Finally happened….a flat tire. The liquid stuff ran out through
the hole in the tire….as did the air from the compressor. I was
stuck on the side of a highway.

Porsche roadside kept me waiting 4 ½ hours (you read that right)
by telling me a flat bed would be there in 30 to 45 minutes every
time I called them. Roadside Assistance has proven itself worthless
to me before.

The tow guy took me to his service station and plugged the hole
in the tire. This morning there was no air loss. I still have 7K+ of
thread on all the tires, and if the plug holds, I may run the tire as is.
If not, I’ll get all new ones.

I also decided to buy and carry a tire plug kit. How hard can it be
to use one? The tow guy plugged the tire without taking it off the car.
If I had a kit yesterday, I would have been back on the road faster
than if I had to changed a tire.

I guess it’s all part of the “Porsche Experience”. Although, my wife
feels that at this price….the experience should be a little nicer.

 

Please, replace that tire. In my humble opinion, on both motorcycles and high performance vehicles, once a tire is plugged, it's only good to get it to a location where a new tire can be mounted.

Replace that plugged tire would be my advice, your life and your vehicles well being are worth it!

 

JFS....I know you're right. I will order tires today. I will still get the tire plug kit and
suggest that all without a spare do the same. The plugs would have allowed me to
continue with my day....instead of wasting it on the side of the road.

Thanks,
Carlos

 

You should be fine on the street with a plug, don't worry your car won't blow up.
I had a flat(blowout on sidewall) on mine a couple of months ago. TG I had a nice spare!

 

The plug will last longer than the tread does. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

It's not the plug, it is its insertion into the tire that separates the inner tire material which on high performance vehicles and motorcycles can cause all sorts of problems.

I’m all for plugging tires to get back home, but leave a tire plugged for continual use? Heck no in my opinion...

But then again, opinions are just like "Butts"... Everyone's got their own!

 

It is not a question if the plug will hold air. The tire has no speed rating anymore and would be fine on the street up to freeway speed but unsafe beyond. I wonder why no spare in the 997, the 996 had it. Is it the cost of the spare or the weight. I mean its not a race car, most people drive them on the street.

 

And there's a difference between a plug and a patch. A patched tire, they take the tire off and patch the hole from the inside, I would feel comfortable with. I didn't know folks still plugged tires to be honest with you. My local tire shop won't use plugs even if you ask them to.

However, I do think the plug kit in the glove box idea is a darned good one.

 

I would be interested in keeping a plug kit in the car as an alternative to the OE goo. Can anyone suggest one?

 

Any local autopart store will have a kit.. .heck even Walmart has them... it includes two tools (they look like screw drivers, one is a grinder to clean and the other one is what is use to push the plug in place) and three plugs. Cost is around US$3-5.00 (depending on where you buy it...)



I have one in every car along with an air compressor... so far I had to use it once in the Armada.

 

Don't you also need a pair of pliers to remove whatever punctured the tire and is probably still in there?

 

A jack might not hurt either.

 

Porsche did a survey and found that the majority of their customer base does not fit the profile of someone who changes their own tire and opted for the approx. 20 x-tra liters of storage space instead. And, yes it's true, your plugged tire no longer carries a speed rating ( leaving the liability on you! ) a plugged tire on a car capable of such high speeds?what are you thinking? Just MHO!

 

jcf7 where are you located? Here I don't think roadside would be a problem for the most part. Yes, I'd keep a pair of plyers handy to pull out whatever is stuck in there. Lastly, I wouldn't bother replacing the tire unless you track the car and/or you want peace of mind.

 

Yes you do. Good catch. I did not mentioned that... I keep a couple of tools in each car along with spare belts and a few other things... just enough tools to get me out of the most common problems (for example-DME Relay and belts in the 964; Brake switch in the R32...), and a cell phone for the rest...