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    Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Was traveling on the Interstate to Oklahoma City when just outside Marietta the car starts vibrating like I was driving on the "rumble strip". Nope, it was a flat tire; left rear; a Michelin Pilot Sport 305ZR30-19. Unloaded the luggage, removed the valve and poured in the "goop". When I saw the goop dribbling out from under the car, I knew I was in big trouble. The tire had a six inch tear in the inner sidewall. There's no spare tire in a 997.

    No problem, though, it's under warranty, so I called Porsche Roadside Assistance and they found a qualified tow truck out of Gainsville, TX. He was there in an hour and took us all the way to the Porsche dealer in Oklahoma City. I saw his bill which Porsche picked up -- $450. The dealer didn't have the tire in stock so it had to be FedEx'd in from Shreveport. It's a $550 tire, but I had road hazard coverage so I was OK there. In all, the bill was nearly $1200 for a flat tire! However, in this case, all I lost was a lot of time.

    Thinking ahead though, I really wonder if I should buy the spare tire and tire changing accessories for a 996. The day will soon come when there will be no Porsche Roadside Assistance. I drive all over the South, sometimes many miles away from the nearest dealer.

    How do you other 997 owners handle this problem?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    I too have been contemplating the spare tire thing but I'd hate to lose my trunk. I wonder if AAA can sell similar coverage to Porsche Roadside Assistance at a reasonable price? Or, can PRA be extended?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Absolutely you need to carry a spare for those road trips. Search this forum "compact spare" and see how MMD made a small bracket to secure it inside the trunk.

    I got mine and all the other tools needed (jack, wrench, and guide pin) on eBay. Compact spare and tools are from 996, they all fit without any problems.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Greentree said:
    Nope, it was a flat tire; left rear; a Michelin Pilot Sport 305ZR30-19. Unloaded the luggage, removed the valve and poured in the "goop". When I saw the goop dribbling out from under the car, I knew I was in big trouble. The tire had a six inch tear in the inner sidewall. There's no spare tire in a 997.

    No problem, though, it's under warranty, so I called Porsche Roadside Assistance and they found a qualified tow truck out of Gainsville, TX. He was there in an hour and took us all the way to the Porsche dealer in Oklahoma City. I saw his bill which Porsche picked up -- $450. The dealer didn't have the tire in stock so it had to be FedEx'd in from Shreveport. It's a $550 tire, but I had road hazard coverage so I was OK there. In all, the bill was nearly $1200 for a flat tire!


    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    I use the 'tall spare' from the 996. I does not collapse but it still fits under the hood. Inside the wheel is the foam insert which holds the jack and tool. I also keep a torque wrench and with my PCCB I also have two of the 'guide posts' to center the wheels when replacing.

    If you have a flat in the rear you need to move one of the fronts to the rear and put the spare on the front. Do not put the spare on the rear!

    That said, I only keep the spare for long road trips when time is of the essence. If it happened in town I would just Roadside assistance.

    Cheers!

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    THinthedesert said:
    Quote:
    Greentree said:
    Nope, it was a flat tire; left rear; a Michelin Pilot Sport 305ZR30-19. Unloaded the luggage, removed the valve and poured in the "goop". When I saw the goop dribbling out from under the car, I knew I was in big trouble. The tire had a six inch tear in the inner sidewall. There's no spare tire in a 997.

    No problem, though, it's under warranty, so I called Porsche Roadside Assistance and they found a qualified tow truck out of Gainsville, TX. He was there in an hour and took us all the way to the Porsche dealer in Oklahoma City. I saw his bill which Porsche picked up -- $450. The dealer didn't have the tire in stock so it had to be FedEx'd in from Shreveport. It's a $550 tire, but I had road hazard coverage so I was OK there. In all, the bill was nearly $1200 for a flat tire!





    I guess my question did not make it. My bad!!
    As a soon to be owner of a 997S (October delivery) does the factory warranty cover the tires too, or is that the separate road hazard warranty you mentioned??

