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Tyre puncture repair
Good news – a puncture doesn’t necessarily mean you need to buy a new tyre. Here at New Forest Tyres we can repair punctures in the tread caused by the usual suspects including screws and those annoying sharp-edged stones which abound in the New Forest.
Sometimes a tyre that is losing air doesn’t have a puncture at all. A damaged valve is another common reason for tyre deflation.
Whatever the cause, give us a call on 01590 718583 first. Typically, we’ll advise you to inflate the tyre to the correct pressure, leave it for an hour and then check again. If the pressure hasn’t dropped significantly in that time we’ll ask you to drop in to our workshop so we can inspect the tyre.
If your car uses runflat tyres these are not repairable. Commercial tyres, self-sealing and ‘silent’-type tyres are not good candidates for repair either. Check with us if you are unsure what type of tyres are fitted.
What happens next?
When you arrive, we will inspect the tyre to see if it has been run underinflated for a prolonged period. Serious underinflation over time causes structural damage and this often creates tell-tale marks on the sidewall. If we spot these we won’t be able to make a repair.
Unfortunately, not all structural damage is evident on the outside of the tyre and may only be discovered when a tyre is removed from the wheel.
We don’t think there’s any point paying for a puncture repair if the tyre hasn’t got a good amount of life left in it. So, we’ll be looking for a minimum tread depth of 2.5mm across the whole tyre before we look for the source of the puncture.
These first couple of checks take far longer to describe than to actually carry out you’ll be pleased to hear.
We’ll then locate the source of the puncture. We’ll give the valve a quick tweak first to see if this is the issue. Then we’ll rotate the wheel to look for screws, stones etc. If an object has penetrated the tyre in the central three quarters of the tyre it can typically be repaired.
Punctures in any other part of the tyre, including the sidewall, can’t be repaired.
How do you repair a puncture?
Once the source of the puncture has been found, the area will be marked and the wheel removed from the car. The tyre is then removed from the wheel and inspected.
If we find evidence that the tyre has been run underinflated such as beads of rubber or delamination, we won’t be able to repair the tyre. Previous repairs that are closer than 150mm to the new damage also mean the tyre can’t be repaired.
If the tyre is OK, we’ll inspect/replace the valve (or the serviceable parts of the valve sensor if your car has a wheel-mounted tyre-pressure monitoring system) as necessary.
The object that caused the puncture will be carefully removed. As long as the hole left isn’t more than 6mm, the tyre is then drilled to accept a plug that pulls through from the inside of the tyre and glued in place to seal the hole.
Once repaired, the tyre will be refitted, inflated, balanced and the wheel and tyre assembly refitted to your car.
The repair process reduces the tyre’s speed rating by one tier. For example, a tyre with a V-speed rating (150mph) will be reduced to H (130mph). This is unlikely to impact the vehicle in day-to-day use, but you may want to mention the change to your insurance company.
What does it cost?
A puncture repair and rebalance costs £25 (inc. VAT).
If your car has a wheel-mounted tyre-pressure monitoring system and the valve section of the sensor is damaged we hold the serviceable parts in stock. This service is £35 (inc. VAT). Many garages will replace the whole sensor and valve assembly and charge you double to treble that price.
