cole328

OK..so I just found yet another nail in my rear tire. This is the 5th or 6th nail incident I have had since owning the car (two years, and 25K miles), but I guess is the price of rear tires as wide as elephants.

I am not losing any pressure at all, and the nail is dead center in the tire. While I intend to take it into the shop Monday morning and have it patched, has anyone on here left a nail in the tire and simply ignored it? I mean, I bet many people are not as **** as most of us on this board, and therefore, would in most instances not even notice that there was a nail in their tire for thousands of miles...if ever. I assume that the tire could eventually start to lose air, but could a nail cause a catostrophic failure once it is already "seated" in the tire tread?

Anyway, as mentioned, i intend to fix it Monday, primarily b/c I drive quite fast / aggressive around town, and also track the car from time to time, so no way that I would leave a nail in the tire.

swajames

I've had a number of nails in my tires too, and the last one looked to be particularly nasty, but like yours it wasn't losing pressure. Took it in to my tire shop (who ordered me a new tire as the screw in the tire was too close to the sidewall to permit a patch). When they took the tire off to mount the new one, it turned out that the offending object hadn't actually gone though - while the screw had a pretty large head, it was very short.

LlBr

Get it inspected from inside and then if okay plugged and patched. Then keep your fingers crossed when doing 100+mpg. Too many nails. Change driving habits? E.g. avoid debris in road. Always stay in traffic lanes, never use shoulder, make sure right rear tire stays well away from curb area during a right turn.

cole328

its amazing how many nails these tires pick up...wifes mercedes e-class same driving routes...nothing ever damn...yet another annoying aspect of porsches (tho I still love mine) i assume its mainly due to the "WIDE" width of the rears....

points

Ive pulled two screws out of my tires...both did not go thru.

PogueMoHone

A reputable (Porsche) shop won't patch it. I'd take my chances and pull it out..and then buy a new tire if I had too.

Macster

Propensity of rear tires to collect nails and such not due to the width of the rear tires, but the width of the front tires.

What happens (most of the time but not all) is the front tire kicks up something and it is "standing up" when rear tire gets to it.

I drive slow through parking lots and other places where nails/such can be. I avoid new housing construction zones and places where house or building demolition taking place.

I avoid driving over drain grates in parking lots cause rain water and other actions tend to collect nails and such to these places.

When driving though parking lots or into or out of strange driveways, I keep sharp (no pun...) eye out for anything that looks like it could puncture tire.

When I drive through commericial business areas, I watch when I'm turning corner and try to avoid running through the areas of debris that collect/gather at intersections. These always seem to have stray screws, nails, and even bolts, even large washers. Anyone will puncture or cut tire.

A possible "solution" to cutting down on the odds of a nail ending up in the rear tire is to fit a flap just in front of the rear tire. This flap mounted so that it hangs down low and acts to knock aside anything the front tires kicks up.

Many a motorcycle rider fits a rubber flap just ahead of the rear tire to do this to cut down on rear tire flats.

Sincerely,

Macster.

boolala

I had a nail in one of my rear tires once that the Porsche dealer noted during routine maintanence. I was not losing pressure but they recommended changing the tire for a mere $500. I then took it to a reputable indpendant shop and they dismounted the tire and found it had not penetrated through. They removed it and I continued to drive on it until the tread was worn. If the nail is not in the grooves or sipes it is possible that it does not go all the way through. If it has penetrated then I don't think it safe to continue driving on it without a patch because the nail could unexpectedly be extruded as the tire wears.

Lugs H

A screw punctured a rear tire on my 911. Porsche dealer would not fix because of ZR tire rating.They stated that once the tire is punctured, the cord/ply is damaged in that area.This damaged area could cause a failure at high speed.

German_Saint

Porsche - guidelines- NO PATCHES


My reasoning - look at all the things of potential liability from a company fixing tires that won't have the same theoretical integrity.

With that said Patches are fine - sealed from the inside..

Plugs- NO WAY -

LlBr

My dealership will repair tires, as long as they're not damaged beyond a simple plug and patch in the tread. They don't like to do it but they will. The sell other mfgrs and customers of those mfgrs expect a repair on their "repairable" tires.

AFAIK, For Porsche the no-repair policy is mostly about the German Autobahn. Driving for hours at 150+mph makes a huge difference on tire stresses compared to sprinting at 100mph or so occasionally in the USA. better to have a new tire, but we all live "dangerously" driving these cars in the USA anyway . OTOH, it might be living "suicidally" on the autobahn.

jyoteen

i'm pretty sure the reason it picks these things up is because the sticky-ness of the tire, not the width.

I've picked up a KEY of all things in the paddock. The race tire was 20 mins old and barely scrubbed.

Lugs H

cole328 says that he does track the car. What about stress on the tire while on track? Any opinions?

Lugs H

Go to the tire rack web site. Search tire tech information/general tire information.

cole328

I have plugged several previously, provided that they were in the center, and of a relatively small diameter. heck, I even think I went to the track once. I'm going to fix this one Monday, for sure, but was mainly curious if peeps thought I "had" to remove the nail, since it seems to not be causing any air loss, and is sealed tight. I guess conventional wisdom says I'd be an idiot to leave it in there longer than necessary, as I guess worst case, after driving a few hundred miles it could a) pop out and cause a blow out, or worse, b) pop into the tire and cause even worse damage. sheesh...just annoying how many I've picked up on this car.