patch is always preferred over a plug

 

 

I have found an Independent Porsche guy who says he can do it, but fears he can't get the wheel off. Does the tool for removing the center lock come with the car or do I need to purchase something?

 

Wow.. Lot of loose nails in San Diego.
Same car same thing happened to me a week ago.Went dealership and got a new tire.

 

Yes, the center lock socket is under the cover in front of the trunk well.
But you will need a 450 ft-lb torque wrench!

 

Patching it is no problem at all, but don't plug it. I wouldn't track this tire with 9000 miles anyway, but I'm assuming its Pzero so that's not an issue.

I'd probably suggest you take the car to the dealer, have them remove the wheel, then take it in another car to get the repair. Then bring it back, have dealer reinstall it.

I have all the tools needed to remove and replace tires, but it's not easy to justify the cost of the tools if you are not going to do this more than occasionally.

From memory, you will need: low profile jack, 2x12" wood blocks to drive on to make clearance for the jack, jackpoint jack stands, 3/4" breaker bar, centerlock alignment tool, 3/4" torque wrench (up to 450ft/lb and 600nM), Castrol Optimol paste lube, and a friend to sit in the car with a stiff foot on the brakes with the car running while you loosen and/or tighten the centerlock bolt.

Decent video on the process:
(Fake legal disclaimer: I'm not financially responsible for anything that goes awry if you foolishly take any advice from me in a forum post.)

 

Randy, your going scare this guy with the video, he is struggling with should he go with a patch or a plug

 

Point taken, Karl!

 

I will be "resolving" this as follows (unless something unexpected happens). I purchased the tool to remove the wheel and I am going to an independent guy that I trust this morning. He says he can patch it.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

A combined plug patch is best iirc for a high performance radial

 

so 2 pages to debate a patch or a plug for a tire with 9,000 miles on a 200,000 car?

What am I missing here.

No disrespect intended

 

I agree that this is the best method for a repair and perfectly safe for normal driving.

However, I personally would elect to purchase a new set of tires

 

How it ended up:

They swore they could patch it. So they pulled off the wheel and said "Nope. Too close to the edge." Taking everyones comments here into account, and quite tired of this issue (as I am sure you guys are), I just said "F. it." I replaced the rear tires. I'm back on the road again.

 

Do not keep us in suspense, what tires did you choose as replacements?

 

Might have found a 2nd (or even a 3rd) puncture once the tire was checked. (One time with my 996 Turbo a rear tire went low and I took the car to a dealer and on the rack the tech found at least 3 pieces of metal in the tire.)

I've had a local indy tire shop fix my Porsche tires. Sometimes I'm not even charged for this. I have bought one set of front tires for my Boxster there but prefer to get my tires at the local Porsche dealer. (Who gives me a pretty good price on the tires believe it or not.)

(As an aside, I always remove the wheel with the flat tire here at my place and carry the wheel/tire -- wrapped in plastic bag (there should be a plastic bag in the car's "tool kit" -- to the tire shop. This is so I don't have to watch the tech attempt to jack up the car using some non-sanctioned jacking point or failing to protect the lift point with a rubber pad between it and the jack.)

Sometimes though the tire can't be fixed -- or in one case while I was told the puncture was pretty close to the edge the tech fixed the tire but told me it probably wouldn't hold air and he proved to be right -- and most of the time I replace both tires.

The reason is seldom do relatively new tires pick up a puncture. It is only when the tire gets worn does it seem to be more likely to get something in it. Porsche guidelines require both tires on an axle be replaced if the tire on the other side is worn 30% or more from new and this is almost always the case.

For some time now when I get new tires at the dealer the tires come with road hazard coverage. This runs -- last time I looked -- about $7/tire. It has paid for itself a number of times. Best was the Turbo rear tire got a nail. I had around 20K miles on the tires. But the tire had (barely) 3mm of tread left and that was enough tread that I got a new tire. 'course, I had to buy the other tire.

A complication occurred with the replacement tire. Believe or not this tire picked up a puncture. As I said above this is a rare event based on my experience and what I gather from talking to SMs and techs. The dealer submitted a tire claim and it was denied! The tire supplier offfered something about replacement tires not covered by the road hazard coverage as the reason. I talked to the SM and he said he'd go to bat for me and he did and the tire supplier relented and I got the relatively new but punctured tire replaced.