Should You Patch or Plug Your Tyres?

To most motorists, this may seem like a simple question. Tyre get punctures very often, and the car owners have only to option for the puncture repair, these options are to patch or to plug.

Plugging

A plugging is a process by which a sticky and elastic substance is stuffed in the whole leaking the air from the tyre to stop the leakage. The sticky substance is known as the plug. For the air to stop leaking, the mobile mechanic must ensure that the plugs are exactly covering and fitting in the whole leaking air.

Patching

On the other hand, patching is the process of sealing tire punctures by adding a patch. These patches are known as a radial patch. They are made for repairing radial tyres. Unlike the plugging fixing a puncture using radial patching requires one to remove the wheel for repair.

Verdict

Patching is better than plugging. Plugging maybe cheap and it consumes little time, but it is not as effective as patching. Scientifically, when the vehicle speeds there is friction between the tyres and the road, the heat results in expansion of the air inside tyres and forces the tyres to expand. If there was a puncture repaired using a plug, definitely the plug will not expand at the same rate with the tyre since they are made up of different materials. The unequal expansion will provide room for the air to flow out of the tyre, and this can cause an accident. For radial patches, when they are heated they melt and become the part of the tyre. so whenever this question “Should you patch or repair your tyres?” pops up, you should always bear in mind that plugging is not safe.

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