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    the warranty doesn't cover the tires. Most dealers offer a plan you can buy for road hazzard as well as tire replacement when it just wears out.

    As for roadside assistance after the warranty ends, you can certainly buy coverage from several sources including your insurance company but it likely will cover you to the nearest place for tires, not to the nearest dealer.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    You had a 6" cut on the inside sidewall. Any idea how and why that happened?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Leawood911 said:
    I use the 'tall spare' from the 996. I does not collapse but it still fits under the hood. Inside the wheel is the foam insert which holds the jack and tool. I also keep a torque wrench and with my PCCB I also have two of the 'guide posts' to center the wheels when replacing.

    If you have a flat in the rear you need to move one of the fronts to the rear and put the spare on the front. Do not put the spare on the rear!

    That said, I only keep the spare for long road trips when time is of the essence. If it happened in town I would just Roadside assistance.

    Cheers!



    Can your wheel and PCCBs accommodate an old spare? The diameter is different. Is that why you cannot use it in the rear? That means 997 C4/C4s and Turbos can't use them neither in the rear or in front.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    The road hazard coverage is a separate contract offered by the dealer at new car purchase. It was something like 800 dollars for five years coverage. A Boxster driver friend of mine urged me to get it since the 19 wheels and tires both are pretty pricey.

    The tear almost certainly was due to running on a flat tire. I suppose it was punctured sometime after I gassed up in Marietta. You won't feel it go flat and my car isn't equipped with the Tire Pressure Sensing System.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    ADias said:
    Quote:
    Leawood911 said:
    I use the 'tall spare' from the 996. I does not collapse but it still fits under the hood. Inside the wheel is the foam insert which holds the jack and tool. I also keep a torque wrench and with my PCCB I also have two of the 'guide posts' to center the wheels when replacing.

    If you have a flat in the rear you need to move one of the fronts to the rear and put the spare on the front. Do not put the spare on the rear!

    That said, I only keep the spare for long road trips when time is of the essence. If it happened in town I would just Roadside assistance.

    Cheers!



    Can your wheel and PCCBs accommodate an old spare? The diameter is different. Is that why you cannot use it in the rear? That means 997 C4/C4s and Turbos can't use them neither in the rear or in front.



    The diameter of the 'tall spare' (which is kept inflated) fits the PCCB just fine. The reason for putting the spare in front is that it is much more narrow than even the front wheel. Putting such a narrow wheel in the rear causes big instability problems and is not safe at just about any speed. I did test fit the spare although I have not yet had to use it. (I did have to use it on my 996 several times)

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Paul S in TX said:
    the warranty doesn't cover the tires. Most dealers offer a plan you can buy for road hazzard as well as tire replacement when it just wears out.




    Hmmm, I have the wheel and tire insurance too, but I don't believe it covers replacement of tires that are worn out too? Is this something different that you're talking about?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    1st997 said:
    Absolutely you need to carry a spare for those road trips. Search this forum "compact spare" and see how MMD made a small bracket to secure it inside the trunk.

    I got mine and all the other tools needed (jack, wrench, and guide pin) on eBay. Compact spare and tools are from 996, they all fit without any problems.




    Yeah, the nice thing is when you put tire with hub facing inward you still have alot of room if you use duffel-bag packing insted of suitcase/briefcase-packing techniques .

    I always carry the spare, it avoids an entirely ruined day and it gets the car home where it can sit until Porsche or somebody comes up with a new tire! Can take a while to get our tires!!! There's a shortage apparently!!

    Here's a pic. Shows riveted install position, weldment, secured tire on threaded rod. Because they are just heavy guage pop-rivets the attachment points are probably not crash proof but they are ABS actuation proof (my first hand experience).

    Get the spare and forget it... .

    Here's pic:

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    uzj100 said:
    Quote:
    Paul S in TX said:
    the warranty doesn't cover the tires. Most dealers offer a plan you can buy for road hazzard as well as tire replacement when it just wears out.




