Has anyone ever had flat tire while on a trip in their Porsche?

Did you call for Porsche roadside assistance?

How long did it take.

(I am taking a short trip of about 350 miles from Savannah to Montgomery, Al.
And I am a little worried about getting a flat or other tire trouble.)

 

Porsche roadside assistance will only take you to the nearest dealer to replace /repair the tire.

I have a tire plug kit (that you can pick up from your local auto store) and you have a pump in your frunk. Obviously if the puncture is in the sidewall then all bets are off.

Lastly, you also have the tire sealer that comes with the car but would be the absolute last resort, as you can pretty much kiss the wheel goodbye after using it.

350 miles is nothing.

 

Why is the wheel unusable after using the puncture sealant. The porsche dealer does not clean it after repair?

 

Some had stated that the gunk build up so was bad, that the tire and wheel were toast.

I had always assumed that there is a method to scrub the inside of the wheel, as that would be the logical approach.
Anything else seems a little extreme.

Perhaps if it's not cleaned to perfection, you end up with balance issues etc.

 

The sealant is just a temp fix.. It will do just to get the tire fixed or replaced..

A plug is a perm fix.. However note there are many around here who believe plugs are dangerous.. (I think they are fine as long as the puncture is small and just is in treads)..

That comment normally spurs a long debate from folks who claim the world will come to an end if you do.. but for typical dds who don't track it's fine for the remaining life of the tire..

 

Some of the sealants also interfere with tpms. I would think Porsches own sealant wouldn't.. But who knows..

Is use it to get off the road if I'm somewhere in safe but would prefer to get a plug in it instead if I can..

 

I would imagine that the sealant pretty much kills the tire in terms of future use / repair.

To the OP, you other have options including a full spare kit (from suncoast) but rather extreme for such a short trip.

 

The sealants I've used in the past aren't so bad.. I've just plugged and had no problems.. If you do it right the sealant spreads out evenly.. I've never seen a balance issue.. Main issue I've seen is tpms which is why I avoid if I can

 

a plug might be fine as a " permanent " fix on an econobox tire , but on a high performance car, kiss the speed rating good bye .....not a problem if you plan on driving it only like a Lexus afterwards until the treads are worn down

also, you cannot plug or patch if the nail is within an inch or so of the sidewall

 

OK for people who carry the plug kit to use instead of the sealant i have a Question. In the past I have used the spare and hauled the wheel and tire to discount tire and had the plug installed from the inside of the tire. Are your plugs installed from the outside on the road and then you have it redone later at repair shop from the inside. I ask because breaking a bead on the roadside is something I can not do.

 

Which was exactly as I described..

 

In a pinch, it's done from the outside.. And then follow up with an inside out plug job

 

plugs are done from the outside. a patch is done from the inside. some places do both plug and patch as water can cause corrosion on the belt with a patch alone.

plugs will seal against the tire extremely well. after a little bit of driving, the rubber and the plug pretty much fuse together. a patch on the inside as a precaution is great but unless you drive in rain, snow and 100+ degree weather a lot, i see no real advantage to that. many low end tire shops do plugs alone for this reason.

any tire plugged or patch loses speed rating. it's a warranty thing.

do repaired tires belong on the track? probably not by organizer's rules. however, i have driven them on DE track days. the way i see it, if the seal does fail, it's no different than valve stem failure or a track debris cut the tire.

a repair tire doesn't mean it is unfit for spirited driving in my opinion. like i said, you can pickup a nail anywhere anytime. i have never seen a failed repaired tire. but i have seen plenty of new tires losing air due to reusing valve stems and road debris.

to the OP, get a AAA with 100-200 mile tow coverage if you are worried. Porsche dealers will not repair tires, they may have have your tires in stock and are probably closed on weekends. Therefore, the Porsche roadside can completely disrupt your trip and render it useless. AAA costs about $90 a year for 100 miles. Very good investment especially if you have many cars.

 

ive had to plug my motorcycle tire along time ago because of a small nail with one of those ghetto kits from autozone when I was stranded, its very hard to go slow on a crouch rocket and without realizing I went up to 120mph for a good amount of time, the tire did not fail and im still alive.


if you don't have a AAA account, I highly suggest getting one now. they changed their policy and wont let you upgrade to plus (100 miles) or premier (200 miles) until you've had their basic membership for at least 1 year first now. premier isn't that much money and comes in handy. if you use it once a year, the membership pays for itself.

 

I presume the temporary plug kits that some of us chose to carry for emergencies (no cell coverage or access) constitute as "ghetto kits from autozone".

I suppose others might also consider carrying a full sized spare in your back seat as "ghetto".