A Screw Just Cost Me $200.00!

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 12:52 pm

I don't believe this. I go out to the Solara this morning to wash and wax it, and what do I find? Neatly tucked in the tread of my front driverside tire is a screw. I took the car to a local Expert Tire shop; they pulled the screw out, and sure enough, major air loss!

Here's the catch: The tire guy tells me the screw punctured where the sidewall and bottom of the tire meet (I looked myself, that's where the puncture is). So they can patch it, but they won't guarantee the patch from leaking because of the patch's location. They strongly suggest I get a new tire! Their price for the factory Bridgestone is $220.00 installed. They'd have to special order the tire. I checked tirerack.com. They had two tires listed (both appeared the same thing!?) one cost $169.00 the other $129.00.

This sucks! Only 2,000 miles and a flat, unrepairable tire!

I ended up getting it patched for $20.00. The patch seems to be holding, but for how long?

Looks like my only choice is to get a new tire! Does anyone out there have a single factory Bridgstone they're looking to sell?

by **got sport** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 12:55 pm

I remember you stated in an earlier post that your car was one of those that was pulling "left". Maybe that screw was the culprit.

Sorry to hear about the bad news.

by **Mole** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 1:41 pm

if a patch holds, then it will hold pretty much for the remainder of the tire's life.

those suckers are strong. if it will not leak after 15 mins, then it will not leak at all.

by **geminimouse** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 2:13 pm

I went on a 300+ mile trip after putting on a patch and no air leak. It's now been 4k miles since I had the patch on.

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 2:23 pm

The tire guys told me that as the tire flexes the patch will begin to loosen. Is that true or is there smoke coming from my butt! I'd like to avoid selling a tire with only 2k miles on it. If you guys think this patch will work, that's good enough for me. I trust you folks!

by **HKSV6SLE** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 3:18 pm

since you said the hole was on the edge on the read and on the tread, then it is likely that the patch will come loose, usually when u get sidewall damage it is unrepairable. but if it makes you feel any better, when i first got my solara i got a flat tire and then got another flat tire like 3 months later, both of which were unrepairable, and i lost two tires to my alignment being off uneven tire wear. Which sucked cuz b4 i got my solara i never got a flat tire in my life, in three previous cars. Oh yea i got a flat tire cuz i scraped a curb and the sidewall cut...making it unrepairable. this was like a month ago maybe...

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 3:37 pm

HKSV6SLE wrote:since you said the hole was on the edge on the read and on the tread, then it is likely that the patch will come loose, usually when u get sidewall damage it is unrepairable. but if it makes you feel any better, when i first got my solara i got a flat tire and then got another flat tire like 3 months later, both of which were unrepairable, and i lost two tires to my alignment being off uneven tire wear. Which sucked cuz b4 i got my solara i never got a flat tire in my life, in three previous cars. Oh yea i got a flat tire cuz i scraped a curb and the sidewall cut...making it unrepairable. this was like a month ago maybe...

OUCH!

Thanks HKSV6SLE, I do feel a tad better

So, did you end up buying two new tires? If so, where did you get them and for much? And, do you know why the two "V" rated tires are different prices on tirerack.com? Everything in the description is the same except the price. Why? What am I missing?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1. ... tonName=Go

by **geminimouse** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 3:50 pm

Maybe tirerack made a mistake, u should e-mail them. IMHO, turanzas are really not good but i guess u would want it since ur only replacing one of them.

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 3:57 pm

geminimouse wrote:Maybe tirerack made a mistake, u should e-mail them. IMHO, turanzas are really not good but i guess u would want it since ur only replacing one of them.

Gemini,

I thought about getting an entirely new set of 17". What tire would you recommend? I need an all-season since I drive in snow a good four months of the year. I've heard good things about Michelin A/S Pilots, but I don't think they make 17" for a Solara. Any other suggestions?

by **slingshot** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 4:07 pm

fotodad wrote:I thought about getting an entirely new set of 17". What tire would you recommend? I need an all-season since I drive in snow a good four months of the year. I've heard good things about Michelin A/S Pilots, but I don't think they make 17" for a Solara. Any other suggestions?

Are you sure you are looking at the right tire on Tirerack? I don't think our tires are V rated. They're probably only H rated. Does anyone know for sure? I thought the EL42's we got were cheap. Everything I heard about the Michelin A/S pilots are excellent. Let me know if they do make it in our size. You're probably best off calling Tirerack and getting direct help or at least emailing them with questions. I heard they are experts.
Dave

by **geminimouse** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 4:18 pm

fotodad wrote:I thought about getting an entirely new set of 17". What tire would you recommend? I need an all-season since I drive in snow a good four months of the year. I've heard good things about Michelin A/S Pilots, but I don't think they make 17" for a Solara. Any other suggestions?

Michelins is a great choice. They don't make them for 215/55/17, but maybe a little wider like 225/55/17 should be fine. My oe tires were 205/60/16 I replaced them with 215/60/16 and they were ok.

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 5:00 pm

geminimouse wrote:
fotodad wrote:I thought about getting an entirely new set of 17". What tire would you recommend? I need an all-season since I drive in snow a good four months of the year. I've heard good things about Michelin A/S Pilots, but I don't think they make 17" for a Solara. Any other suggestions?

Michelins is a great choice. They don't make them for 215/55/17, but maybe a little wider like 225/55/17 should be fine. My oe tires were 205/60/16 I replaced them with 215/60/16 and they were ok.

Gemini,

Good point! Can I put a wider tire on the 04 Solara? If so, would I have to get new rims even though the tires are still 17"? These are tires I'd like to get:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... port+A%2FS

They're actually less money than the Bridgestones!

by **geminimouse** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 5:39 pm

You don't have to go as far as gettin new rims just to have wider tires. Unless u want new rims. They should fit on ur stock rims, might have a bulge look tho.

by **fotodad** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 7:24 pm

geminimouse wrote:You don't have to go as far as gettin new rims just to have wider tires. Unless u want new rims. They should fit on ur stock rims, might have a bulge look tho.

Gemini,
I know little about tires, other than they're made of rubber and they're round. So any help you can offer me is greatly appreciated. How much wider would a 225 tire be compared to a 215 tire? You make a good point about a possible "bulge look." If a bulge is not too noticable, I can live with that. But if it looks awkward, then forget it.

Thanks!

by **geminimouse** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 7:47 pm

I think it's measured in millimeters so it's 10mm wider. I dunno if the bulge will be noticable since i dunno anything about the 04 rims so if someone else who has more knowledge in this...

A Screw Just Cost Me $200.00!

A Screw Just Cost Me $200.00!

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