Who did I pay =A320,000 on Ebay for?
It is the method used by the vast majority of repairs of nail in tubeless tyres, I wonder could you show me an alternative method.(not talking about tube type as they are becoming rare)
I have heard conflicting info on whether one should remove tacks from tyres. One school ofthought suggests its safer to leave tem as to disturb it might make it leak, the other is that even after removal any weak spot could end up with a blow out rather then just a leak and hence be more dangerous, buy a new tyre. Luckily, not being a driver myself I note thiis sort of thing and wonder what real people do, my guess is that they eeither leave it or remove it. as for what can help bond the rubber together, I don't know. Brian
The repairs I've had done are from the inside of the tyre with a patch that looks like a mushroom. The stalk is pulled through the tyre (puncture hole) and the large head/patch is glued to the inside of the tyre. This method also means that the state of the inside of the tyre is checked for damage before the repair.
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