A few nights ago somebody slashed one of the brand new white wall bias plys I had just mounted on my Packard, parked in front of my house no less. My question is this: Is it safe to put a tube in the tire and still run it? A friend of mine said this would be fine, but other people I've talked to said its a bad idea... What do you guys say? If it makes any difference, its one of the front tires. Thanks in advance for the help everyone.
Tubes are SAFE... they ran them for how many years??? just move the tire to the back- (depends how big your slash is too post a pic) I'm sure you'll get a lot of conflicting answers in this thread... similar to the use of Drum brakes vs. disk... For that car, if its a small jab you can patch it on the inside and tube it... good to go.
You now have a great source of rubber "do-nuts" for body mounts, bed mounts, engine mounts, shims, etc., all in pretty white, if you have a hole saw! Don't even think about putting a tube in it and driving it.
It depends on how big the cut is. I wouldn't do it if its more then a 1/2" but I wouldn't have a problem if it was a 1/2" or less. If you go with a tube have an inside patch put in the tire mainly to protect the tube from chaffing. But then again, if you have a nice rare car like a Packard I'm sure it's worth more than the cost of the Wide White! TO THE TUBE NAYSAYERS: Tony Schumacher just went over 328 mph at Vegas on TUBES! NHRA and IHRA two of the most safety concerned organizations out there don't seem to have a problem with TUBES.
Back in the 50's they would vulcanize a blowout patch inside the tire. We often run those tires at high speeds and had no problems, but they were hard to balance after repair. Those patches were made with cords inside the rubber patch to strenghten them. I doubt if they made those patches today or the equipment to do the repair.
Had someone ice pick my rear tires on the nova...put tubes in them and been running tem for 2 years now
I repaired tires and worked in a tire shop for a lot of years. It depends on what "slash" means. If somebody stuck an icepick through the sidewall and punctured the tire, you can put a patch on the inside, tube it, and you'll be OK. If the sidewall has been slashed and the cords are cut, then the tire can't be repaired. Cutting the cords creates a weak spot that will just get worse with time. Sooner or later as the sidewall flexes, the tube will end up getting pinched (even if the slash has been repaired) and it will start to leak. Another possibility is that the flexing will cause other cords to fray and separate, which could lead to a blow out. Overall, your best bet is to just buy another tire, better safe than sorry. You might be able to patch the old tire, tube it and keep it for a spare, but in general, I wouldn't run it as a regualr tire.
Been repairing tires since the age of 7. Now thats over.....a bunch of years and I would not take a chance on my ride for the few bucks.
WHY> not trying to be an ass, but back up your statement with an explaination.I need an answer on this as well, I am running buick wires and had a blow out, turns out the stiff they put over the spokes to keep from leaking came loose in a hurry and i lost air fast!I have 2 other wheels leaking, moriariaty told me to run tubes from the start, he said you have to in wire wheels. So what I want to know is who knows their shit and who mouths off. what is the correct way and why. and why not to run tubes? Now I don't want to drive my expensive cadillac with tubes because someones says .......NO>>>>>> why is this not the right thing to do, so you saying get ride of my expensive buick wires that were factory on skylarks in 53, prolly ran tubes when new. NOW TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T. so I can stop worrying when driveing cross country soon.I had 4 flats on the last trip and 2 were because of leaky wheels, two because hiways were very hot and rough, others say just haul your car, it's NOT an option! It is my lifestyle to drive that shit, so tell me in detail why i should or should not run tubes. ................
You've got yourself all worked up over the wrong perception. The initial question was "can I run a tube to seal up a slashed tire?" The answer to that is a qualified "NO". It had nothing to do with the merits of running tubes per se. Your situation is different. You need tubes to compensate for leaky wheels.
one tire shop told me not to run tubes in my wires , infact they wouldn't put them in and sent me away. his broken english explaination was, you puncture a tube when run over something loose air fast and have blowout is dangerous. so If I run over something with out a tube and puncture a tire isn't it the same thing? he said its not. what is correct and who knows why.
He didn't want to do your work. That's my explanation. There's absolutely no problem with running tubes at all. Your wire wheels probably used tubes when new and almost all wires require the use of a tube and a rim strip as well as some older steel wheels. Anyone tells you not to run tubes doesn't know what they're talking about or doesn't want to do the extra work it requires to do the job right. To the original thread question...no.
Did Tony Schumacher has a slice in the sidewall ? I've run tubes, in tubeless tires, for years. No problem. Tubes are not the problem here.
