Have tire patched at Porsche indy for $60 or at a regular ole tire place for less?

[new2bxstr]

My Boxster's tire has a tiny leak that slowly - very slowly - leaks air. I notice it getting lower every two weeks or so.

The indy says they patch it from the inside, which he claims is better than regular tire places that will likely patch from the outside.

Thoughts?

[steved0x]

I have had tires patched at tire kingdom and they dismount the tire and patch it from the inside, and remount, the cost is usually barely any higher than the cost for mounting and balancing a tire. Maybe $20'ish?

Steve

[nicecar]

go somewhere else, i paid about 170 for new rear bridgestone tire. 20 bucks inside patch.

[JayG]

Do not run a tire that has been plugged, only internal patch.

Are you sure the tire is leaking from the tread? I had 2 slow leaking tires on my 996 and it turned out to be the bead seal.
I ended up taking them to a wheel repair place and they fixed the wheels. They are 3 piece with chrome barrels.It is not uncommon for chrome wheels to leak at the beads

In any case, $20-$25 is normal to patch a tire. Some of the tire stores here will do free patching with a coupon from their website. If you have Express Tire, have a look

[Jamesp]

I had a hole ( on a brand new tire :troll patched at discount tire. They use a piece of rubber shaped like the stem of a wine glass, with the base being the patch. They removed the tire, prepped the hole area put the "stem" into the hole, glued the crap out of it, pulled it through and pressed the patch down with pressure. Looked like a high quality patch. Price - free.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Jamesp

I had a hole ( on a brand new tire :troll patched at discount tire. They use a piece of rubber shaped like the stem of a wine glass, with the base being the patch. They removed the tire, prepped the hole area put the "stem" into the hole, glued the crap out of it, pulled it through and pressed the patch down with pressure. Looked like a high quality patch. Price - free.

+986
That is the correct way to do it

A plain plug will not hold up on a high performance car and can be dangerous

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by JayG

+986
That is the correct way to do it

A plain plug will not hold up on a high performance car and can be dangerous

I put a plain plug on my rear tire, cost me $0.50, and it lasted the life of the tire, over 30k miles.

[cas951]

Originally Posted by jdlmodelt

I put a plain plug on my rear tire, cost me $0.50, and it lasted the life of the tire, over 30k miles.

Same here and I've done several on my cars. I always have it with me on long trips. The proper way is to use the patch/plug combination but not many tire repair shops have them.
However, you shouldn't be doing track days with a patched or plugged tire. This is where conditions exceeds the limits of the plug.

[amagalla]

If you have an America's Tire, or Discount Tire near you, they'll generally do it for free. They give awesome customer service in order to get the repeat business.

[Jamesp]

Originally Posted by jdlmodelt

I put a plain plug on my rear tire, cost me $0.50, and it lasted the life of the tire, over 30k miles.

I have frequently put in plugs and have also run tires many, many miles on them without incident, but that is on SUVs or sedans that are in relatively light service from a tire perspective. If you read the packaging they are not for automotive use. I'm sure there is reasoning based in litigation for that, and the litigation is based on failure rate. I agree with Jayg that a much better repair is an inside patch, and the best is plug and patch.

[schnellman]

Sounds like your indy is taking a hint from the dealership. I got a tire plugged and patched from the inside at my Tire Rack approved dealer for $15. Didn't have a problem for the rest of the life of the tire.

[token 00]

Most of the national chains will patch from the inside. I've been charged anywhere from $10 - $35 over the past 25 years.

[lkchris]

No tire manufacturer approves externally installed plugs.

No tire shop concerned about its liability and its customers does either.

[Top_Ramen]

Get it done right the first time. Take it to an approved tire place to have it internally patched/plugged(should be between $12-25), rather than being out driving around constantly worrying about a plug falling out.

Problem with plugging it yourself, is if it falls out, you're left with a bigger hole than you initially started with....

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by cas951

Same here and I've done several on my cars. I always have it with me on long trips. The proper way is to use the patch/plug combination but not many tire repair shops have them.
However, you shouldn't be doing track days with a patched or plugged tire. This is where conditions exceeds the limits of the plug.

I don't track my car. I plug on cattle trailers, and our 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups and the plugs have not failed us. So, I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

[JayG]

A cattle trailer or pickup is not a Boxster. If you drive hard at all its much more stress on the tires .

[Wangta]

Anyone know if this is "patched correctly"?

[Brian in Tucson]

Originally Posted by Wangta

Anyone know if this is "patched correctly"?

Is it holding air? Probably will do you just fine on the Interstate.

In these parts, the closest and best tire place is Discount Tire. Nice guys do good work. They especially are nice if you are a regular customer (they can tell from your computer file.) Makes me feel a little guilty that I bought a set of Riken tires from Tire Wreck. But they were cheap, made by a subsidiary of Michelin, and get great reviews. Their cheaper than motorcycle tires.

[Wangta]

Originally Posted by Brian in Tucson

Is it holding air? Probably will do you just fine on the Interstate.

In these parts, the closest and best tire place is Discount Tire. Nice guys do good work. They especially are nice if you are a regular customer (they can tell from your computer file.) Makes me feel a little guilty that I bought a set of Riken tires from Tire Wreck. But they were cheap, made by a subsidiary of Michelin, and get great reviews. Their cheaper than motorcycle tires.

Yep holds air fine - and we don't drive it super hard. I just didn't know if it was the "right" way with the plug sticking out, and the base glued, etc.

[particlewave]

No way to tell. The "right way" is patched from the inside, but there are patch/plug combinations, so in that instance, you'd still see the plug from the tread side.