I haven't had my wheels for too long and I picked up a screw somehwere Now I have a slow leak. It'll take about two days to be under 20 lbs. I have called ALL over the place and I can not get anyone to touch my wheels without some dumb "You know we'll scratch those" comment. The ones that will assure me that they will not scratch them and they promise over the phone, change their mind when I get there. I drove over an hour one way to find out, "I don't know who told you that". I was wondering if the fix-a-flat stuff really does work because I need a temp fix atleast until I can find someone to take the tire off and patch it. And if anyone is around the Pittsburgh, Imperial, Robinson area that knows a place that could do it, let me know. I mean the infinity dealer has 19s on the G35 but they won't touch my 19s...WHY?!?!?

 

you can take your wheel off without scratching your rim.

 

I am trying to take the tire off the rim. I have been calling around for the last week and no one will attempt it unless I accept that it WILL get scratched. They need to take the tire off to patch it. And whenever I need new tires, how am I going to put them on? I need too find someplace to do it.

You ever used any fix-a-flat? Does that stuff work?

 

Do not leave the Fix-a-Flat stuff in for any length of time. It is ok for a temporay fix but will eat the metal in the rim if left in. My wife had a Mustang GT that she put that stuff in a tire and left it for about a year. Developed a slow leak, so took it into a tire shop to be looked at. When the guy took the tire off the wheel he showed me several tiny holes in the wheel where the Fix-a-Flat stuff had eaten through.

 

what you need to do is call around and find a place that will "plug" the tire, not patch it. I know its rare to find someone to do it and alot of places complain that the plug is not as good as a patch, but its all BS. The only reason they don't do it anymore is because its a $5 fix instead of a $20 fix. Anyway, the plug is perfect for nail and screw holes and it can be done without taking the tire off the rim. I've used them DOZENS of times on mine and other folks cars and NEVER had a problem.

My wife is running on a plug right now that we had done 2 years ago. Problem was finding someone who still does plugs. After calling around to a bunch of places, we finally found a gas station who did it. They didn't even take the wheel off the car and they did it for my wife for free.

 

find a place that sell used tires...they'll usually plug a tire for you

 

definately get the plug done. i am going through the same thing now. just havent got around to it. sounds like my leak is slower though and I work right next to a gas station with a free pump, i get my coffee there every morning so i just add some air also untill i can get her in.

as far as the fix-a-flat. if you absolutely have to use it, make sure you follow the directions to a T. put it in when the tire is damn near fully deflated. then use the fix a flat to bring the tire up. then i think it says to inflate the tire to just about 30 psi, and when there drive 2-3 miles at 25 to 30 mph to distribute the junk throughout the tire. this is very important cause if you skip this the all the junk will not get evenly distributed and will settle on the down side of the tire and harden, now you have a wheel that will act like its out of round, BAD!!! After the drive, fill the tire up the rest of the way to specs. and then you are good to go. be careful on the highway though cause it wont be perfect and with fix a flat at the higher speeds you may get a vibration. (i know all this cause of multiple times of using it with my grandfathers farm equipment and trucks)

with that said you can easily see why you want to avoid it.

 

oh, yeah, forgot to mention (and now there are 2 of you), that driving around with the screw or nail in the tire is not a good idea. It may be ok now, but it could break loose at any moment (you are, after all, spinning it over pavement thousands upon thousands of times ... it WILL wear down and come loose eventually) and then you are stuck on the side of the road putting your spare on. Just a word of warning, that's all.

 

i used to work at just tires and with expenisive low profile wheels you just have to be carefull. If the tire installer is good he should sratch your rims. i used to work on 19 inch rims with like 30 profile and never scratched any of them. are they difficult to do? yes. Are they going to get scratched? no. as long as they use platic heads and go technique, they shouldnt scratch them at all.

PS: dont get a plug. they are not full proof. if the plug starts leaking there is no way to fix the hole again. just go to a reputable corporation shop like just tires or american tire co and they should not have a problem not scratching your rim.

 

I recently had a tire repaired at Americas Tire Company. Had nice 2 inch screw in the left rear tire. They had it fixed in about 15 mins, no scratches on the rim (they used plastic thingys on the machine), and best of all - for FREE!

 

When you bought the 19s and tires, who mounted them for you? Can you take it there?

 

I have the OEM 17" Rims. Every place I've taken them to has scratched the darn things (expect 1 place) and everytime I request for them to repaint them. I've been to Nissan dealerships, Discount Tire, and NTB. I think the one place I haven't had any damage was from Sears. I had the Nissan dealership tell me that I had a nail in the tire. They didn't fix it because they didn't want to have to repaint the darn things again. So I went to Sears. I think it's all a matter of the mechanic knowing what the heck they are doing and taking their sweet time (versus trying to rush it).

NTB and Discount tire were especially bad because after they repainted it, they scratched the darn things when they got the rims back (trying to remount the tires).

 

I've actually had good luck with NTB . . . I suppose it all goes back to the tech and his experience. Back when I was younger, I had the owner of a tire shop tell me to avoid Fix A Flat at all costs. Apparently using it makes patching a tire virtually impossible since the patch needs a clean area to adhere. Fix a Flat fills the area by creating a layer of resin, which has a very low porosity = bad adhesion for patches.

Not sure if he was 100% correct, but it did make a bit of sense at the time.

G

 

Don't use FixAFlat unless it's an emergency measure to get you to a tire store. Then get it fixed quickly. There's got to be a shop in Erie that does custom wheel and tire work as a general course of business. Keep trying.

 

I used to work at discount tire and fix a flat is crap. When the air inside the tire gets hot, it just liquifies that crap and it never seals. Plus the tech working on your rim will hate you a little bit more when he sees that you put fix a flat in there. To fix a nail puncture, the tech wil grind down the spot with the hole from inside the tire. Then he will use a scrapper to scrape all the ground up rubber, put glue in the area, apply the patch, use a rolling tool to push down on the adhesive patch so that it sticks, and then paint it with a thick black rubber paint to assure that it doesn't leak.

 

I just got a nail in my left rear tire and took it to Nissan in Cerritos CA, they said they could not patch it because it is a performance tire. So I bought a new tire for 300 dollars, ouch and it had only 14 or 15 thousand on it, and looked great.

 

It absolutely can be fixed again. IF it becomes a problem (again, I've never had this happen on the dozens I have fixed), you can always go the route of the patch by pulling the plug from the inside, clipping it flush, and patching the area just like you would have before the plug.

 

Well thanks for all the help guys. I would have come back earlier to post but for some reason this site has not been sending me emails when someone posts in my threads. I ended up going to a place recommended by a guy with a Z with 20s and 30 series tires, Ace Tire. I went and they plugged it for me for $10.70 and guarenteed not to leak. Can't beat that. It only has to last until the tread is gone but that will be probably another 15 -20 thousands miles. But I drove all the way home and went for a drive and it hasn't lost any air so I think I am good. Thanks again guys.

 

thats bs. I've patched hundreds of vette tires without any problems. If possible, take your tires to discount tire. they do free flat repairs regardless of wheter you bought your tire there or not.

 

never take it to the dealer.. they will charge you an arm and a leg...