Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Cmaddox335]

I've seen several posts of people repairing their RFT. But every place I go to says that they can't do it. I have a slow leak in one of my tires, I top it off every 2 or 3 days. Where can I go to get someone to repair it? Im in the Raleigh area in NC.

[Sean@PYSpeed.com]

We don't recommend patching RFT tires. The reason for this is because if you have a puncture, the air leaks and your still able to run on the sidewalls because it's RFT. You might be running on the sidewalls without pressure. If your doing that, you might have totally compromised the sidewalls. Once you compromise those sidewalls, it's not just a patch for the hole, but your entire sidewall is tearing up and falling apart. This might cause a blow while your driving.

Hope this helps!

found this on e90post
You dont want this happening to your car.

[Express]

never seen a runflat fail because of a patch. i think 3/4 of mine are patched.

[Fight4Cash]

Try to find the leak. I have had a nail in one tire and a bolt in another at different times. Did not have to remove tire to plug. Just got a plug kit and fixed myself. Tires have not leaked air since. As long as leak is not in the sidewall.

[driverman]

I called Bridgestone and my local dealer about this issue.

If you run a RFT a little low on pressure, it shouldn't hurt the tire. If you run it very low for extended periods of time, the tire will give up its life to let you drive on it for a while.

The problem is that a tire shop can't tell by examining a RFT if it's been run at low pressure. So most of them won't repair it.

If you've kept the pressure up close to normal and the nail or screw isn't near the sidewall, I'd call around until you find someone that will repair it. It might help if you tell them that you've kept the pressure up.

[anerbe]

^ exactly.

most major tire retailers will not take the liability to repair a runflat. most of the damage caused by driving on the runflat sidewall cannot be seen with surface inspection, either outside or inside of the tire.

Also, if you are running lower pressures, you do not know at what PSI the tire will start to ride on the RFT reinforcements - damage can be caused at 15 psi for one tire, and 5 psi for another tire.

Ultimately, if you want to attempt a patch, you'll have to probably take it to an independent shop or general garage that mounts/balances.

[driverman]

Originally Posted by anerbe

Ultimately, if you want to attempt a patch, you'll have to probably take it to an independent shop or general garage that mounts/balances.

+1

That's what I did. A small independent BMW specialist repaired it for me.

[hdrewh]

After my 2nd RFT flat and $360+ dealership replacement, I took home my almost-new "nailed" tire and patched it myself. The nail was almost dead center, I knew roughly when it happened because I check air pressure regularly, and was not concerned. Once one of my other tires was ready for normal replacement, I had my local shop check my patch job, mount and balance the RFT. Been fine for several thousand miles now.

If you run it very low for extended periods of time, the tire will give up its life to let you drive on it for a while

Isn't that the whole point of RFTs anyway? Also "very low" should trigger the idiot light and get immediate driver attention.

H