Nail in tire. What are the dangers?

04-14-2010, 06:37 PM
Like the title states, what are the dangers of leaving a nail in the tire other than having to fill the tire more often than usual.



04-14-2010, 09:30 PM
Given the tire is flexible and the nail is not, each time the tire rotates, the nail will rub on the walls of the hole its made, making it bigger and/or damaging the tire plies and carcass. So, leaving a nail in there might render an otherwise-repairable tire unfixable.

Eventually the nail will come out, and will allow the tire to deflate rapidly, with obvious safety consequences.

I usually carry a tire plug kit with me. On a couple of occasions, when I have a flat/leak caused by a nail, I have been able to pull the nail out, put in a plug and reinflate the tire in less time than it would take to put the spare tire on. Although these plugs are supposed to be 'temporary', (a patch from the inside is considered permanent) I have had no problem on relying on the plug for the remaining life of the tire.

04-14-2010, 09:38 PM
When doing a burnout (assuming the nail is in a driven tire) it might spark and, if you have a fuel leak, start the car on fire [poof].


04-14-2010, 11:10 PM
I've not had much trouble with properly patching a nail hole if its not too close to the sidewall. Leaving it in there is a bad idea.

Depending on the construction of the tire, the size of the nail, and where it punctured, results with a patch/plug are mixed. You could have no adverse effects, or a belt could separate and the tire would fail - either slowly or quickly. Hard to predict.

... But, leaving the nail in is a big no-no.

04-15-2010, 09:13 AM
I agree with you,Thats a real danger on the road

04-15-2010, 05:03 PM
Here's generally what I do with all nails:

Start pulling (wiggling it) it out with spit or soap on it. If it doesn't leak then it is good to go probably. If it bubbles then the nail stays in until I get to a place where I can repair/replace. You'd be surprised how many nails are plugging holes in tires on the road.

04-18-2010, 12:34 AM
I too believe its a no no. I will take it to a flat tire fix up place and take the nail out and patch it up. Hopefully that fixes the problem. If not a new tire will be done.


04-18-2010, 02:31 PM
Patches are great but cord plugs work just fine in most cases. If the hole is too big for a plug then generally a new tire is in order. A lot of people drive around forever with something in their tire and never know.

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