Should I Leave The Nail In The Flat
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Getting something stuck in your tire happens more often than you remember. The safe cloth around your wheels will oftentimes pick up pebbles, droppings, or gravel, which is perfectly normal and usually won't cause any harm. Simply sometimes, foreign objects such as nails and screws can also terminate up on the road and become stuck in your tires.
If this has always happened to you, you may have wondered what you tin can do and whether it's condom to keep driving your car. To answer this question, we've put together a quick guide on what drivers should practice in instance they find themselves on the road with a nail stuck in their tire.
Can You lot Drive with a Nail in Your Tire?
The short answer is that information technology depends on how big the smash (or other object is), and how fast the tire is losing air.
But aye, information technology's possible to bulldoze with a boom in your tire if the tire is even so belongings air. Yous should never attempt to drive a vehicle with a flat or blown-out tire as it tin can create extremely unsafe driving conditions. Of class, everybody knows you tin't drive on a flat tire and shouldn't even try unless somebody is threatening you and you just need to leave the area to get away from them. In that case, you'll need a new wheel as well as a new tire when you're done.
What to Do When You Find a Smash in Your Tire
If your tire pressure light illuminates and you can tell by the sound or the feel of the vehicle that one of your tires is losing pressure or has gone apartment, activate your hazard lights and advisedly pull over at the earliest condom place. Brand sure to get far enough off the road so your machine doesn't get hit by oncoming traffic! Then, bank check your tires for signs of damage or air loss. Later on confirming that you have a punctured or flat tire, the next stride is determining whether you should continue driving or call for a towing service.
If you take a flat tire, become ahead and supervene upon information technology with a spare—if you have one. If y'all don't have a spare or you practise not know how to modify a tire, get your vehicle towed to the nearest repair facility.
Granted, some vehicles today come without spare tires and some will have the spare tire mounted in such a ridiculous place that it'due south a LOT of trouble to get information technology out of in that location.
On the other manus, if yous find a strange object stuck in the tire, such every bit a nail, you may be able to skip the towing service and merely drive to the nearest tire repair shop. Once more, check if the tire is losing air—in well-nigh cases, a stuck nail means the air won't leak out right away, and volition simply result in a gradual loss of air pressure.
If this is the case, you lot should exist able to safely drive your vehicle to a tire professional to get it patched or repaired. Tire professionals are equipped with the correct skills, tools, and expertise needed to prepare a tire with a stuck nail. They are the best people to conduct tire repair as a long-term solution for your vehicle.
Your Options if Your Tire is Non Completely Flat and the Car is Notwithstanding Reasonably Drivable
To sum it upwards, if the tire is not totally flat and you can technically withal bulldoze your car, you should practice one of the post-obit:
- Make sure y'all take an electric tire inflator in the trunk (they don't cost much), park in a prophylactic, well lighted identify and utilize the electric tire inflator to air the tire upward so you lot tin can drive to the nearest tire repair shop.
- Park in a safe, well-lit identify, remove the flat tire, and install your spare. Practise doing this at home or on level concrete, and make sure if you take to practise it when you're out and most, brand sure yous get as far off the road equally yous tin and park on hard level ground or pavement, preferably in a parking lot. DO Non park your car and then shut to the road with traffic whizzing past every bit y'all do the work, or you could become involved in a serious accident. Information technology's likewise adept to have a thick piece of plywood nearly sixteen inches square to put under the jack merely in case you lot take to change the tire where the ground is soft.
- Park in a rubber well-lit identify and call for a tow truck if you're non capable of removing the low tire and installing the spare.
- Park in a safe well-lit place and utilise a tire plug kit if you're strong enough – if you're not – don't become there – it's a workout that unremarkably takes the strength of a linebacker or a bricklayer considering you accept to enlarge the nail hole so you lot can install the plug. And you nonetheless demand that electric tire inflator after y'all plug the hole.
If yous can't discover a safe, well-lit place, then just find a safe place and have a bright light or two with you – preparation is the key. Do what you can to prepare. Information technology's better to have something and not need it than to need something and non accept it.
Driving with a boom in your tire, even if information technology's only for brusque distances, can harm the tire if it loses too much air. The tire pressure monitor system should alert you if one of your tires is low, so pay attention to those warning lights.
Reminder : DIY tire sealants, inflators, plugs, and patches are designed to be used as a brusk-term solution during emergency situations only. These quick fixes can make your tires more susceptible to blow-out compared to professional repair work.
Should Yous Repair or Replace a Punctured Tire?
While it'due south possible for punctured tires to be repaired, at that place are cases wherein the damage is irreparable, and replacing your tires is the just condom choice. It's all-time to let the tire store make up one's mind, and if you buy two new tires, manufacturers specify that the new tires be installed on the rear rather than the front end. Insist on this, because some tire stores volition fence with yous nigh it.
Here are the factors that professionals consider when deciding whether to repair or replace a punctured tire:
Location of hole/s
Repair: The puncture is in the tread area.
Replace: The puncture is in the sidewall or shoulder of the tire.
Size of the hole/southward
Repair: The hole is less than a quarter of an inch.
Replace: The hole is larger than a quarter of an inch.
Severity of the damage
Repair: The tire has one or more punctures that are at least 16 inches apart.
Replace: The tire has multiple holes that are located close together.
Signs of a Compromised Tire (That's Near to Get Flat)
The longer you drive with a nail in your tire, the higher the risk of you losing control of your vehicle and causing a serious accident. To ensure your safety and that of other vehicles on the road, watch out for the following signs that your tire is punctured and about to go apartment:
Loss of Air Pressure
Late-model vehicles are equipped with a Tire Pressure level Monitoring System or TPMS that warns the commuter whenever i or more tires are underinflated. This may be used to monitor whether one of the tires is punctured or about to go flat.
A low tire pressure reading will trigger a dashboard warning light on the instrument panel that commonly resembles a horseshoe with an exclamation point in the eye.
Steering Feels Off
A flat tire will make your vehicle hard to drive straight. You may detect that your steering wheel feels like it'southward being pulled to one side and that your automobile veers either to the left or correct.
Reduced Acceleration
A tire that's completely apartment will cause your vehicle to tedious down. At this point, your car is essentially riding on the rim. You'll observe that yous need more throttle than normal simply to proceed it moving at your desired speed.
Unusual Noises
A punctured or underinflated tire will flex more and overheat, often resulting in a sudden loss of pressure level chosen a blowout. The sudden release of air pressure from the tire volition produce a whooshing sound. Meanwhile the deflated safety volition produce slapping noises as information technology continues to make contact with the road.
Tire Appears Flat
In most cases, a visual inspection of the tire is enough to observe the presence of a strange object puncturing the safety. However, a deeply embedded smash tin can cause a slow leak that may not come with whatever obvious signs of damage. This will require the removal of the tire from the vehicle in order to examination for leaks.
Source: https://www.carparts.com/blog/is-it-safe-to-drive-with-a-nail-in-my-tire/
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