danglerb

Has anybody had a problem with the collapsible spare tire?

I'm wondering if or can they be replaced, or do they need to be replaced.

Jim M.

I used the one on the 89GT twice and it was over 10 years old at the time. No problems at all. They are protected from ozone and weather in the storage well and should last much longer than a typical tire mounted on the car. I haven't had to use the one on the GTS yet.

Imo000

I just looked at mine the other day and it looks brand new. The rubber still feels soft and no signs of cracking. As Jim said, they should last a long time.

Ispeed

Test it to see if it will hold air (before you need it). The valve stem rubber may be rotted but the tire fine.

Don't travel with it if you haven't tested it!!

borland

Always carry a foot pump tire inflator. It's small enough to fit in the spare tire well, and they are very inexpensive. A foot pump use to cost less than $5 at HFT.

Most flat tires are slow leakers, so you will most likely be able to pump the tire pressure up enough to allow driving to the nearest tire center where you can get it serviced. This approach will be much easier than messing with refitting a deflated spare back in the tire well.

jayc67

This.

Mine is in really nice shape but I inflated it once just to see and it would not hold air and it did not. I have the factory compressor too, it still works if I oil it a little now and then.

But, check the spare before you need it for sure.

Learned this trick with my NSX, which had the same kind of spare. Take the valve stem out and wrap a ratcheting tie-down around the tire and crank on that til the spare folds back up. Once it's back to the original size put the valve stem back in. Had to do that a couple of times with the Honda.

James Bailey

Best "spare" is probably a AAA long distance tow card......canned Fix A Flat also works better than you might think. If you buy a new "911" it has NO SPARE at all...zero zip nada. Of course most new 911 owners would have no idea how to change a tire anyway I carry a small 12 volt air compresor in the old very brown 1980 plus two to five spare wheels since I am usually headed for the track ! have the alloy floor jack and electric impact too.

Grandpa#3

I bought a 85.5 944 and the PO had inflated the spare tire. It came apart across the tread where it was beveled like a retread. I bought a new 12 volt Porsche air pump to pump up my tires. I have another old spare in the car now. I guess it would be better than ruin my good tire and rim to get off the road with and to a safe place.

Cheers,
Larry

Nightfly

Hate hate hate space saver spares; what do they save, a few inches at most? Yeah, I know, it saves the manufacturers maybe $10 a car, so overall they save lots of money. For what? New, these cars cost as much as a house. And they're going cheap on the spare tires????? Crazy.

One of the first things I did after buying my car was search out a 'real' spare. $350 for a set of four OEM rims, had good rubber on three of them (fourth one had a nail in it, I plugged it but it still had a slow leak. Haven't decided whether to see if it's fixable or not, but I'll probably toss it next time I see a tire sale). I carry a 'real' spare. Murphy says as long as I have one, I'll never need it. I use the spare tire well for tools and storage, spare is bolted to rear deck. Looks kinda nice through the rear window, shiny side up, color porsche crest in the center cap.

F451

Mine worked great after 19 years. Jack and compressor too.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...-holy-cow.html

borland

The inflatable spare also supports the plastic spare tire cover.

So, without the inflatable spare installed, the cover is quite frail and subject to damage by cargo.

jayc67

Very true. It also leaves nice little spots around the air compressor to stick ziploc baggies full of fuses, relays, valve stem covers, interior light bulbs, etc

Dennis Wilson

Tried using my space saver spare once and the tread started separating after about 5 miles. Tried keeping a can of fix a flat in the car and it exploded in the summer heat. Called fix a flat and they stated it should not be stored in the automobile. HUH?? Noticed the warning on the spare cover that said the space saver spare should not be used on the rear wheels. Needless to say, I pulled all 3 of my spares and keep my roadside service card on my person at all times.

Dennis

Jerry Feather

I bought my first 87 S4 about 4 years ago and it had what I am pretty sure is the original spare in it. It didn't have a jack or inflator. I bought a jack on eBay but don't recall when I got an inflator. When I first got the car I decided that about 42 psi would be good for the tires because it is such a nice high speed auto. I could still see a lot of tread on the part of the rear tires that I could see by casual observation but I didn't notice that the tread in the center of the rear tires was wearing excessively.

About two years ago or longer I was on a trip of about 80 miles away and on the return the right rear tire wore down to the air and I found myself with a flat on the interstate, but right near an exit and where there was a service station. I limped off and into the service station on the flat and parked, but out of the way. I got permission to change my tire and jacked the car up. I inflated the spare with their air and put it on and then drove 65 mile home at modest speeds only occasionally getting up to 65 when I wasn't watching.

I put new tires on the car and inflated them up to 34 psi and put the spare back in the well. It shows no sign of wear and worked just fine. I am not sure if I had the inflator at the time, but do now. Since then I have bought several of these spares on eBay so that I will always have one in each of my drivers.

I'm sure glad that I hadn't read this thread before then.

Jerry Feather, FBA Certified
S4's (6)
KGJT

Jerry Feather

P.S. By the way, I make a heavy duty spare tire cover out of ABS plastic that is cut to match and formed to the contour of my original S4 spart tire cover. They are $50 plus shipping of about $16.50. I think it will support most anything you want to put in the rear without the spare under it. It is 3/16 inch thick and Black.

Jerry Feather
jfeather@bresnan.net