Safe means different things to different people. You can tell by the variety of advice you are getting there isn't a definitive yes or no answer to your question. Buy a new tire, why take a chance on a problem? Sidewall defects aren't something to take chances with based on my experience. Back in the 70's I bought a G60-14 "Kelly Supercharger" that had a sidewall patch and ran a tube in it. It came apart at 60 mph in rush hour traffic. As I was changing the tire up against the barrier wall on the freeway with cars and semi trucks zipping by a few feet from my head I told myself I would never again take a chance on a sidewall defect. But then again you do have "Drive fast, take chances, pass on the right." as your signature line.
I have an old O/T Jag with wire wheels, I run tubes in them - always have. You must run the rubber strip around the center of the wheel too, to protect the tube from chafing on the ends of the spokes, even tho they are rounded and smooth. Modern wire wheels (like Daytons) might be able to be run tubeless, but those made back in the day were not designed to be run that way..... As to a slash in the sidewall - that tire is a wall hanging now......replace it, unless as mentioned the car is never driven on public roads, only on/off a trailer and only on display.
I am with alot of the other guys here. Tubes are safe, but NOT in this case with a punctured sidewall. If you have a Packard why would you take a chance running it that way? Tires are cheap when compared to what could happen. Unless it is a trailer queen like many cars are, then run it for a while. But do not drive on the public roads that way.
Thanks for the help guys. I was planning on running it with a tube until i can afford a new tire (wich probably wont be soon), but now i definately won't. I'll mount a different tire until then. That brings up a new question- The only other tires I have close to the same size are still about an inch shorter... The ones I have now are 820-15s, the ones I have in the shed are 700-15s. Is it ok to have just on tire thats smaller, or should I go ahead and mount two?
Did we clarify if it's a puncture or a slice? A puncture, patch and tube like was said above. No amount of repair fixes a slashed tire. Consider the forces and how flexible the tire still is. Has your car got skirts? If so put the old pair in the back (sorry, that's obvious) and cover em up. 1 smaller tire on the front will cause handling woes, in the rear will make the differential gears spin full time and would result in a pretty catastrophic rear gear failure. it sucks that it happened to ya in the 1st place. Vandals or a pissed off girlfriend?
It has two cuts, about three inches long in an X shape. After reading all the replies, I definitely think its irrepairable. Ill mount two old tires and put em in back as suggested above. Seems the safest bet to me. theHIGHLANDER- it was vandals. There has been a series of tire slashings all over town. A car lot down town had something like 27 cars that got done, and at the bank across the street all the cars in their parking lot were done.
If you've got two slashes 3" long, and in an "X" shape, don't even run it as a spare. Like the others said, mount two tires the same size, until you can replace the one that was slashed
It has been said before here....if the slash is not that big...put a boot on it and run a tube in it. It will be just fine. Seems like most of the others must be young guys that were not around in the 50's and 60's when tires were repaired and made road worthy. Gee guys....is his Packard going to be driven at 120 mph + ??
OKAY, thats what i like to hear answers with reason, thank you to all who answered my questions and cleared a few things up. i will not worry about running tubes in my wires now that I understand why it is okay. thanks guys
We had a '49 Jeep 1 ton pickup, split rims, some old used radials, and HD radial tubes. It was used primarily for plowing the driveway, hauling firewood, moving around trailers, and making a few runs to the dump at its blistering 45-52 mph highway speed. Went into an exide tire to get a patch put on the tire, mind you, on a split rim. The patch would have been in the tread, not sidewall. The man at the counter would not patch the tire. His explanation was that putting a tube in a tubless tire was against policy because, was there a problem later, it would be a liability issue. He did, however, offer to mount a new tubless tire, less radial tube, on the split rim for me. Sounds like our excide manager moved to your neighborhood. In a wire wheel you would have to run tubes, and in most cases, a punctured tubless tire will not lose air as quickly or dramatically as a tube and tire would. I think thats what he was attempting to tell you. As for running tubes in your slashed tire: Tubes are perfectly safe. They make, as i mentioned, HD radial tubes for putting inside radials and for using on hot days with heavy loads. In a tire that had say, run over a nail, it would be all right to run a tube. However, sidewall patches don't work; unfortunatley i think you will have to spend some $$ on a new tire, and make this one a cool tire swing. Sorry about your misfortune, Adam
He gave you a answer Chumlee, he said "No"! simple and to the point. You want someone to hold your hand?
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