:angry: Driving away from the house late for a meeting and noticed the car pulling left and a new idiot light lit up on the dash.... low tire, really low. I changed to the spare like a good DIY'r would do and it looks like a drywall screwhead right at the corner of the tread. I'll take it to my trusted tire place tomorrow. I have been searching P/C for the best word on replacement tires for the Touring model and haven't seen the posts about it yet. I have 21K on the Touranzas, and, in the event I need to replace the one tire should I buy two instead. Maybe I should upgrade to a better set of four now? BTY, some observations about changing the tire: * The jack turning bar has a rough spot that will cut your palm -- put gloves in with jack! :blink: * The temporary donut tire has a nifty yellow color on it's rim. B) * Junk in trunk makes for slow acess to tire beneath. Lee
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gadgetdad @ Nov 11 2007, 02:48 PM) [snapback]538080[/snapback]</div> Dry wall screw in the tread should be able to be fixe easily. Not in the sidewall however.
Sorry to hear about your tire. I think that you can just read the different tire threads here to help you decide which tire to get. The only difference is that you have different size tires and wheels. The main or best tire thread that I know of is called Tire Upgrade, and which I've linked for you here: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=2...hl=tire+upgrade Then, recently someone started a Touring Edition Tire Upgrade thread: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=3...hl=tire+upgrade I think that there are not many tires available in the Touring Edition OEM tire size of 195/55/16. So the issue will become whether you can find a tire you want from the limited selection of 195/55/16 tires, or go to a different, more common size, e.g., 205/55/16, in order to get the tire you want. Good luck.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(icarus @ Nov 11 2007, 07:00 PM) [snapback]538086[/snapback]</div> Seconded. I don't even take them off the car and just fix them in my driveway. Pliers, a plug kit (<= $20, available at most auto parts stores, and even Walmart type auto "aisles") a source of air, and 5 minutes are all you need. Inflate the tire, remove the screw, rough up the hole with the round raspy file in the kit, insert the plug with the T-handle tool, remove the T-handle tool, check the air pressure and wash up. Honestly, it takes me longer to find the kit in my garage and wash up afterwards than it does to effect the actual repair. ---Jim
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gadgetdad @ Nov 11 2007, 06:48 PM) [snapback]538080[/snapback]</div> I might be wrong, but I thought I read another posting about a nail/screw (don't remember which) was in (newly purchased car) the tire besides MINE! I had just had 4K on the stock tires when I noticed a slow leak and sure enough, took it to the dealer and they had it fixed, it was not in the sidewall. Lucky me, they said. I upgraded anyways to Goodyear's TT's soon after....great tires!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sokoloff @ Nov 12 2007, 07:18 AM) [snapback]538378[/snapback]</div> While plug kits work, sometimes, they should be used in an emergency situation only. Plugs have been know to come out at speed with catastrophic results. Most tire shops will repair a falt for free if either you have bought tires from them before, or they think you will buy them in the future... Be safe. Icarus
The location you describe may not be repairable. It sounds like the same spot where my current leak is...on the tread but near the edge of it. They say it's too close to the sidewall to repair. http://priuschat.com/Dang-nail-in-my-tire-t40364.html#
Sometimes a patch will work. It is applied on the inside of the tire, rather than a plug which just fills the hole. If you must replace, I like my hydroedge by Michellin, but there are many many tire threads on here.
I thought that plugs were not an acceptable repair. (told that by a tire dealer a few years ago) but I just looked it up on the internet. http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl028a.htm Seems like plugs are OK.
My tire was patchable so I was spared buying a new set of tires. Thanks for the ideas mentioned above. I hope more Touring edition owners report their findings about tire options for the 16" rim size. I have almost 22,000 miles on mine and it looks like I can go another 10K at least till a new set. BTY: After driving for a day on the spare in the left front, I have decided that it would be better to have put the spare on the rear axle and put the normal tire on the front. I'm sure the car would have handled better and would have been less noisy. The spare was rather edgy but the yellow rim did look fairly dapper! Lee
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gadgetdad @ Nov 13 2007, 12:50 AM) [snapback]538770[/snapback]</div> I've got the Turanzas with 9k miles on them now, and when I got my obligatory nail (close to the sidewall, no less), I replaced it with the same kind. And... I went to the dealership because it was about 5 minutes from work. They really took me for a ride on the price though. Even with the road hazard warranty I was out $70. cout << grrrrrr; And... That yellow rim is the ugliest thing I have ever seen, but to each his own. I'm going to paint mine one of these days. Maybe some cool zebra stripes would look better.
I used to do a lot of tire repairs, if the hole is near the edge of the tread, it is not recommended to be repaired, it can be, but at that location in the tread the steel bands end, and any damage to the steel can cause tread separation. The recommended tire repair procedure is both plug AND patch. Plugs if not done properly can pop out or leak, patches without a good plug can also leak due to the steel being fractured. The plug will keep the steel from damaging the patch. For a good plug job, clean it well, ream it well, and use a lot of rubber cement, and use the correct type of plug for the tire. All radial tires need to use a rubber impregnated fiber type plug, do not use the solid rubber plugs, the steel belts will eat through it FAST. Make sure the plug is doubled over when it is pushed through and twist it around a bit before pulling out the tool so that it bonds well with the surrounding rubber. I have a couple plugs I did on my Truck duallies where nails and screws have met the rubber. Haven't had a leak or failure yet.
