Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 111K miles.

Heading Philly to DuBois to attend traffic court... got a flat, right rear, on the PA Turnpike.

Summary:

1 - Porsche goo bottle was useless... it came out like water and ended up a big puddle on the highway... but made it easy to find the hole. If you are going to depend on this goo bottle, follow your manual and replace it every four years ($80 bottle from SunCoast). Mine was eight years old and the solvents must have separated out or something... useless... I would have towed if not for Smitty. (Edit: I originally noted the sealant replacement interval was two years, it is four - Thanx Jagman1)

2- Smittybilt plug kit!!!! Yes!!!! Following the source of my goo flood, I found the hole... it was actually quite large.... the Smitty reamer went right in almost without resistance ... oh oh .... I am thinking tow truck time.... The Smitty plugs were really large..... rammed that thing up the bungy.... voila!!! Really easy. Stupid easy. Had to roll the car inch by inch to get the hole to be just above the pavement and under the rear bumper... just enough to get my arm and hand in there to access the hole at about center of tire.

3 - Porsche electric tire pump.... YES!!!! Darn, this is a quality pump! The guage was accurate as checked against another expensive guage I carry... and filled pretty darn quick. I have two of those cheap portables at home and they just suck compared to this Porsche unit. Good job Porsche.

Drove for another six-seven hours and never lost a pound.

I was going about seventy five when Pow-Thunk...... Whatever punched a hole in my tire then released as it banged around in my wheel well..... Tire deflated to zero in about 5 seconds...... Red warning came on the dash with beep... "Flat Tyre" and I think it showed a negative number... I wasn't paying to much to these details.... I immediately pulled the car over... I may have gone only about 50 feet on the deflated tire.... I knew not to do that or I would need a tow no matter what.

I won't go into more details as nothing bores me more than some detailed flat tire story or how I got a ticket story... but I will add.... I could not get through to the PA Turnpike... could not find their number.. I thought it was 511 on the cell... that did get me them but I got some service recording... press one for traffic details.... etc etc..... So, for those in PA, you may want to add the following to your cell phone:

PA Turnpike Emergency
*11 or
800-932-0586

Traffic Court Story....

You need a lawyer. Period. I have had so many tickets, I can paper my house twice over..... lost a license once in a midwest state... on and on and on...... The ONLY time I decided to not use a lawyer and appeared in a Delaware court, they did nothing and I got the full points. Pay the system and you will be rewarded. Period.

Most of the time, the districts will allow a lawyer to appear for you.... again I will not bore you but I did this a bunch of times. DuBois PA would not so it was a 4 hour and 10 minute drive for me....... so now I am laying in gravel fixing a flat... great...... Anywho, once back on the road, I called the lawer and WAZE noted I was going to be 15 minutes late... he said not to worry... well when I hit Clearfield, about 15 mnts away, he called me and said he talked to the Trooper.... dropped to 5 over, no points and I would get a refund in the mail. He said I still had to appear....... He called back 5 mnts later and said the judge said I suffered enough... turn around and go home.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

For those who never saw their Porsche-provided pump, here it is... oh, this is a quality unit, you do NOT need to carry another one.



My $25 Smittybilt kit... small... actually has too much stuff in there... I only needed the reamer, the plug, the plug tool, the rubber cement, and the razor to trim the excess.... the kit has way too much stuff ... but that is OK, you may need it (it has needle nose plyers to pull out the nail but I didn't have anything to pull out).

Wayne Smith

Smittybuilt generally makes good stuff. I've got this kit in all my cars but haven't needed it yet. Glad to hear it worked well for you.

In California a plug is not legal, but I figure it's a good temporary fix.

For the 997 I also carry a scissors jack, wheel chocks, torque wrench with extension and lug socket, anti seize, rags, cleaners, compressed tire sealer, Porsche tire sealer and compressor, change of clothes, etc ... all in the hopes of never needing any of them!!! This all fits nicely in the bottom of the frunk safe in a bag donated by a friend.

Racetwin2

Tire plugs are great! I fixed a flat similar way. Kept pressure until I had time to properly repair the tire with tire-patch etc at the tireshop.

I was also amazed how easy (relatively) it was and how it can really save you on the roadside. pouring goo in the tire will anyway force you to remove the whole tire and clean it.

Short question: Which 12-volt socket did you use? The one in the center console? I have once blown a fuse when connecting a pump via cigarette lighter and I think not all sockets are made for consuming such high amps.

