MyEmily

Picked up a nail/screw in the front tire. Looks like it haven't punctured thru, yet... What is the best way to cure the problem? Pull off the screw and use the flat sealer? Take off the wheel and patch it from the inside? Buy a whole new set of tires because of a dam 1/2" screw Gearing toward the porsche flat fixer, but is it permanent? Thx in advance

YA911Fan

If it's near or in the sidewall, it won't be repairable. Otherwise, it's just a flat which any tire store will be able to fix.

btw, I would avoid using the fix-a-flat goop if possible. And no, it's not permanent -- its purpose is just to let you drive to a repair shop...

4thporsche

Hope you don't have to buy a new tire because the 19" ones are in short supply.

MyEmily

Can't say the 19" are in short supply. Called up several tire place and they said they can have it in a few days. The tires still have a good 5k mile to go and hated to change all the tires due to one screw. I needed justification !!! maybe a new set of rims... It's my B-day coming up....hmmmm

Happy Fourth!!!!

Stephenkng

Don't remove the nail/screw that may result in immediately flat. Take it to a tire shop and have them remove and repair it. Good Luck. By the way, I have five in the past 12 months.

GSIRM3

If you think the mail hasn't punctured through the tire yet, spray a soap solution on the nail to see if there are any bubbles. If no bubbles, you may be in luck. As one poster has already pointed out, if the nail has punctured the tire and you remove it, the air will escape quickly, so when you start to remove the nail, go slowly and spray more soap on it to make sure the tire is not leaking.

I have had short nails/screws before that only went into the tread of the tire and did not cause a leak. I was able to reove the nail/screw without any repair being needed.

cviles

The Porsche tire sealant is not a permanent solution. Just recently I got two punctures in the rear tires of my 987S. One was slow, the other fast. So I put the sealant into one of the tires and drove a couple hundred miles home on it.

Some notes about the goo:

• The sealant works. I drove for several days and a few hundred miles on it.
• This stuff never dries out (see pictures below). Liquid sloshing around inside the tire will throw the balance off, so keep your speed down.
• Using the goo means you're going to have to buy a new tire. This stuff gets everywhere and is a pain to clean up; forget patching a tire you've used the sealant on.
• The goo is flammable, so warn your tire technician when you change the tire.
• The replacement kit is about $25, and includes a new bottle, valve core, and core removal tool.

Here's what this stuff looks like:

MMD

Get a DIY plug kit. Plug your tire. Drive.

Eventually get it plugged and patched properly.

With a properly patched tire stay off the Autobahn and don't do any sustained 130mph+ driving; 80, 90 mph is fine.

MMD

WOW! Nice freekin mess! REALLY makes me want to "congratulate" the [choose a degrading expletive] guys at Porsche who decided not to equip the car with a spare.

nyca

you can't plug the tire after you use the sealant? ugh.

I don't know about high performance tires as these cars have, but the days of the "hot patch" are over for most normal tires. plugs now are designed for modern tires, and they "self vulcanize" - using the heat from driving to melt into the tread. has anyone here ever had a flat fixed on a PS2, did they plug it or patch it?

hell, you can buy a professional quality tool and plug it yourself in minutes after removing the screw:

http://patchboy.com/Merchant2/mercha...tegory_Code=ki

if faced with a choice between using the sealant and then needing a new tire - I'd take a chance on plugging it at home.

YA911Fan

Plugging from the outside is only a temporary fix and it's not safe for high speed driving. You should still have it repaired professionally and not drive like a maniac until then.

But I agree that a temporary plug would be far better than that goopy mess!

MyEmily

Thx for the comments...Luckily, it didn't go thru, so I guess it's safe, right? Don't know ho many layers did the screw penetrated, guess I have to keep the speed down...In regards to the porsche fix-a-flat... thx for the picts. What a mess!!!! Look like puke from a bad ice cream visit..

Again, Thx for the responses!!! happy Fourth!!!

boolala

Had a nail in a tire a 4 months ago that the Porsche dealer found. Of course he wanted $450 to replace the tire. Took it to a tire place who said it had not penetrated the tire and simply removed it charging me nothing. Have driven on it for 4 months now without any problems. No air leak.

wetstuff

Chris: Thanks for the pictures ...about as attractive as STD pics in medical textbooks. I'll be sure to buy a plug-it kit.

I still haven't told my wife there's - ahem - no spare.

Not only would she never drive it again, but: "You paid how much for that!!"

Edgy01

We offer so many opinions on the entire nail in the tire issue herein. A lot of it has to do with your style of driving. If you never do serious competition events, you stay under 100 most of the time, and the tire didn't affect the structural integrity of the tire, then plugging is a reasonable alternative. I have full wheel and tire insurance (zero deductible) but still find it wasteful to toss a nearly new tire on the landfill pile just because of a small screw in the tread area of a tire. I have taken plenty of nails and screws and other unmentionables in my tires and have managed to plug them very well. I have also driven these cars fairly hard after doing this. Porsche doesn't recommend it because of our litigious society,--they don't want to be held liable if something happens and you merely plugged it. You have to decide for yourself.

I have plugged a nail hole in one of my rear tires and it held up well. I took a lengthy trip with it. Later, because I have the insurance for it, I replaced the tire. That's the only reason I replaced it. It was working fine. If you know anything about tire construction you'll realize that you can do quite a bit with them and not get into trouble. But if you are the slightest bit concerned, plug it until you can line up a replacement and then take the wheel and tire in for replacement. Many have said that you don't want to jeopardize a $100,000 plus vehicle merely because you got cheap on a single tire. There's a lot to that thinking.