oldfrat

My 1981 has the original spare. I sincerely doubt the old rubber would work if I needed to use it now, so I am tempted to remove it and store it in my garage. If I do that, will I do anything bad to the original 50/50 weight distribution and the car's handling?


As an alternative, are there any new replacements for that spare that will fit?

Thanks!

Brad

Speedtoys

"will I do anything bad to the original 50/50 weight distribution and the car's handling? "

Depends, what are your lap times like today? Might gain you 0.1..

OTR18WHEELER

20 lbs of wrenches and relays will get you further than an old spare tire., but if your geddy, drop a sub in the well.

Randy V

Ditch it and install a sub.

Nobody got laid because they had a spare tire...

OTR18WHEELER

Had to laugh, reminded me of the time I took a girl home, then realized I had a flat tire after I left her house.

decampos

Pretty sure the spare provides a little bit more protection if someone hits you up the ****.

NoVector

A long time ago, there was talk of it being important to vehicle integrity in the event of a crash. But I think that was later debunked as urban legend.

You could always pump it up and inspect it for cracks in the rubber - and maybe take it for a spin around the block. Deflating it is pretty easy and has been discussed on Rennlist. Personally I wrapped a rope around it and then used a stick that I twisted to tighten the rope (and collapse the tire) while pushing in on the valve. Think tourniquet.

No replacement that I remember reading about, but I think Mark Anderson said he still has new.

Jerry Feather

I used the original spare in my 87 S4 about 8 years ago for about 70 miles at speeds between 50 and 65. It still looks pretty good.

77tony

Brad, If you do or do not remove the spare, carry one of these ($10) and make sure your compressor works T

dr bob

^^^^ This ^^^^

And find a good aftermarket high-volume compressor. I trust the originals to look original, but I'm not that sure I'm ready to depend on it to actually inflate the tire and get me home. So they are in "original spares" boxes in storage, and a more current one lives in the boot now. With the original spare.

hacker-pschorr

President of Ferrari was asked about lack of spare tire in his cars. He said something along the lines of: "Ferrari owners do not change their own tires, they call a service"

Also....where do you put a 12" wide flat tire / rim in your Ferrari after installing the spare?

I cannot imagine Porsche designing the safety of their car around having the spare tire installed. What if you get a flat, install the spare then get rear-ended?

RKD in OKC

The degradation of tire rubber is more a result of UV light than just age. When autocrossing got a slash in a tire about an inch long. The spare worked wonderfully. And was able to drive without any problems for a couple of days until could get the slashed tire replaced.

Also purchased a 92 Range Rover in 2008. Found the previous owner had put an extra set of tires in it. Called and said they found them in the back of hangar. They had a 94 date code on them. The tires that were on it were about the same date but looked horrible with cracks in the sidewall. Put the other set on and drove it for 4 years with no issues.

The only issue I've had with the 928 spare is once used it won't stay deflated. Had to pull a vacuum on it to pull it out of the tire well.