sidewall repairs

Steve
I have copied a few comments exchanged between a reader seeking guidance on as to safety and reliability of a sidewall repair that he was considering being done by a local repairer, from an apparent tyre expert on another forum, the experts response is shown immediately below.

Sidewall repairs are problematic. The movement that the tire experiences in the sidewall is complex, so any repair has to be able to stand up to that. And unlike the tread area where there is reinforcement in the form of 2 steel belts that don't allow much movement, the sidewall sometimes only has 1 ply - hardly a reassuring amount. But the big thing is the failure rate. This guy may be very experienced and very knowledgeable, but for him a .1% failure rate is just "Super". But to the one in 1,000 who has an accident as a result, this is totally unacceptable. I don't think sidewall repairs are reliable enough to trust.


Steve
I am also aware that there are a hand full of specialist repairers who do complete sidewall repairs apparently only on slower moving vehicles with rather large tyres and most probably with different side wall construction. See the advertising extract I copied and pasted from a web site some time back shown below.

Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres offers the most sophisticated tyre repair facilities in Australia, allowing tyres to be repaired to the highest possible standards.
Currently it has six tyre repair facilities, in:
Mt Isa ( Queensland )
Mackay ( Queensland )
Perth ( Western Australia )
Kalgoorlie ( Western Australia )
Melbourne ( Victoria )
Hunter Valley ( NSW )
Our facilities are capable of carrying out both minor repairs (damage to the tread or rubber) as well as major repairs (where the tyre wall has been cut through).
Our specialised tyre repair craftsmen have a deep understanding of the principles behind tyre construction, and can therefore gauge the best way to repair a tyre so that it can continue to be safely used -- instead of having to be scrapped.
Because they understand the structure of earthmover tyres, they have the ability to patch or repair them in the most appropriate manner.
Our philosophy is not merely to repair a tyre so that it doesn't leak air, but rather to repair it to a safe, useable standard.
However, if the structure of a tyre is damaged (such as the tyre wall cut through), its life and performance will not be equivalent to an undamaged tyre -- but it will be suitable for in less stressful applications.
And with the cost of a repaired tyre about one-third the cost of a new tyre, tyre repair is becoming an increasingly popular option.
Bridgestone Earthmover Tyres' tyre repair facilities can repair all makes of tyres -- not just Bridgestone-branded tyres.


It seems there is about $100 - 150 value left in the damaged tyre based on the limited info available, as compared with say $25 - $50 to repair the sidewall [assuming no damage to structure etc] and a lot of chasing to find someone that will actually do the job.

Given the risk factor involved and minimal savings, is it worth the punt?

Bob

hardly minimal savings with tyres well over $300 now
- ive never had an issue from getting sidewalls repaired or plugging them

dont forget even if a repair isnt successfull it isnt going to explode and kill all and sundry within a 5 mile radius

it will present as a slow leak - no different to picking that up as any other puncture

Now splittes running cheap crap korean tubes are far more of an issue on the highway than dodgey sidewall repairs (yes ive had one go and its still not a huge drama) but no one thinks twice about that

Hi Bobjl,

Bridgestone do earthmoving "hot patchs" in Parkes as well.

Cheers Wilko

brand new tyres go flat so I would not worry too much about a repaired tyre going flat. Perhaps there have been accidents together with a flat but I never heard of one. I reckon the speed rating would be comprimised however and I would drive sensibly as I do with good tyres anyway.

Owen

Gday John,
This is from the Vicroads website:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/1B3CF4C9-A5F6-4334-B8C1-057449BE3450/0/VSI16.pdf

as an oposin argument- had a simular patch/vulcanise job done guite big had 3 plugs in it till i had it fixed for over a year. repair lasted until the tyre was dead with a sidewall ripped out. had it on the front with no dramas at all

If i bought a $300 new tyre i would have kissed it goodbye within 5000km

trust me new tyres arnt much better than old or repaired they all get trashed the same in the bush

where? i have wasted too much money on bleep ey sidewall punctures. as i said my first place considered it not worth his while

I had a near new BFG get a gash from a rock that I thought wasn't repairable but Ian Diffen in Wangara sent it to a bloke in Osborne Park who fixed it really well.
Hardly noticeable and cost 40 bucks from memory.
That was some years ago and I suspect those that run the branch now may not be so co-operative as they're not too good on anything else!
Try Diffens in your part of the World down south.
Alan.

Bap, don't be fooled into thinking that BFG's or any tyre for that matter can't be staked. The timber out bush here in WA is very very hard and will penetrate any tyre. I've staked my BFG's many times and the majority being sidewalls and I've seen 10ply plus tyres that mining companies use also staked. Cheers

Rod,
I'm just stirring, Steve is my brother and we were together on the trip! Poor guy got a flat on the last night of 3 weeks of some pretty rough tracks down south.
Michelle

No probs