Anyone else gotten a nail or screw in their tire and had to have it patched? I have in the past in other cars and it's never really been of concern to me, but in the Porsche, well apparently that's a little different. On the way to work this morning I noticed a strange noise as I was driving and sure enough. There was a screw right in the center of the tire. So I stopped at the only place open at 0700, Tire Kingdom. They were able to patch it, although it took an hour to do it. But I have to say I was a nervous guy the whole time. Of course they all had to come and look at the car, they were nice enough to ask it I wanted to drive it into the garage, to which I replied of course I'd be happy to drive it in for you. I was pretty nervous about having to watch them drive it over the lifts, but thankfully I got to do it. The guy working on my tire was VERY SLOW. But that actually made me feel better and I ws able to help-monitor the situation which was nice. My biggest concern was that they lifted the car up correctly, so I checked the manual and we made sure it was in the right spot to be lifted.
As for putting the tire back on, are there any recommended settings for the lugs, instead of just an air gun slamming them into place? The puncture was right in the middle of the tire so it was easy to patch and they also plugged the hole the screw was in to make it as secure as possible. Would you all be comfortable with that or would you just get a new tire? Will that patch hold up at "speed" day in and day out?
I know I sound like a wus, cause as I read what I wrote that's what it sounds like to me but I just couldn't help it, it was pretty nervous the whole time.

 

Patch should last longer than the rest of the tire. No worries.

 

Yea, no probs. Let us know if you notice any difference? If I was tracking the car I may rethink a patch just for peace of mind. With the size of these tire and the junk on roads this type of thing is bound to happen at some point and replacing a tire each time could get costly.

 

Personally I would track a patched street tire (limited to a screw-hole patch not within about 1.5" of the sidewall) all day long. I would never track a patched DOT-R tire.

As for lug nut torque, they should not just be slammed on with an air gun. You want balanced torque all the way around the wheel - 90 to 96 ft/lbs. As long as it's within that range, but the same all the way around the wheel, you're good.

 

Thanks for the replys. It's good to know that the patch will be fine. The tires still have a lot of life left in them so it's good to be able to continue to use it. I'll need to go get a good torque wrench to make sure the lugs are torqued correctly.

 

Any patched tires lose their speed rating. I'd not drive at "speed" w patched tires. I'd definitely not track a patched tire. Can you imagine a blow out at 100+ mph coming into a turn?? Honestly, if you do drive aggresively, I'd opt to change the tire. At $300-350, you'll have one less thing to worry about. This is what Porsche recommends and I know many who have tracked their cars that have had major crash due to tire breaking loose or blow out.

 

Also, did the shop patch it on the inside or just plug the tire? Best tire repair is to patch and also plug. Costco has good prices on new tires and they cover road hazard too.

 

FL997: You should be OK. I had the same thing happen last week, and was concerned just like you. I just recommend you keep an eye on the tire pressure for the next week or so. And remember to inspect your tires every week or so as well.
I did some spirited driving through the Malibu canyons on Saturday, and all is good. Definitely the speed rating will decrease on a repaired tire. I've been told not to drive above 130-135 mph with my repaired tire, which is certainly not an issue for me with the great LA traffic!. Here's a couple articles I came across in my search for answers which might help you as well: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...currentpage=38, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...currentpage=77

Regards and enjoy your awesome vehicle!

 

The tire was patched on the inside and plugged. Which is about as good and I can get I think. The other option I might have is to have it replaced by Porsche. When I got the car I also got the tire and wheel package, I know it covers any damage to the wheel but I'm not sure it covers punctures in a tire. I'm going to check on that tonight. If it is covered then I'll definatily get another tire. If not then I'll just take it a little easy on this set of tires.
Does anyone here know exactly what the tire and wheel program covers??