What's the norm when it comes to things like this? Two new front tires or will one be ok? I have 7k miles on the car. Should have got the wheel and tire insurance

 

Or can it be patched? It seems to be holding pressure well (+1/-1) depending on weather and driving conditions

 

It can be plugged (not patched) should cost you about $45. Definitely don't need a new tire unless it's a screw through the sidewall. Some Porsche dealers won't do it (for liability reasons) but it's 100% safe and any reputable tire shop will do it for sure. I've had about four plugs done over the year. Never had an issue with any. A proper plug is considered a 'good as new' fix.

 

Great. Thanks for the help! Will get it plugged then.

Edit: Everything I read online says run flats can't be plugged. What's the consensus on this? Even read that tire shops won't do it. Will a tire shop plugging the tire send any warning signals to the TPMS that I would have to reset at the dealer?

 

I thought our Pirellis are not run-flats

 

Right, Not Run Flats.
OK to plug damage in middle tread area only.
Not safe to plug in the shoulder tread area.

Once plugged you probably dont want to test the full Y speed rating of the tire anymore.

 

^+1
Plugging it in the middle may be an option but it compromises your speed rating and therefore safety at high speed.

I personally would not repair a high performance tire and would replace both fronts. Safety first.

 

+1
You don't want to be at risk of something bad happening because you liked to save on a tyre-repair. Like Haku says... Safety first!

Suzy991 (iOS app)

 

A plug is a good as new repair. Does not affect speed rating.

In Toronto one Porsche dealer will not perform plugs and would prefer to sell you a brand new tire each time (at dealership mark up prices for tire and install.) The other Porsche dealership will happily plug the tire and has been doing so on thousands of cars for over 40 years without incident. It DOES NOT reduce your speed rating.

The choice is up to you, but from a technical stand point you do not NEED to replace the tire.

 

I disagree. Here's a quote from Tire Track...
"While indoor laboratory tests have shown that freshly punctured and properly repaired speed rated tires can still achieve high speeds, it is not recommended that repaired street tires, or punctured DOT-legal competition tires and racing slicks be used for track events."

On a Porsche 911 I would extend the "track events" statement to any spirited or high speed driving.

Here's the link.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=77

 

Anyone who's spent a day driving on the track knows that NOTHING you can do on the road even comes close. Tracking a car involves repeated, very hard accelerating, braking, cornering all within a very short time, over and over again. Driving at high speed in a spirited manner on the road doesn't compare in the least to a few laps on a track.

Hey if you want to replace one tire, or both tires, or all four tires because of an easily, safely pluggable hole go right ahead. But it is not necessary from a safety or performance standpoint.

 

total waste if you replace. atleast save the one tire with no nail - that way when it happens again you already have a tire to put on

 

Over the years I've had tires on my Porsches fixed many times. In more than one case the same tire fixed more than once. The Turbo is particularly a problem as its rear tires are wide and soft and pick up everything.

The general rules are the hole has to be inside the tread face and far enough from the sidewall the sidewall is undamaged.

The hole can't be too big. "1/4 inch" or smaller.

The tire has to be otherwise in good shape. The tire can't be at the wear bars for instance. And it ruins a tire in no time to drive it underinflated. Drive it flat and it is ruined in just feet. (The tire's inner surfaces make contact and this abrades the rubber layer on the inner surfaces which is what seals in the air.

The recommended fix is to patch the tire from the inside with a patch that has a stem that fits into the hole. The area is cleaned and coated with a vulcanizing glue/compound then the patch applied and then rolled out and allowed to set/cure.

After the fix I've driven the tires to the point they are worn out and not had any problems.

If the tire can't be repaired of course it must be replaced. Whether the other tire gets replaced or not is determined by the wear. Porsche guideline is the difference in tread depth between the two tires on the same axle can't be over 30%.

Speed rating or other parameters are not affected by the repair.

For a few years now whenever I buy tires I get road hazard coverage. I was not a big fan of this before but for $7/tire it has proved to be well worth the cost. I have received more than one new rear tire that had picked up something that was not repairable. In one case the Turbo's rear tire picked up a nail and had the necessary 3mm of tread left -- with over 20K miles on it! -- and I received a new tire, mounted and balanced for free. 'course I had to buy a the other new tire but at over 20K miles the tire was due to be replaced shortly anyhow.

 

Thanks for all the input guys.

I'm now more lost than I was before this thread started. My tires are in pretty decent shape (only have 7k miles on them).

Called my service guy and he said to patch the tire. Called my local tire shop and they said the same thing.

Gonna take it in tomorrow and see what can be done. Love the fact that the car doesn't come with a spare so if the tire can't be repaired I'm SOL (tire shop has to order the tire in).

 

It should also be noted that I've been monitoring the PSI in the instrument cluster over the last two weeks and the pressure has remained with slight fluctuations of +1/-1.

Driving around LA, I always have my screen set to PSI screen so I can monitor my air pressure.