Nail in tyre.....?

J

JustCruzin

Member
Took my 35is for its first 2 year service today at Stephen James Ruxley. I have driven her 13k miles so far. Just got a call saying that my rear 255/30 R19 Bridgestone RFT on the driver's side has a nail in it.

Few questions. I did ask why the tyre warning light had not illuminated. I was told it was likely this would cause a VERY slow leak. I check my pressures every two weeks and there has never been a loss of pressure so far. I am aware that the general recommendation is that RFTs should not be repaired but the reason given for this is that the structural integrity of the tyre is compromised once the tyre has been driven in the 'flat' state' which mine has not (yet!).

On Pistonheads there is a thread from a reputable poster who spoke directly to Bridgestone and he was told that their RFTs can be safely repaired.

BMW are quoting £243 for a single tyre :(
Black circles £192

A repair would be soooooooooo much cheaper!

Any suggestions folks?

Cheers JC :D
 
I've had one RFT repaired on my old 2.3 Zed drove another 3000 miles on it afterwards with no problems
Think it cost less than £20
 
Take the wheel to a reputable tyre fitter and ask them if it can be repaired. Repairs are regulated and standardised like everything else these days. If it's not in the side wall area, then chances are it can be repaired perfectly safely. Otherwise it's Black circles, if you only buy one then you will have tyres with different wear on them, so I would bite the bullet and buy two new ones.
 
I had a nail in my rear tyre same size as yours & had it repaired at the main dealer in Blackpool! It was around £30 iirc & was done to the correct standard etc.
 
Thanks for the reassuring responses. It would be really handy to save a few bob at the moment!

I did just speak with a Bridgestone technician at their head office in Warwick. I was told that provided the tyre had not 'run flat' to the 50mph/50 mile phase and the pressures were still good then the tyre can definitely be considered for repair.

Big thanks to you all again.

Cheers JC :D
 
In terms of why you have no pressure loss, you would often not. The nail is likely to make a perfect seal against the tyre in the same way it does against the rim. After a few miles it will be ground nice and smooth and could easily remain unseen until replacement of as in your case an MOT.
 
Note that a nail in tyre does not mean a puncture. First of all, pull it out and see. 2nd, as above depending on the normal rules of repair, runflats are no different and can be repaired.
 
Yep, Had one in my 5 series today, a 3 inch bolt. Not repairable - £175 down the swanny.
Tyre still had a good 10-15,000 miles on it too :headbang:
 
Zed Five said:
Note that a nail in tyre does not mean a puncture. First of all, pull it out and see. 2nd, as above depending on the normal rules of repair, runflats are no different and can be repaired.
Click to expand...

I'd only pull the nail out at a convenient location and time, rather than risk a flat and potentially a recovery or rushed expensive replacement purchase
 
Number5 said:
Yep, Had one in my 5 series today, a 3 inch bolt. Not repairable - £175 down the swanny.
Tyre still had a good 10-15,000 miles on it too :headbang:
Click to expand...

OMG that is awful! Very sorry to hear this. I think I will take the car to my Watling Tyre dealer. Not brave enough to pull out a nail and then watch the car whiz around and get caught in a tree :D
 
Oh there is one other question I have. What type of tyre pressure monitoring system or TPMS does the E89 have? There are apparently two types, one which is linked to the ABS braking system and the other is an internal system which monitors the pressures inside the tyres?

Cheers JC :D
 
I've had a dealer try the very same - turns out the nail was in between the tread blocks and had gone in sideways into the tread block and not penetrated the tyre at all...

dealer prices are such a rip off as well - leave it in and investigate further in your own time.
 
gannet said:
I've had a dealer try the very same - turns out the nail was in between the tread blocks and had gone in sideways into the tread block and not penetrated the tyre at all...

dealer prices are such a rip off as well - leave it in and investigate further in your own time.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks. Rechecked pressures again today (sorry paranoid) and they are plum normal :)

Will hopefully be able to get this repaired.

Cheer JC :D
PS- love the cat on your avatar- for sale at all?
 
My Bolt was plumb in the middle, right in the central grove,s o I thought that would be ok. They the went down to about 15psi so I pumped it right up again and drove to 3.5 miles to the Tyre Depot, confident of a repair for £15.

They called me out and showed me the tyre saying that there were marks on the insides of the shoulders indicating that the walls had been weakened, driving it flat, so wouldn't repair it.

I always go to them and they are usually very good, so whilst I didnt want to beleive it, I neither had cause to doubt them.

Anyway, the upshot was a new tyre, but at least the had an identical one there, rather than getting into a mixed set.
 
I had to have a new Bridgestone RFT on the front yesterday because of a large nail, and I've only had the car for a month! My residents' car park is a bloomin' building site at the mo with nails, broken glass and wood splinters, so I guess it was only a matter of time... :!:

Merityre told me without even looking at it that they couldn't repair a runflat so it cost me £175 instead of £20. Tbh, the tyre wasn't in great shape anyway because there was a fair bit of perishing between the grooves so it was about time it was changed, even though there was a few mills of tread left. I asked about changing both fronts to non-rfts and they told me they'd have to do all four because they wouldn't mix them.
Now I think I'll have to get the other front changed because the difference in tread depth is making the car pull slightly to the left. It's a good thing she's pretty because this car is costing me an arm and a leg!
 
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