I noticed I had a nail in my tire last week. I noticed the nail head on the tire - the tire wasn't low on air or flat that I could see. I removed the wheel and took it to a tire shop for a repair. They looked at it and said they wouldn't do it because it was on the sidewall tread.

I checked the tire pressure today and it was at 25 lbs. I typically run 31lbs in my tires. The temperature and barometric pressure can do weird things though, so I wasn't so sure the tire was losing air. It's been weeks since I've added air too.

I went and bought 2 matching tires today at the warehouse to replace both front tires so the tread life will match. I jacked up the car, took off the wheels, and I decided to try to pull out the nail to see what it looked like. It's actually just a tack. It's 1/2 inch long. It was sticking in the tread. When I pull it out, the tire didn't hiss. There was also a staple in between the tread. I pulled that out, and it didn't hiss either. So I have holes in my tire, but it isn't hissing.

I'm freakin confused now. Even if the tire isn't punctured, do you think I should ditch the tire anyway? Since it isn't severely punctured, might it be worth doing a repair myself? Or should I play it safe, and have tip-top road worthy tires?

I still have the receipt for the tires I bought today.

 

I just got some dish washing soap and dabbed it over the hole. a little bubble dome is forming on top of the whole - ever so slightly. It takes a few seconds for a little bubble to start. It's not hissing or making a big bubble. It looks like a very SLOW leak.

 

So which one is leaking, the tack or the staple? If either one is in the tread area, whether on top or in between, it can be easily fixed. If it's around the corner of the tread and into the sidewall, then it can't be fixed.

 

It was on the outer tread.

I kinda don't think the staple holes are leaking. I didn't put soap on top of them though.

 

as camaro 69 said if its one the bottom/tread area it can be patched, however when its on the sidewall it cant be because it becomes a safety issue

 

Ok. Well, I thought it might be possible to repair a MINOR puncture like this one for $10 myself, and it'd be fine, even though a shop wouldn't want to mess with it for liability reasons. $10 vs. the $180 I spent on new tires. $180 for two new tires, for one tiny puncture. I just wanted to check and make sure I'm not an idiot for buying two new tires, even if it is on the sidewall tread.

 

Sounds like you were just looking for a good excuse to buy new rubbers!

 

I was kinda considering getting new wheels, but I don't want to blow that much money.

I'm not really looking for an excuse. They have 10k miles on them, and it seems like kind of a shame to ditch them. They have lots of tread. If there's not a practical fix, then I'll just put the new tires on.