Flat Repairs on Race Tires.
Roger Kraus Racing receives many phone calls every year on patching or repairing race tires.
The following procedures are for bias and radial race tires only!
1. We must warn you that most, if not all, Race Tire manufacturers recommend replacing any tire that has a hole in it or leaks air in the tread area. At the grass roots level this may be overkill for the following reasons: A. Not everyone has enough spares should a tire go flat. B. A replacement may not be available. C. The hole may be very small, like a pin hole.
2. The procedures we list below must be followed precisely. We have had near perfect results with patching race tires with this formula.
3. We will start with all bias ply race tires. To my knowledge most or all bias race tires do not have a liner for making the tire tubeless. The reasons for this are less weight and expense. A slight loss of air in race tires that are checked three or more times a day are acceptable.
A. Find out where the air is leaking from. Do not assume. Once the hole is found, mark the valve stem location on the tire and mark an X over the hole. The center of the X is the leak. Remove the tire from the wheel.
B. Inspect the tire on the inside, find the location of the hole, and if the hole is not visible push your finger on the hole from the outside to help locate the hole on the inside. If necessary, we occasionally use a very small pick and push through the tire to mark the inside. Look very carefully for damage to the sidewall. This can occur when long nails or screws go through the tread and scratch or damage the sidewall. We only recommend patching tires when: The hole is ¼” .250” or smaller; the hole is no closer than 1.25” from the sidewall; there is no more than one hole. If all these conditions are met you may proceed.
C. You will need the following materials to properly repair the tire. Tube patches or very flexible patches 1.50” to 2.0” in diameter. THE PATCHES MUST BE TUBE PATCHES AND VERY FLEXIBLE OR THEY WILL FAIL! One tube of Red High Temperature Silicone Sealer. Do not use Copper, Blue, Black or Clear silicone. One can of Rubber Buffer for cleaning the surface. One clean rag free from oil residue. One small knife and a small round pick.
D. Use the rubber buffer on a clean rag to clean the area being patched. Do not sand or buff this area of the tire. If the tire has been previously buffed the tire must not be used. This is very serious as we have had one tire blow up when we mounted it and another one blew up on the track that had been buffed and patched.
E. After the area with the hole has been thoroughly cleaned (clean about one-half inch extra all around the area) take the patch and remove the protection from both sides. Keep it very clean. Open the Red high temperature Silicone and put a small amount on your finger. Spread the silicone over the area, starting in the middle where the hole is and spreading it out in a circle slightly larger then the patch. The silicone spread should be about .010” to .015” thick. Immediately place the patch over the silicone and working from the middle, press on the patch to work out any bubbles that may appear. We sometimes use a little spit on the patch to work out the air and when the silicone works its way to the outside we spread it in a circle around the outer lip of the patch.
F. The repair must thoroughly dry before use. The time required will vary depending on the ambient temperature. Allow about one-half to two hours to dry. The thinner the silicone is put on the sooner the tire will dry.
