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Can't patch 21" Continental Contisport?

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Hey folks quick question. I MIGHT have a nail in my tire, although I still can't see it yet, but I'm gradually losing air and keep having to top off every couple of days. Took my car to a tire shop nearby and they told me that the contisport are self sealing tires and cannot be patched. He was weary about taking it off and looking at it and was saying my best bet is Tesla?

Thoughts? Any experience patching those up? This would be my second flat in about a year!
 
Hey folks quick question. I MIGHT have a nail in my tire, although I still can't see it yet, but I'm gradually losing air and keep having to top off every couple of days. Took my car to a tire shop nearby and they told me that the contisport are self sealing tires and cannot be patched. He was weary about taking it off and looking at it and was saying my best bet is Tesla?

Thoughts? Any experience patching those up? This would be my second flat in about a year!

I'm assuming it is a ContiSilent ?I had a rear puncture few months back and a lot of tire repair shops would not do it but I eventually did find one.

They cut the patch of foam out and tried patching the puncture, but the patch couldn't bond well with the inner tire surface due to the amount of adhesive residue from the foam. Eventually had to replace both rear tires due to tread differential.
 
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Tire shops like to use plugs inserted from inside with a patch at their base.
Liability wise they need to dismount and inspect the tire. Traditional plugs are more of a diy thing.

That said, last slow leak I had was the TPMS seal not a punctured tire, maybe you are as lucky.
 
I've had the foam-lined Contisport Silent tires patched several times with no issue - it just requires a little more knowledge / effort on the part of the repair shop to cut away the foam and clean the inner casing properly for the adhesion of the patch. Sadly, many tire shops no longer have personnel with any training / experience on anything other than standard tires, and the idea of something different scares them...
 
I had this issue, took it to Discount Tire by my work. They fixed it and then the next day TPMS light again. Took it to the DT by my house, as we were leaving for a 600 plus road trip. They fixed it again, saying it was a bad plug.

During the road trip, I noticed the pressure dropping, faster than before. So I'd have to air it up everytime I stopped to charge. Took it again to a DT in the Dallas area, and they fixed it again. I told them, just get me another tire, but they said they could fix it.

A week later, no issues. They did mention they had to cut out some of the insulation foam. So not as easy as my previous experiences, but it can be done. I've been keeping it over inflated and constantly checking it. No leaks!
 
As @SSedan mentioned, the current best practice is a filler that is combination of a patch and a plug. They dismount the tire from the wheel to install it. On a tire with acoustic foam, they just need to cut out a few inches of the foam with a knife, clean off the adhesive residue, and install the patch/plug combo like normal.

Same - I had ContiSilent and Tesla said no, but local repair shop fixed it no probkem

I'm surprised that the Tesla Service Center refused to repair it. Unless something's changed, Tesla Service Centers should definitely be able to repair a foam-lined tire, assuming the hole is in the safe repair zone. I wrote the service manual procedure to do it when I worked for Tesla.

The only downside is that Tesla charges a fairly high price for tire repair. Discount Tire/America's Tire does it for free, even if you didn't buy the tire from them.
 
Plug is the way to go...it will seal the outside so water penetration is minimal. You don’t want water to penetrate to the steel belts...cuz of rust

I have been doing plugs on my tire for over 30 yrs...never leaks...compare to a patch.
 
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