Tires - Continental SportContact2 - repair or replace?

[Mitch D]

Hi, All, while I await my RF delivery late this year or early next, I continue to putt around in my 996. On very limited driving (about 500 miles per month) I mananged to pick up my second nail in the last three months. I took the car (aka "the attention whore") to the dealer and he tells me - those tires CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT be repaired for nail punctures, they MUST BE replaced. Three hundred dollars later and I have a new tire to replace the last one that had only 2000 miles.

What's the deal? Is this reality? The dealer is a Porsche dealer in Torrance, CA - not 'Joe's Tire Shop' trying to sell me some new tires (any Joe's please forgive me, I'm using the name generically and not trying to indicate anything about quality).

I use my car for street and not track. The tire was a 265/35-18 ZR rated tire and the nail was in the center third of the tread (not near an edge or 'flex-point'). Flex my as$, the profile is so low there's absolutely no foot at all at the recommended 44 psi.

Anyone else ever hear such a story from their dealer?

Give it to me straight - if I'm a sucker, then let me have it. If this is bunk, can anyone give me some ammunition to go back to this guy and ask for some $$ back.


Mitch D

 

[Ross Nicol]

Well Mitch I have my racing slicks repaired after a puncture. They take the tyre off the rim and place a repair patch on the inside.I have a radial tyre with 1 lap on it I will not use though because 3 or four cords are cut through on the side wall, after being hit by a P.....orsche grrrrr.
We call it being lashed in Australia where bullshit is spun to extract money from the unwary.That Tyre will be on another car by now and the dealer will have told his story many times ( how he got away with it).At the very least go back and get the old tyre.Be interesting to hear what the dealer says if he can't produce it.
Ross

 

[Howard Jones]

Yep. Dismount, patch on the inside, remount, airup and rebalance. Get it back if you can. If the dealer keeps telling you that story ask him if he has the Dunlop reps name so you can call him yourself.

It might not be a ripoff. At least not by the dealer. They may be so scared of lawers the just don't "fix" tires.

 

[Mitch D]

OK - I know it's only two opinions, but they clearly agree - 'patch from the inside' is a reasonable repair.

I called the "Service Manager" and had a little chat. I spoke calmly but firmly and let him know that my own research tells me that repairs are not out of the question. I also asked if the service department was bound by any dealer, factory, or tire manufacturer policies with regards to repairs. He didn't have an immediate answer, but he said he'd get to the bottom of the situation and get back to me as soon as possible.

I give myself a 90% probability of hearing back from him. I give myself less than 20% probability of remuneration in part or full.

If I'm not satisfied with his response, my next inquiry is direct to Porsche Cars North America.

Mitch D

 

[Howard Jones]

Go over there and ask to have a look in his tire pile. Get it back youself. A single hole from a smallish nail going straight thur the center or near center of the tread is NOT a throw away. If you want to know for sure take it to a tire shop that is a Dunlop dealer, and show it to them and let them fix it.

Side wall dammage, any dammage to the structure of the tire, such as torn belts, cord that is exposed and frayed, etc. is on the other hand dangerious please do not remount them.

 

[Tim Kay]

I had a Hoosier with a similar positioned nail in it and the tire shop I use for mounting warned me that he could not repair it. Simply because he had knowledge of the car being used on a track at high speed he had to "refuse" to repair it. With that said he proceeded to patch it with my promise not to race it. For safety reasons I agree but I don't have any concern that it can't be used for street.

 

[Mitch D]

Well, last Friday I did receive a call from the Service Manager from the dealer. He informed me that it is "Porsche factory policy" to have authorized dealers perform "no repairs" on the tires (this does not include any problems with the valve which is a separate component). He also faxed me the pages of documentation from the dealer stating this "factory policy". Thus, I had no leg to stand on vis-a-vis any refund.

Moral of the story - don't go to the dealer for your tires if you can help it. In my case, I had no choice since they were the only folks in town with Continental Sport Contact 2 in stock - the darn things are backordered nationally (I found this out from Wheel Enhancement in Los Angeles - these guys are really excellent with tires for Porsches and other race applications). I wanted to go someplace that had the tires in stock in the event replacement was necessary. Turns out, I'd have been better off going to just about any other tire shop and having them take a look first. Oh well...

Tim
- how do you like the Hoosiers for the GT40? I'm still 6 mos out from my RF delivery, but proper track tires are on my list of to-do's. I talked to the guy at Wheel Enhancement about the Hoosiers - he said they're great.

Mitch D