Can You Repair The Inside Sidewall Of A Tire With A Patch

Your tires might non be the most complex office of your vehicle, simply they're arguably among the nigh indispensable. Keeping your tires in adept condition is integral to both safety and performance, so when they suffer damage, it'due south important to take intendance of it immediately. You're likely familiar with patching tires, but are there limits to this practice? For instance, can you patch the sidewall of a tire?

Where the Safety Meets the Road

Tires have more going on than meets the heart. Over the years, tire technology has evolved to brand them stronger, longer-lasting and safer in various driving conditions. There are many parts of a tire, only the 2 master external parts are the tread and the sidewall.

The tread is what contacts the route. It'southward very thick, it wears downwardly over time, and it's the role you pay special attention to when y'all're watching out for alignment issues. It is meant to vesture down, but evenly.

The sidewall is thinner because information technology is non designed to contact the route and clothing down. It protects the inner plies of the tire, which are structural, and it flexes as the tire rotates and bears the weight of the vehicle.

Patching Your Tires

Many people keep tire plug kits in their vehicles for emergency roadside repairs, but patches are a little more than in-depth. In society to properly install a patch, the tire must be safely removed from the vehicle and the rim. The hole or tear expanse must exist cleaned up and covered with vulcanized cement and then that the patch can exist installed from the inside and sealed before the tire is reinstalled on the vehicle.

The patch adheres to the tire'southward textile around the damage, and the added pressure of aggrandizement actually works to press the patch outward further plugging the hole. If done correctly, this creates a seal that can concluding the remainder of the tire's life. Patches are viable for repairing small holes or tears, generally, those that are ane/4 inch or less.

Fixing Damage in the Sidewall

If you have a leak, hole or tear in your sidewall equally opposed to your tread, you should not repair it with a patch. The thinness of the sidewall gives little material for a patch to adhere to, and the damage to the sidewall leaves the tire structurally compromised. As mentioned before, the sidewall tends to flex, putting actress stress on the repair and increasing the likelihood of patch failure, which is more than likely to occur at higher speeds and pressures.

Patching the sidewall is merely not a good idea, every bit a leak or blowout while the vehicle is underway could event in loss of control with catastrophic consequences. Then if yous stop up with a damaged tread, you can plug and patch abroad, but if the damage is to your sidewall, you're going to have to replace the tire, which usually ways replacing the fronts or rears in pairs.

And so tin can you patch the sidewall of a tire? The answer is a solid no. Luckily, sidewall damage is far less common than damage to the tread, and yous can minimize it past paying attention to route weather condition, not overloading your vehicle, staying away from the curb when you're parallel parking, and keeping your tires properly inflated, rotated and maintained.

Bank check out all the tires, wheels and accessories available on NAPA Online, or trust i of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more than data on patching tires, conversation with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA Auto PARTS store.

Photos courtesy of Blair Lampe.

Blair Lampe View All

Blair Lampe is a New York-based professional person mechanic, blogger, theater technician, and speechwriter.  In her downtime she enjoys backpacking wherever her boots will carry her, rock climbing, experimental theatre, a crisp rosé , and showering beloved on her 2001 Sierra truck.

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