How do I decide if these five tires are holed too close to the sidewall?

On Thu, 22 Dec 2016 23:14:20 -0500, advised:

> In 44 years I've had 5 tires go flat "on the road" 3 of those on one
> trip due to faulty valve stems (on the PT Cruiser on PEI), 1 due to a
> cinder in the black hills of the Dakotas at -40 on the '69 dart, and
> one on a sunday afternoon on the '63 Valiant (with no bumpers so I had
> to jack it by the trunk lid.) I've had a few go flat on the driveway
> that could be aired up and driven to the shop.

Most of my flats have been slow leaks which gave me time to air them up and
get home, once they were noticed.

I almost never drive highway nowadays, so, my 15K miles is on side roads,
where there is some construction. I average something like 1 flat a year,
sometimes more, sometimes less.

Anyway, they wouldn't put spares in cars if flats didn't happen.

> I've never had one damaged to the point it was not repairable due to
> running flat. Both of the ones that failed flat on the road were down
> low enough on tread that I ended up replacing the full set shortly
> later.

I did drive with a very low tire for about a mile. The tire was filled with
fluffy rubber shavings, and the belts inside were showing. So it was
stupid, in hindsight, to run them when they were flat.

> I'm a former auto mechanic and I won't "patch" a tire in the field
> unless I have to.

Depends on what you call the field.
If I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, it's getting an external plug if,
for whatever reason, the spare doesn't cut the mustard.

> I patched a lot as a kid on the farm (tube type on wagons) and bikes,
> lawn tractors etc., and a LOT in the shop as a mechanic.

Yeah. I replaced my first bicycle tire using a screwdriver, and holed the
tube so many times I had to buy a new one. Kids learn by doing. So do
adults.