1st flat- bummer!!

[meomyo]

Model s 1st flat- the bummer is that the sottozero 3 winter tire cant be repaired!...this is the last season on these but there is 2 months left in the season yet here......dont want to buy just 1 new and not all 4 new YET..also dont want to put the other set of gy touring all season on because they wont do well in the snow here and more snow is coming...Any ideas???

Looking in denver area for a used sorrozero 3 but its like a needle in the haystack!!!!!!! argggggg

 

[bart_dood]

Why not buy just 2 new tires for the front or rear?

 

[Don85D]

Most tire shops have an older tire that they will provide free to complete the season. I'm running one now (same size but different brand). I placed it on the rear as steering and braking are more important to me in bad winter weather.

If the shop knows that you will be back for a purchase they will gladly help out.

 

[Need]

Looking in denver area for a used sorrozero 3 but its like a needle in the haystack!!!!!!! argggggg

Why not buy just 2 new tires for the front or rear?

Or just buy 1 new tire? It will be uneven wear pair whether OP buys a single used or new tire. Unless OP was trying to find an used tire with the exact same level or wear as his tire.. now that's really a needle in the haystack.

 

[bart_dood]

I might be wrong about this, but if you put two slightly different tires on the same driven axle they will have different circumferences.

This mis-match of the rolling distance of the wheels on the same axle will cause your differential to be continuously spinning to compensate, as if you are endlessly driving around in a circle. This will put more wear and tear on it.

Personally I have never had a problem with putting different brands/types of tire front/rear (so matching on the rear and matching on the front, but different front/rear) but wouldn't recommend putting different tires on a single axle, even the same type/brand but with different wear.

 

[Don85D]

You may be over thinking this.... different air pressures will also change diameter of a tire but so little that it doesn't matter. I knew of taxi owner/drivers that only bought used tires and their cars ran for many hundreds of thousands of miles. In my opinion if the tire size is the same then any difference in diameter due to wear can be ignored.

We try to balance wear across a set of tires by rotating them to different axles so there is probably a difference in wear between tires anyway. For the OP I still suggest asking a tire shop for a used tire of matching size and run that for the remainder of the season. Spring is only a few weeks away and next Fall he can purchase 4 new fresh winter tires. This seems most practical to me.

 

[PARNY]

Why can't the sottozero 3 winter tire be repaired? The way you wrote this post it implies there is something about the tire brand/style and not the type of damage you have. What is different about this tire that you can't plug it or put a patch on from the inside? I did a search and could not find anything that says this tire cannot be repaired. Pirelli recommends not repairing run flats if you have driven on them because they break down while driving if not inflated. Unless the damage is on the sidewall or the tire is a run flat, it seems like the shop may want to sell you tires. I would check with another tire shop.

 

[Don85D]

In my case a sharp pothole pinched the tire against the rim and damaged the side wall. The tire was not repairable so a used replacement was installed to get me through the winter. The tire shop owner provides good service and I buy my tires there. We'll get a new matching replacement tire during the summer. If my pothole damaged tire would have been repairable that would have been the first choice as the winter tire set is fairly new.

I didn't hit the pothole hard but it must have had a sharp edge which blew out the right front tire immediately. No amount of sealant or compressed air would inflate it to get home. A spare wheel and tire plus tools were required. It was cold and dark too so not fun.

 

[jrwaters1]

Cruiseing down the freeway at 85 in sunny eastern North Carolina on Sunday, I got a warning that the pressure in one tire had dropped to 27psi. The pressure held at that point and I was able to take the next exit and make it home. I inflated the tire and it lost about 4 pounds over night.i could see 2 nails in that tire. When I got the car to a shop, the nails were like grapes. I had a bunch and replaced all four tires. It appears that someone dumped the nails from an overpass.. probably trying to stop a yankee invasion.
I was pleased with the preformace of the tires. When I purchased the car, I was concerned about not having a spare tire even thought I could not remember the last time I needed one. At delivery I had inquired about run flat tires and told they were not recommended.
Was I just lucky in a unlucky situation. Or do the tires have some properties that I was unaware of? I have the standard Goodyear Eagle Touring and they had onlty about 8000 miles. Three of the tires lost a small amount of air. The fourth that produced the warning, had more nails at the very edge at the tire. Two of the tires were repairable but would require several plugs , and I just did not want to do that.