QuestionI just purchased new Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires for my BMW M3 from the internet. I somehow got a small puncture the size of a pinhole on the sidewall.
Can this somehow be repaired even though tire shops are telling me no? Is it just because they don't want to be responsible if something happens?
If it can be repaired what is the best method, inside repair? I hate to pay another $325 for another new tire.
AnswerDanny,
No, sidewall damage can not be repaired. The motion sidewalls go through is very complex and difficult to describe (you have to do it mathematically). The bottom line is that patch type repairs do not hold up. The only repairs that work are called "section repairs", but they are fairly expensive and unless you have a truck tire or an earthmover tire, the repair is too costly compared to the cost of the tire - and so most repair shops that do section repairs are not set up do to anything but truck and earthmover tires.
The net result is no one bothers with repairing passenger car tires in the sidewall.
There is always a liability issue when it comes to tire repairs.
A puncture means the tire was operated underinflated - and that uses up the fatigue resistance built into the tire many times faster - and there is only so much that can be put in.
But most of the time a tire that has been punctured was operated only a short time before it was discovered, and the risk of failure is fairly low - but not as good as one that was never operated underinflated.
The problem is that if a tire failure occurs at high speeds... well, people have sometimes been killed when that happens. As a result, tire repairs are something that we should all take very seriously and be cautious about. The failure rate might be small, but the consequences can be tragic.
That's why tire manufacturers don't sanction tire repairs - they merely tolerate them - and if a tire is repaired, it has to be done a certain way. These restrictions are put into place to reduce the probability of a failure - it can't be eliminated.
And that includes the restriction that sidewalls can not be repaired.
