MaxLTV

Of course they would be able to. If they do not have the right tools, you can either give them your tools (assuming you bought them, which is a good idea) or mount wheels yourself if you do not trust the shop to handle CLs properly (but the shop can still mount and balance the tires - CLs have no impact on that). Ideally, you can find a shop with appropriate tools. I'm sure they exist, just rare.

911rox

Any tyre shop can fit tyres for you but you generally have two options for getting them off/on the car:
i) Go to your Porsche dealer
ii) Learn the proper factory procedure, buy all the necessary tools including 4' torque wrench and huge breaker bar and prepare to get dirty... You pull them off at home, get tyre shop to fit tyres and then go home to re-install...

A word of warning: although virtually all tyre shops won't have the tools needed, if they do, they won't be familiar with the procedure so unless you're hoping to make a million hits on youtube for A lost wheels vid, DON'T let anyone touch them if they aren't intimately familiar with the procedure! Most guys with 997 CLs either get their dealer/independent race shop to do it or they do it themselves!

ShakeNBake

Sadly, most dealers don't know the procedure either.

911rox

You're right to some degree, they certainly were far from perfect in the early days... If one's car is being looked after by the motorsport techs, they should be right. For all their fk ups in the early days, most dealers have had enough exposure to CLs to get it right now... And if they don't, they have to warranty their work

I use the motorsport team for all work on my car at my local dealership. Only they or I remove wheels on my car. They've never let me down to date in this regard...

daveo4porsche

I know for a fact that people are taking their lives in their hands with centerlocks - and having been present at a Centerlock failure it's not a trivial issue - it endangered the drivers, a passenger and all the other cars on the track as the projectile (the former wheel) left the track and struck out on it's own to find it's bliss…it was pure luck there was no other damage.

Let's List the CL Pro's vs. Con's

Pro:
damm attractive - best looking wheels in the industry
Porsche says they are fine (unless used on track - in which case change them more frequently than your fluids)

Con:
list is too long and would exceed my monthly data quota to upload…

Nick

My dealer claims to match the best price on tires. So cost is not an issue.

Despite a post claiming otherwise, Porsche dealers know the proper procedure for CL wheels. The TTS has CL as well. I would prefer to trust the dealer on this important issue even if I have to pay a little more.

CarManDSL

Last I checked the 5 drive pins are the same spacing as the 5 lug nuts. Can't one just remove the drive pins and use a regular 5 bolt wheel?

On the 996 GT3, the center CL bolt, which is just an extension of the hub nut, can be replaced with a regular hub nut and that is about it - converted to 5 lug.

Several years back I designed a CL wheel for my 996, used the GT3 CL nuts and done - CL on 996.
It was cool idea at the time (so I thought) and I was testing the design for my 962 street car project and hence after design, static load tests and then real world testing on the 996, needed to prove the wheel.

CarManDSL

Correct myself.

Going from GT3 to 5 bolt also requires a hub flange change. This is needed to accommodate the threads of the 5 lugs. Still, a lot less $ than getting new CL wheels.

Nizer

Well that'll just about cover the 5-lug vs center-lock debate....

ShakeNBake

That would be a bad idea to trust them blindly (you need the tools and you need to understand how to do it). Two times my dealer in Austin did not torque and lock my CLs. One time it was so bad I noticed because of the noise it made on the drive home. While *someone* at the dealer may know how to install, it's unlikely he's the one installing tires...."That's a beefy nut dooowd...."

Drifting

gotta admit, that the centerlock issue is giving me pause regarding my GT3 on order for next year.

I definitely want to track it 5-6 times a year, and I would want to use R compound tires for my track days.

Looks like either I buy a bunch of tools and try to do it myself (having never done it before) or take a chance on my dealership doing it correctly each time and paying them hundreds to switch out my tires during the track season.

Definitely makes me reconsider just buying a 911 with powerkit or base 911 turbo, for which I can order the 5 lug wheels

skuplist

Not having any experience at all with these I have no room to talk. But having watched some videos there seems to be just one tool to take them off and on. Either a long cheater bar or some of these torque multiplying tools seems to be all that is used. Procedure seems to be the key in that the locking mechanism correctly pops out and the nut is torqued correctly. Am I missing something?

Hoopumpers

The car comes with R compounds from the factory.

911rox

If you are shown the correct procedure and have the necessary tools, its not difficult to change your own wheels, actually preferred!

You just need a means to lift the car, a breaker bar, torque wrench, gloves and optimoly grease from your dealer... Most importantly, just be meticulous in following the set procedure...

Most guys who track here do it themselves and there haven't been any issues here to my knowledge...

ir_fuel

I switched from a center-lock-equipped 997 GT3 to a center-lock-equipped 996 Cup car.

Oh boy, it is like 20 times easier and faster to switch wheels on the Cup (even without taking into account the fact I have airjacks now), and I only use a wheel gun to loosen, not to tighten!