Bruce In Philly

The manual denotes "cigarette lighter" so I plugged it into the center console socket. Ran fine.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

jhbrennan

I know CA has strange laws, but what is not legal about a plug - do they actually inspect for plugs or do you have to self incriminate

Dragon997

Done! Ordered the Smittybilt repair kit from Amazon. Recent road trip to Twisted Sisters (5 hour drive each way) had me wondering what I would do if I had a tire puncture in the middle of Nowhere Texas. Better to have it and never use it than to need it and not have it!

mk85911

I carry a plug kit, and thankfully haven't had to use it yet. Good to know how easy it is.

I can't resist my Pa turnpike story. 1985 911 with inflatable spare. Flat in rear, so procedure is to put front tire on rear, then inflatable on front, and don't drive faster than 50 mph. This was western Pa portion of turnpike, in the mountains, with me driving 50 and trucks barreling down the mountain overtaking me. Really scary. Had to drive about 25 miles that way until first exit, found real service station and kid fixed it in the time it took me to wash the dirt off my hands. Probably used plug.

Hershey Saturday? Mike

yvesvidal

Great story. I like the compassion shown by the judge. Rather unusual.

Yves

Para82

Is it possible to find lawyers who handle the small traffic stuff for under 500 bucks and who are good at getting points deferred?

Petza914

Way to go Bruce. I love preparedness stories that turn out well.

I carry the Dynaplug Pro Kit in all my cars. It's awesome - patented plug design that does not require any cement to go bad, you can stack multiple plugs into the same hole for larger punctures, everything is strong aluminum, and everything fits into the tiny metal handle with changeable ends.





Haven't had to use it on the road yet, but fixed a friends punctured tire in my driveway about a month ago - worked perfectly and is still holding air (it was a very small hole on a non-performance car right in the middle of the tread).

BIG smoke

On the above kit list. If your car is lowered and you need to get the jack under your car? I have a 2x4 to raise the car enough to get the jack under.
Also - good work gloves for my delicate girly hands.
I like the aerosol fix-A-flat stuff. So simple even my sister inlaw could work that.

Bruce In Philly

I am a bit cynical regarding the whole system....... IMO, find a typical ambulance chaser who touts traffic violations. I am not being derogatory here, but some guys/gals can build quite a business churning out traffic ticket work. Quality is not required. In every every every instance I dealt with an attorney and therefore got 0 points, never did the issue become technical or crafty. You do not need craftiness.

Attorney fee to me this time was IIRC, $300.00. I have paid as high as $500 IIRC, but the results were all the same and never was there any "TV moment".

If anyone starts telling you some story, lawyer or ticket receiver, about some technical or how they outwitted the Trooper...... "radar calibration date" or "Trucks in line of sight" or whatever.... they are fools. While there is some truth to a Trooper not showing up, mostly this is just BS and drunken lore..... I had just that.... the court had a full time Trooper to represent the real guys..... did I say I was cynical? Just pay the man, get 0 points.

How do you find such an attorney? Two ways: 1) Almost, not all, tickets I received were followed by letters from lawyers soliciting my business... your traffic ticket is public information. Twice, I just picked one... I picked the one that used a real pen to sign his name as some signatures were printed by the laser printer.... was that a good approach? Just pay the man, get 0 points. 2) Go online and start calling. Some times, go to the court website as I found some have a list of attorneys noted with their specialties.... otherwise, the attorneys have a webpage on a law site or their own little web page..... If they do "small" like family stuff, wills, traffic tickets, DUI.... that is your guy/gal. Pay the man, get 0 points.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

F308gt4

Thanks for the tip, and thanks for the original post, Bruce. Checked out the dynapro on amazon. They also make a Dynapro extreme, which has a wider end, which the reviews said made it easier to insert. I went ahead and bought the Extreme kit.

Petza914

Actually, my bad from earlier. The extreme with the wider end to push on is the one I have. Didn't see that one this morning when I was grabbing images and links to post. You got the good one I've corrected my initial post with the correct photo and link (link is the same as F308gt4's and the other link I posted is in my quoted post.

In my other cars that don't have a compressor like the 997 & Cayenne, I actually bought the Extreme kit that includes the small Dynaplug Compressor too. I haven't used one of them yet though so can't comment on how effective they are, but I assume it will get the job done when needed if it's designed anywhere close to as well as the plug repair tool.

F308gt4

God to know I got the good one. Thanks!

I bought a can of fix a flat one time, hoping to use it to replace the stuff Porsche provides. Unfortunately, it's too big to fit in the compartment that the Porsche Goo goes into. I do put it in the Frunk if I'm going on a long trip, but take it out otherwise.