Why is Porsche the only manufacturer who thinks center locks are the way to go for street driven cars?

200 miles from a dealer & now waiting maybe 8 hours for for the flatbed because your wife/girlfriend has no idea and the family who stops to help has no clue either.

Or in the meantime leave your $200K car on the shoulder and everything will be fine.

 

If it's not a center lock, how is the situation different? What are the chances of a random family passing by with a 20" low profile tire in the trunk? I had blowouts, and it's impossible to find a matching size tire anywhere outside Porsche dealer, Tirerack or sometimes Costco.

So it's either goo fix or flatbed either way. Or call a fellow rennlister to lend you a spare winter or track wheel - that's what I do .

 

Lots of denial by center lock owners......

Do a Rennlist search and you'll find the consensus is they are the answer to a question nobody asked.

And again...why is Porsche the sole innovator of center locks for a street driven car? What do they know that the rest of the world has chosen to pass on?

My Wife knows how to use a lug wrench & compact scissor jack but it would be a reach to remove a center lock.

 

But what would she do after taking a wheel off? There is no spare tire in the car. I think the "denial" claim is uncalled for. Given that I change tires and brake pads frequently, sometimes just between track sessions, and own CL and non-CL cars, I have enough experience to have my eyes open and not be biased.

I would not get a center lock given an equivalent choice between CL and 5 lug, but currently, the OEM 5-lug wheels are bad enough for me to go with the more fussy CLs.

By the way, replacing rear hubs after 6K track miles applies to 5-bolt wheels just the same, as per Porsche's track driving manual. Some GT4 owners already had to do that.

 

There hasn't been a spare tire in the 911 since 2005. The 996 series were the last to carry a spare tire as standard equipment. Even then, it was goofy. The owner's manual in my 996 C4S stated that in the event of a flat rear tire, the front tire from that side of the vehicle should be removed and installed in the rear. The inflatable compact spare tire should then be installed in the front.

 

Exactly, that argument holds no water, no spare tire either way! Been driving for over 45 years and number of times I had a flat away from home I can count on 1 finger. I'll take my chances!

 

Living in a northern climate where winter tires are a necessity, I find the center lock wheels on my turbo to be a nuisance. I used to always buy a nice set of BBS wheels/winter tires from Tirerack and just change over to my winter setup myself when it was necessary. Something about changing over a set of center locks makes me nervous, so now I let the Porsche dealer change over my tires and run my stock wheels year round.

 

I'm the opposite: The OE CL offerings are ugly AND fussy. I prefer the 5-lug Classics.

CL adherents just need to admit that they got them for form (looks), not function...

 

Also live in the Northern climate, so I mounted the winter tires on the stock CL wheels and got a new set from TireRack for the summer tires. OZ Racing Superforgiata 9x20 front and 12x20 rears. Same offset as stock, so I may later go with a 265-325 combo without rubbing. Fronts are 19.9 lbs (Stock is 22 lbs), Rears are 23 lbs (stock is 28 lbs). The center ring only came in red, so I will get them painted yellow to match the calipers. Should have pics with the wheels on the car in a few weeks, when the snow melts.

 

Very nice..I think those will look great !

 

Thanks to all for the advice. I like the look of the OEM black Turbo S wheels for the GTS. I think I will go for the following for winter whees:
https://www.tirerack.com/cart/HoldingArea.jsp

I previously found that mounting and remounting winter tires on the same wheel may cause damage to the tires and rims over time and thus eventually compromise ride quality, so the dedicated centre lock winter tire/rims seems the better (but unfortunately more expensive) idea.

 

I have no issues changing out my CL wheels by myself. I do it all the time, actually. I got the right tools, and it might take a minute longer than 5-lug per wheel, but the look is worth it to me. The "CL is heavier than 5-lug" comments are nonsense. Ask HRE.

 

I have yet to hear -- either directly or indirectly - a 991.1 GT3/RS owner with CL problems. And, yes, many of the people I talk to directly track their cars extensively, some exclusively.

The only problem I have heard with the Porsche OEM CL are from 997 owners.

 

These aren't stripped out race cars. It's ok to choose form over function.

 

Here's 4 pages from the 991GT3 section....you can make whatever call you want.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3-...n-a-video.html