Tires: sidewall puncture, firestone firehawk indy 500, firehawk indy 500

Question
hello barry smith
there are 4 firestone firehawk indy 500's on my '98 2x4
ford f150
size P265/70R16 111S    tires have about 10 thousand
miles & a year old.
unfortunately looks as if someone punctured two thumb
tack type holes in the sidewall of the rear passenger
tire. both of the punctures are on the same half of
the tire. contemplated repairing the tire but decided
to replace a set until i learned that firestone has
discontinued the tire and only found one here in los
angeles.
what do you think?
repair the inside of the tire with two patches and no
plug since the puncture is so small?
replace only one tire starting it on the rear?
thanks for your time
jonathan robert  

Answer
Jonathan,

Here's the deal:  Punctures in the sidewall don't hold up very well because the motion the sidewall goes through is very complex.  This motion is very difficult for a patch to cope with the need to add structure to the injured part of the structure - and if the tire fails - which is most likely at high speeds - well, the consequences aren't always pleasant.  That's why it is recommended not to repair tires with punctures in the sidewall.

So I would replace both rear tires and hold the odd tire as a spare.