replacing damaged turanza tire

[obscene_gesture]

I've got the stock Turanzas with 8k miles on them. A couple of days ago, I discovered that my rear, driver side tire had a screw in the tread. Coincidentally, this was as I was carrying some old winter tires of the shed to sell.

The guys at a local tire shop weren't comfortable with repairing it because the screw was too close to the sidewall. They suggested that I check with the dealership where I bought the FR-S from to see if my warranty covered this situation. Of course, I knew Scion Boost didn't cover this. So the money I made selling the old winter tires were getting put into covering this expense.

I already knew there was a guy nearby selling 4 used Turanzas with 5k miles on them for a good enough price ($300) that it was worth it to not just buy one new tire ($160 on tirerack). This way I won't fret if I damage another tire. I'm going to check them out in a couple of days. If I buy them I'd like some advice on what to do. The way I see it, the options I have are:

1. Replace just the one rear, driver side tire that's damaged. If I do that, should I rotate them? I think I read somewhere on this forum that having differences in wear on the rear tires isn't good for the differential. If the difference in wear isn't much, does it matter?

2. Swap both rear tires. Would that get rid of the need to rotate immediately? I'd probably want the tires with the least amount of wear on the rear anyway, right?

3. Swap all 4 tires.

Any advice would be appreciated.

BTW, I did consider upgrading to Pilot Super Sports. Costco's got them for a really tempting price right now. However, where I am, I figured I'd only have a couple of months with them before I'd be forced to switch over to my winter tires. Last winter, the Turanzas were actually good enough in the cold that I didn't bother switching them out. I just didn't drive when there was snow on the road. I don't think I'd be able to get away with that with the PSS.

[swarb]

1. Always replace in pairs or set. Keep the old one just in case it happens again. You can replace just one, but I wouldn't chance it as it could throw the alignment/etc off.
2. Rotate whenever/however you want, there is nothing set in stone, I just do it at every oil change. It is mainly for even wear so you can replace all four at the same time and have a evenly fresh set of rubber for predictable handling.
3. No sense in swapping all the tires since they are the same model. Swap two, wear them out and swap the other pair in. You rotating strategy will help get the most use out of all of them.

Pss are good, but they are pricey and not worth it if you don't need the grip. They also don't work so well in cooler temps.

If you don't have a second set of wheels I would suggest getting another set it will pay for itself in a year or two(swapping tires for winter, and then off again).

[Mr.ac]

Frist off, pics of where the screw is.
Chances are tire shop wanted you to buy a new set.

Like Swarb said, always replace in pairs.
New ones go in the back.
Rotate when ever you feel like it.
Unless you pay $130 for PSS don't do it. They are shitty tires (personal opinion) (not really).

Chances are you could get away with just fixing the tire.

[obscene_gesture]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Frist off, pics of where the screw is.
Chances are tire shop wanted you to buy a new set.

Like Swarb said, always replace in pairs.
New ones go in the back.
Rotate when ever you feel like it.
Unless you pay $130 for PSS don't do it. They are shitty tires (personal opinion) (not really).

Chances are you could get away with just fixing the tire.

I'll definitely be replacing two rears then.

I've attached a picture of the tire. The nail's about a half inch from the shoulder, if I understand tire anatomy. I've looked up the Rubber Manufactures Association's guidelines for tire repair and attached their diagram. It would seem to suggest my nail is outside the safely repairable area. Maybe I could eventually find a shop willing to repair it or just do it myself with a kit, but would I feel 100% comfortable about it? Probably not.

I know it's always the fear when you have to go get something car-related repaired that you'll get lies like "We can't legally let you drive off because it's too dangerous". However, the only thing they advocated for was to check the warranty for the car so that maybe the tire could be replaced for free since I only have 8000 miles on it. Then they put a little bit of extra air in the tire and sent me off on my not-quite-so-merry way.

Costco has the PSS for $135 per tire if you include installation. It's actually the cheapest tire they carry for the twins' stock wheels.

[swarb]

It depends who you ask if that is repairable or not. Some shops don't want the liability or just want to make a sale. Another shop might tell you it is repairable. Other than replacing it, the other "right" way to fix it would be a patch but it could be half the cost of a new tire(unmount, inspect, patch, remount, balance). The easy/cheap way is a plug. I actually have a plug in one of my tires in a very similar location. I've driven about 3k miles with no problems. The sidewall bears all the load. So if there is puncture near where the steel belt/cap ends and shoulder/sidewall begins, it is recommended "by the book" to replace.

[Mr.ac]

Well it's sure is questionable spot. To me it looks fixable. Then again I'll the kind of guy that try's the cheap option first. But yeah, if you want to replace them go for it.