[ZeeJM]

I took my car in to my local BMW dealership for a warranty issue and had them also inspect a tire that's been losing air (about 1-2 PSI a day). The tire in question is a Michelin Pilot Super Sport. The tire has under 8000 miles on it.

The service tech located a puncture. The dark splotch in attached photo shows the location of the puncture.

The tech claims the location of the puncture precludes repair and proposes I purchase a replacement tire instead. Specifically, the claim is that anything outside the large tire groove where the tech's finger is pointing is too far outside for repair.

I understand the limits of repairing punctures on the sidewall, but to my eye this puncture doesn't look like it is too far outside to preclude repair.

I've done some preliminary research and cannot find any information that suggests this location is not repairable. So my question for anybody with related experience or expertise is:

Does this look like a repairable puncture location?

Thanks in advance for your constructive comments/feedback.

[accs]

It's 50/50. Mostly up to the repairer to decide. I've driven on tires repaired in that area without issue but there's definitely also people who've had negative experiences.

[overcoil]

https://www.tireindustry.org/tire-ma...ce/tire-repair

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by RyonC

Mostly up to the repairer to decide. I've driven on tires repaired in that area without issue but there's definitely also people who've had negative experiences.

+1 - A patch plug would probably work fine there.

[Maynard]

So there you have it - tire industry (and your service tech) says not safe; but a couple of guys on the forum are saying go ahead and give it a try. Will it hold air? Sure. The big Q is will it blow out later (the $60k question) and will that be more dramatic and expensive than replacing it now (definitely). And 8k miles on an MPSS is beyond halfway for most. What's the point of a top end car on one of the best tires, if you then have to worry that it isn't up to the task when you get on it. Bite the bullet and replace it - you can get a shaved tire from Tire Rack if this pair is worn enough so you can't just replace one (or replace both, and keep the other one as a reserve just in case). If you do decide to try a repair, at least go someplace where they will dismount and really do a 2sided repair for you (but I bet those guys will be all safety-pup and refuse to repair it).

[Liandri]

If it's just a small hole then it's completely repairable. You don't patch sidewall where the tread rolls off at the edge. Anyone concerned with a blowout is being a worry wort, a tiny pinprick in the tread doesn't sacrifice any structural integrity of the tire, they're way stronger than you think. If everyone replaced tires for minor punctures that would be rediculous.

[xantdieselx]

Looks repairable based on Michelin's own recommendations https://www.michelinman.com/canTireRepaired.html

[Maynard]

The Michelin site doesn't say it can be repaired, they say it needs to be dismounted and inspected from inside to determine that. I'm betting that a place that does that type of work will tell you that it is too close to the edge of the belt to repair, but they might think it worth checking. Then you are paying for what is a much more expensive repair than a simple (inadequate) plug job. Since a new MPSS costs 200-230 new, how much can you really save?

[ZeeJM]

Thanks for the feedback!

After considering the alternatives I decided to bite the bullet and replace both rear tires.

FWIW - The dealership quoted me $404 to replace just the punctured tire. Needless to say I'm acquiring my new tires elsewhere...