usccharles

I've had two tire punctures so far, both resolved with tire sealant and both relatively close to home to get myself home before getting new tires put on.

I love driving my 911 everywhere but its always a frightening thought having a puncture somewhere during a longer roadtrip. if I was stuck with a flat somewhere remote, it would be difficult to find a tire shop nearby that would normally carry these wide tires, and even if one did, it would be very rare they would have torque wrench big enough for the center locks.

Am currently on a multi day road trip with wife and baby driving through the mountain to the coast. Had to drive through torrential rain down the mountain last night to make it down to the coast. rained so hard that there were mini rock slides that I had to manuver over and even standing water as deep enough to get my legs shaking with fear. Fear of having a flat in weather like this and no available shops near by to save me and my family.

How do other owners resolve this? are we just stuck to relying on the sealant to save the day? Back when I drove a E46 M3, I could carry a spare front wheel and tire in the back seat on long road trips. the front wheel would work on front or back in an emergency situation. and of course the car came with emergency equipment to remove and replace the wheels.

this issue is the only main bug i have with 911. its a driver's car meant for driving. but drive too far and your are f-ed if you have any tire issues, and we all know how much these wide tires are puncture magnets.

and further FYI, one puncture i fixed at the track about 150km from home. fixed with sealant and drove home, but sealant is not a long distance option. the sealant affects the tire and wheel and you get significant noticeable vibration from the car at higher speeds. I had to granny the 150km back home. its not like one can fix the tire with sealant and continue on a roadtrip.

arter

I bought a 997 compact spare tire kit, which fits on the front tire of the 991.2 ( if you dont have PCCD brakes).
If you get a flat on the back, switch a front tire to the rear. It has an uninflated diameter of 21inches ( inflated 25.5).
Fits in the back with 1 rear seat back folded down.
Just use it for longer trips.

ipse dixit

^
That's not a viable option for the OP who has center locks.

Best bet is just to Porsche Road Side Assistance.

usccharles

and i have PCCB...

arter

sorry
one of the many reasons I ordered 5 lugs on my GTS

ipse dixit

arter

You dont have to have it all the time, plus its very convenient if you have a flat that you cant plug.
I can change a tire in under 10 minutes.

ipse dixit

LavaGTS

what if you were on a date?

Mark993TT

subshooter

I drove my 991.2 from Leipzig all the way to Romania through Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and then back through Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia into Italy and then back to Stuttgart. If you want to talk about remote places in the middle of no where, I get the anxiety.

In addition to the installed sealant, here is what I did:
1. Make sure you have some type of road side assistance
2. I brought along a portable tire plug kit. I practiced on an old tire before I left.
3. I plotted all the local Porsche dealerships along my route and recorded addresses and phone numbers. If the tire rips, a plug wont work and replacement tires are not going to be found at the corner tire shop.

Good luck. You will be fine.

FI Flyer

What is a good plugging kit and how difficult is it to use?

LexVan

Just about any kit from a quality auto parts store. You'll need a pair of needle nose pliers too, to remove the foreign object from the tire.

It's not "difficult to do", but our cars are very low to the ground, and in the event it's the rear tire, you are working very close to the hot exhaust. Also, our tires have a massive internal carcass of steel belts and other, and it is very hard to get the rasp in & out before the plug goes in. It is always much easier to remove the wheel, and get leverage. But, in the event of a roadside repair, this may not be feasible.

subshooter

I was going to say exactly what Lexvan said. I did bring a set of needle nose pliars also.

Since our cars don't come with a jack/tire iron either, in an pinch I would have to plug the tire with it still on. The leverage would make this work difficult but not impossible.

The real benefit is reducing anxiety and peace of mind knowing that I had a back up plan to a back up plan.

LexVan

Another tip:

Always know how to source a new tire and have that number stored in your cell phone (Damon is my man at the Tire Rack). And certain times of the year (May-August) it's always a challenge to find the big fat rear tires (295 and 305) since it's Porsche driving season, and many DE track events going on all over. Always save one each of your old tires (1 front and 1 rear) regardless of age and tread depth. Store someplace in your home/garage/basement/crawl-space. In an emergency, someone could always FedX it to your hotel, and be on your way the next day.