tveltman

just curious about the prevailing opinion on this. Obviously the sharkwoofer guys do t think it's necessary, but for a daily driver with AAA plus (120 mile tow), is the inflatable spare worth carrying around, since I don't have the air compressor anyway?

Thanks for your opinions.

blown 87

I am just a poor old country boy with some hand tools, so look over me if I say something stupid, but what good does it do to carry that spare around if it is going to stay flat?

At that point you all ready have one flat, why are you carrying a spare flat?

with out a compressor that is all it is, a spare flat.

RKD in OKC

All but one of the flats I've gotten were from nails or screws and a bottle of fix-a-flat would have worked fine to get me somewhere to get the tire fixed. This is what Porsche is providing on the current models.

The one flat that wasn't a nail or screw was an aluminum can hit on the highway, it put a 2 inch gash in the tire and required a spare to get to tire shop.

+ collapsable spare is dead weight without an air pump. And yes, I have used mine. Picked up a nail at an autocross. Autocrossing on the nail aggravated it and leaked fast enough that had to use the spare to get home. It took a friends vacuum pump to get the spare collapsed enough to fit back in the well.

RET

I have had two flat tires on the 928 from road debris: one sidewall cut and the other a large hole punched into the tread, neither of which could be patched even temporarily with any type of spare-tire-in-a-can, and the hole was even too large for the soft rubber, mushroom shaped tire plugs.

The flat tire on a front wheel was a major PIA as I have GTS brakes on the front and the standard spare would not fit, so I had to move a wheel from the rear to the front and install the spare on the rear of the car (and the rear tires are 275s, so I was not too sure about clearance....). I had obviously not thought things through adequately, but I have since acquired a GTS spare that fits front or rear.

I am a believer in self reliance as far as spare tires go: there is no telling if you will be within range for your cell phone to call AAA, or how long you will have to wait if you can reach them. I carry a Tire Plugger (http://www.stopngo.com/), a compact air compressor in place of the oversize stock one, and the AAA card too...

Bob

Mrmerlin

harbor freight electric tire pump 10.00 DOH

dprantl

I had to use my spare once on my former '86. A spray can would definitely not work on that hole. Then there's the issue of crash safety with the spare not in place. There is some information that suggests that Porsche designed rear structure assuming the spare would be there. And any small compressor will do, you don't need the ~$80 one that has a Porsche crest on it (and doesn't even work that well anyway).

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

76FJ55

The other consideration is that the spare was apparently used in the design when considering crash energy absorption. Of corse once you are to the point where the spare is being crushed the car is pretty much a write off.

tveltman

So should I free up space for beer storage and buy some fix-a-flat or go buy the electric tire pump from HF? They seem like equally cheap and functional solutions

polecat702

My car still has the spare, and the air compressor, and it works. It will stay in the car. The way my luck runs, I'll need it a soon as I take it out.

Cole

One interesting perspective.


If you still have the spare in prestine condition (no signs of it ever being driven on) then in 20+/- years and XXX,XXX miles, it has not been needed yet.

It is "Possible" to need it, now the question is what is the "probablility" of needing it?

The probability changes even more when you look at flats that can be cured with "Fix-a-flat" or "AAA"

Ducman82

my spare is just taking up space in my garage.... anyone want it? :-P

mx22

I punctured my front tire last year and had AAA haul me to the nearest tire shop. Tire shop could not fix my damaged tire and they had hard time coming up with a replacement tire of the size that I needed and I already thought of putting spare one in when they finally found one somewhere in the corner. Didn't use the spare tire in the end, but lesson learned - spare flat tire will be riding with me just in case.

P.S. Tire is rather heavy and is located at the very back of the car. I wonder if you simply remove it, how would affect weight distribution?

dogleg

im running without one at the moment, have one ordered from a used parts specialist.in the meantime im carrying a tin of tyre inflater,tubeless repair kit,and a compressor but the singe best way to avoid punctures is good tyres, all 4 of mine are near new.much easier to pick up a puncture in a worn tyre.