    Hmmm, I have the wheel and tire insurance too, but I don't believe it covers replacement of tires that are worn out too? Is this something different that you're talking about?




    read your fine print.

    Mine says no problem replacing tire ___if___ brought to original dealer for replacement (!!!). Also says tire must HOLD AIR to be replaced (i.e. no huge holes). Probably also says "can only be replaced if damage occurs on Mon wed or fri."

    No kidding about the "must hold air" condition.

    Again, read fine print, mine was cause for minor disgust.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Leawood911 said:

    The diameter of the 'tall spare' (which is kept inflated) fits the PCCB just fine.



    Uh oh..., We better double check this.

    My 986S always_inflated_ spare (same as 996) will barely fit over my red calipers of my 997S. There is literally a 2-3mm clearance when it's mounted on front hub. Fitting on PCCBs would be impossible from what I experienced.

    Also, my research indicates "tall" spare has about 1/8 inch clearance (!!) when hood is shut and tire is slanted. Not good IMO. Might dent hood if ABS is engaged.


    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead


    read your fine print.

    Mine says no problem replacing tire ___if___ brought to original dealer for replacement (!!!). Also says tire must HOLD AIR to be replaced (i.e. no huge




    Yeah, I'll do just that. Hard to imagine that wheel and tire insurance will cover a tire that's just plain worn out. Hope that's true!
    No kidding about the "must hold air" condition.

    Again, read fine print, mine was cause for minor disgust.


    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Quote:
    Leawood911 said:

    The diameter of the 'tall spare' (which is kept inflated) fits the PCCB just fine.



    Uh oh..., We better double check this.

    My 986S always_inflated_ spare (same as 996) will barely fit over my red calipers of my 997S. There is literally a 2-3mm clearance when it's mounted on front hub. Fitting on PCCBs would be impossible from what I experienced.

    Also, my research indicates "tall" spare has about 1/8 inch clearance (!!) when hood is shut and tire is slanted. Not good IMO. Might dent hood if ABS is engaged.





    No worries, I have test fitted them and they work fine, no clearance issues. I am using a spare from a 2004 996. Yes the spare does need to be tilted to fit and can not be mounted like in the illustration above - I do not like those space saver spares that need to be inflated.
    I use the dufflebag method when packing so everything is very snug when I travel. No I do not bolt the spare down. In case of an accident there is no where for it to go anyway. It's not like it will come into the passenger compartment. If it does I will be having bigger problems at the time. Keep in mind that if you do have a flat the 'flat' tire/wheel will be riding in your backseat anyway.

    I would be happy to take a picture of the spare mounted on the front hub to show that it clears.

    Still can not imagine why they omitted a spare when these tires are so hard to find at times.

    By the way I am getting great wear from my ALL-SEASON Bridgestones - never did take them off for the summer as they are so smooth and quiet. The DO come with a 40K treadware gurantee - and it looks like they will make it. For the record that is 30K more than any Pilot Sport ever lasted me. They cost less than 1/2 of the Pilots and the as a result the road hazard gurantee from the tire rack is very reasonable as well. - so my tires have road harazard warranty, are easily obtainable, have a 40K treadlife warranty and I cary a spare! That is the responsible way to tackle long distances. BTW I am about to head to Montreal from KC for the 2nd time in six weeks! Looking forward to the Rennteam east coast drive. Thanks again AJ!!!

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Leawood911 said:


    I would be happy to take a picture of the spare mounted on the front hub to show that it clears.





    Nah, I believe you. There's something CrAzY going on here though... .

    When I took the spare out of my 986S and put it on my 997S front wheel the thing fit but had, as I said, a teeny tiny 2-3 mm clearance. There's no way THAT spare can fit over PCCBs.

    Here's pic of PCCB and "reds" together. Kinda misleading because scale of halves is different BUT when you mentally compensate the PCCB has less clearance.





