GTR 993

I was thinking about removing the spare tire to save a little weight. Did anyone else do this? And if you did what is your plan if you get a flat, would you use fix a flat? I wouldn't mind using it but I don't want to screw up an expensive wheel either.

Greg Fishman

Leave the spare in. You won't notice the difference.

adsc4s

I would not trust the steel wheel on my Accord to fix a flat. On the other hand, an 18" TechArt wheel?? Not!

Like Greg said, keep the spare in. I'm not sure why you would want to take the spare out for street use.

GTR 993

ahhh yeah you guys are right, I probally wouldn't notice the difference in my car. Thanks for talking me out of it.

chris walrod

at least the spare is weight where weight is appreciated, low and forward in the front..

amfp

Would think the weight and probably balance factors are academic.

I carry both, as I don't trust the donut if I am over 100 miles away from home and no reputable tire place is open or available.

Don't know, or think there are after effects for "flat fix" type products, but BMW provides this product in their E46 M3 and also is what Porsche will be providing with the 2004 GT3. So guess they are not concerned about wheel damage. What I do know if you use that "flat fix" you need to tell the tire place you used the product as it may cause a different procedure to remove/repair the tire.

dsinn

The spare is also touted as being integral to safety up-front. The thought goes that it is there to also absorb energy in the event of a front-on.

Also add Mercedes as a company that supplies fix-a-flat stock. The SLK32 doesn't have room for a spare (it has larger brakes then the lesser models, and there is no room for a larger spare).

David

Jim Thomas

I cary the spare, tire selant and a plug kit. I would not want to run a plugged tire for long but it might get you home.

If you have your wife and kid in the car where do you put the tire you just removed? I quess you could always leave your wife beside the road.

Flying Finn

If you ever use that "fix a flat" stuff, once you get the tyre fixed, wash the rim really carefully, it's bad for the rims.
At least on motocross bikes (some times had to use it when were were riding trails on somewhere in the woods and friend of mine forgot the stuff in the tyre for a long period & it corroded the rim or something like that (MX Bikes have aluminum wheels).

I carry one bottle with me & usually do not have a spare in my car.
All the long trips & when going/coming from the track etc. I have it but around close or at the track I remove it.

STLPCA

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by dsinn:
<strong>The spare is also touted as being integral to safety up-front.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I'd always heard the same thing. It remains an unanswered Rennlist question. It may just be folklore.

I posted Dec 2001 & got no clear answer. <a href="http://forums.rennlist.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001388#000000" target="_blank">Spare tire - part of crush design? </a>

I asked the same question of PCA's tech experts:
<a href="http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={87521C44-7FC6-4A9E-9B70-6087DBB6E3B4}" target="_blank">Spare Wheel - Integral Part of Crush Zone ?</a>

and got gibberish.

Meantime, I leave my spare & a can of flat fix in my trunk. If you don't GTR, Murphy's law - you'll get a flat. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Ray Calvo

I've used it once or twice on the 993 and other cars. Reason is I don't like these space saver tires; diameter is different than stock wheel. Also past 911s had atrocious jacks; had to be on a pefectly level paved/concreted lot in order to get the car up, snd still it was scary.

Sometimes has worked, soemtimes hasn't. On the Audi it didn't and sprayed the entire wheel well with the stuff as it blew out the puncture. Nice mess to clean up!

Oh yeah - stock spare stays in place for me - on track or off.

cmoss

Yeah I second Ray's remarks. No way am I dealing with a flat tire on the roadside. The jacks suck, and I don't want to be taken out by a distracted soccer mom in a minivan.

This is why we have (In sunny Cali) emergency phones on the highways.

This is why AAA was invented.

Cheers,
Chris

Vinny '98 3.8 C2S

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by cmoss:
<strong>The jacks suck, and I don't want to be taken out by a distracted soccer mom in a minivan.

This is why AAA was invented.
</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">The jacks indeed SUCK. Last month I was stranded because of it. When I started to jack up my car the donut on the jack just snapped right off. Now I was stuck with a flat *and* a jack jammed under my car. Luckily I wasn't far from home and I was able to call a friend to pick up my real jack/air tank/tools.

I want to find a useable very small jack that I can carry with me without sucking up too much trunk space. Any recommendations? Until then, Fix-a-flat and a cell phone are all I will use in the future.

To the original question, sometimes you are hours away from a AAA tow and in bad conditions to jack the car. In those situations, I've used fix-a-flat type sealants with no problems at all.

Bins

I keep my jack from my old Honda in the front.
Grab a jack from another car in a car junk yard.

Vinny '98 3.8 C2S

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Bins:
<strong>I keep my jack from my old Honda in the front.
Grab a jack from another car in a car junk yard.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I love simple solutions. No clue why this didn't cross my mind. Here I am trying to think of small low-profile slick hydraulic jacks or something. Must be related to P-car affliction. Maybe we block out inexpensive solutions?

Thanks.