Plugged Tire - Should I Replace?

Wouldn't you know it...I put new Revo's on last fall and for the first time ever I skipped the road hazzard protection because I have never had to use it before.

So this weekend I picked up a rather large screw in my rear tire. I took it up to the gas station and they plugged it and it holds air fine now. But since I have never had a tire plugged before I was wondering...should I just go ahead and replace it? How long do the plugs last? Is it ok to wheel with a pluuged tire? My Revo's don't have very many miles on them and I can get by with replacing just the plugged tire if I need to because there is hardly any wear on them. Anyone have any plugged tire experiences to share?

I don't know how it will handle being aired down and wheeled hard. I have heard that you shouldn't drive too fast on plugged tires either, not a big deal...I heard 85mph.

What they use to plug a tire is very durable. The chemicals and heat from the tire rotation cause it to bond, melt after a fashion, to the rubber. Very durable as long as it isnt in or near the side wall.

It's fine.

Use it til you REALLY damage it.

I've plugged tons of tires; they never seem to fail in that same spot again.

Yep, I've never had a plug fail me either.

Hmm... Memories... From the corner of my mind...

Ok. Here's my flashback, w/ experience w/ tire plugs. Long story...

In the Fall of 1999 I had a rented 4Runner, and 1200 +/- miles of Arizona trail riding in the Hualapai Indian Reservation (otherwise known as the Grand Canyon), and 6 weeks to GPS & evaluate all the trails/roads.

On average, I put on close to 2,000 miles per week on the 4Runner. Not all was on trail; many of the miles came from evening drives to Kingman because if you've ever been to Peach Springs, you'll realize there's not a whole lot to do, there...

At any rate. The plugs... I averaged 3 flat tires a week, for the 6 weeks I was there. Except for 3 sidewall tears, the majority were just punctures in the tread blocks. Which means every single tire had multiple plugs, by the time I got finished w/ em...

Even w/ high speed driving on Rt. 66 (come on; it's flat, straight, and you gotta' race the trains....), I never had any problems w/ using plugs. I never had any plug fail on trail.

My driving was on a variety of roads/trails; asphalt, concrete, gravel, dirt, rock, more rock, etc. Since they held up great through all that, I don't hesitate to use them in my own tires anymore.

Great. Thanks for the replies. Guess I'll just stick with it and not bother replacing the tire since you guys all seem to have had good luck with plugs. My wheeling probably falls in the mild/moderate range. I don't air down a lot and most of my trips are forest roads, trails, small rock gardens, etc. Nothing extreme.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've had a flat on my X and didn't notice it for a little while, it was so stable.

The only time I have replaced punctured tires is on motorcycles.

Over the years I have plugged many tires and all of them wore out before the plug ever leaked.

I once took a short cut in Nevada with some Big O tires with no steel belts and had three flats in 50 miles. Plugged then all myself on the trail and then drove back to Wisconsin with no problems.

Tom