    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    I have thought about this spare time in my 997 but I have not had a flat on any of my cars in years. I could carry a tire in my 997 but what is the chance I need it? To me even if I had a spare tire I would get a flat at the worst possible time anyway so I'm going without. If the goo doesn't do the trick I guess I will have to buy a new tire.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    I would not put a spare on a 997. I know that if a problem occurs it could be a nuisance, but the odds are small. I'm not so paranoid to pursue all possible remedies in advance of a low probability event. If a problem occurs on the road I have stuff in the trunk and inside the car and it would be another nuisance to deal with the damaged wheel and store it inside. Besides, my experience is that flats, if they happen, they tend to happen around town.

    I'm more interested in learning what kind of problem happened in the reported OP, but Greentree did not reply to my post. He states a 6" cut. That is not your typical road-cause puncture. What could have caused that?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    The tear no doubt was caused by driving on a flat tire. The low profile tire has little sidewall so when it goes flat a highway speeds, you'll never feel it until it begins to disintegrate.

    I did some measuring last night. I don't think a Carrera Sport wheel with a 305ZR30-19 tire will even fit in the trunk. It's about 26" in diameter and a foot wide. Check it yourself. There's no way. I could probably get it in the back seat if the passenger side front seat is run all the way forward. An alternative is to abandon the flat tire and rim by the side of the road which is nonsense. Maybe this is the real reason there's no spare in a 997. Modern tires are now so big and fat that there's no room to transport them back for repairs anyway.

    Nevertheless, the idea behind carrying a spare is to avoid the expense and delay of getting a tow truck to drive scores of miles to the point of breakdown and then scores of miles to the nearest dealer. I suppose I could bear the expense if I had to, but that sitting by the side of the freeway for hours on end is for the birds.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    The rears can't fit in the trunk. I had a flat on my '99 986, which has a larger (front) trunk than the 9x7, and the rear fit in only when it was flat. It did not fit in inflated. I can't believe it would fit in the current trunk even when flat.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    ADias said:
    I would not put a spare on a 997. I know that if a problem occurs it could be a nuisance, but the odds are small.



    Would be interesting to do a poll of spareless guys after they get "nailed" (pun).

    It happened to me on my spareless M3 (NOW I have a spare in it). Took all day (happened during AM rush hour) for towing, dealer tire search, rental car, pick up for repaired car, compensating for screwed up work day... .

    If I had a spare, would have changed it, driven home, traded cars and forgot about it until I felt like dealing with it.

    Got C2S and spare on same day (preordered spare AND car).

    I don't think the weight savings and space savings are that significant compared to the fk ups owners will have to suffer. I DO think Porsche is happy with the little bit of extra money they get to pocket.

    Anyway..., Good luck! (you'll probably be fine ) .

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Greentree said:

    I could probably get it in the back seat if the passenger side front seat is run all the way forward.



    No problem. Rear tire/wheel fits in back seat. There's a teeny tiny amount of clearance to spare when seat is fully forward.

    CrAzY!

    Tire definitely won't fit in trunk. Since the whole rig is worth about us$1500 you might also consider calling a cab for the flat and having it delivered to Porsche Service. Call ahead and ask them to pay the driver; put it on your bill.

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    Quote:
    Greentree said:
    The tear no doubt was caused by driving on a flat tire. The low profile tire has little sidewall so when it goes flat a highway speeds, you'll never feel it until it begins to disintegrate.



    I assume you have TPMS - essential on these low profile tires. Didn't your TPMS warn you?

    Re: Had a flat - need to start planning ahead

    ive taken a middle of the road approach...ive got all the tire repair stuff to deal with a punctured tire...a better quality tire inflation compressor.. the jack gear to remove the tire for repairing it as locating the penetrating item inserting a rubber repair plug would be difficult at best due to the width of the tires and low ground clearance...all of this is with the assumption that goo alone wont correct the problem...an additional problem out this way is lack of cel coverage to contact p-assistance in remote i.e. good driving areas

     
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