Well that was easy. I called Manhattan Motorcars and got a service advisor on the phone right away. I told her that I din't buy the car from them but she was not concerned.

Repairing my left tire and right scratched rim under wheel and tire insurance and looking into replacing yellowing stone guards under warranty.

Yes, make sure you only plug it in to the cigarette lighter receptacle. It is the only one that has enough wattage. If you use the outlet inside the center console or the one by the passenger feet you will blow the fuse.

 

I keep tar-plugs in every car and they have saved me more than once.

And, while unwise, I admit that I have tracked my car with a plug.

 

A plug kit in the car is just one measure beyond the goop, but the reality is the most likely failure of these type tires is the sidewall - a nail leak will often be slow and you should have time to react. A sidewall is going to stop you cold and be very inconvenient.

Here's my chronicle of a recent "event" - and I would classify this one as a 5 on a 10 scale, with 10 being worst case (10 is Friday night, with passenger in car, raining, 36-40F outside, no water, no snacks, bad or no cell phone reception, and no near any sign of civilization).

What a flat tire really means: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/997-forum/599508-roadside-asst-and-flat-tire-story-long.html

A spare is the best solution if you venture more than 60miles from a Porsche dealer, high end tire center, your home, or travel at night.

 

Regardless of cost --the only way to guarantee a 100 percent tire --- is to replace it.

A plug or patch will always have a weak spot in that tire .
In my opinion -- this is not the thing to save money on.

 

This is one of the reasons I didn't like dealing with many Porsche owners (or, for that matter any luxury sports car). When looking at rental cars, many states specify by law what an insurance company must provide.

In virginia, we are required to give you a loaner car "similar" to yours. By similar, the law means number of doors and seating capacity. That means when you drive a two door convertible in, we owe you for an intermediate size car (typically ford focus, toyota corolla, etc sized vehicle). It typically results in arguing over the definition of the word "similar", but realistically, my hands are tied by the laws of our state, not by some insurance company policy meant to screw you.

Good luck with the fix, but yes, a properly done patch/plug can last as long as the tire. Should you be on the track with a patched tire? Probably not. But for every day street driving, it'll be absolutely fine.

And as was mentioned, if possible, break the tire from the rim and do a true vulcanized patch from the inside. That way the "patch" is actually a part of the rubber of the tire.

 

If you were driving normally and never hit hard turns, you're probably ok. If you really drive your Porsche, I wouldn't plug it. It degrades the performance of the tire and is certainly a safety issue if you drive the car hard.

 

Just received a call from the service advisor. While my wheel insurance will pay to replace the tire. The new tire is N2 rated while the opposite side is N1 rated. She recommends that I get both replaced so that the ratings match. Their price was over $700 so I said hell no. But a quick check at TireRack.com and I see that the rear Michelin PS2's are $594 so $700 installed wasn't as bad as I though.

With my luck even if I replaced both sides to match I will get a nail next week on the other one and insurance would have covered it.

So my question, can I live with the different ratings on the same axle or will my car explode?

P.S I don't track the car.

 

Personally, I would just try to get an N1 tire so it matches. I doubt it would be noticeable to put an N2 tire on it, but the difference is the tire is a bit stiffer/harder than an N1 so it keeps its shape at higher speeds. So, I think it's safe, but for my piece of mind I would find a new N1 to match or buy two new N2s.

 

to akacaj:

A responsible dealer would have told you the N2 means Michelin made some change to the tire, probably very minor or Michelin would have given it a new designation, and Porsche "certified the change"; a few years ago I've seen as high as a N4 rating. Since you don't track the car ( not that this would actually matter ) and I doubt that you run it much over 130mph the N1-N2 difference is zero.