LlBr

It's definitely a sin.

It's a mass mentality Porsche's relying on.

Most people don't miss not having a spare. They're all tough and defiant when confronting guys like us. They INSTANTLY become converted when they get stuck.

Only guys who can imagine getting stranded or actually have gotten stranded and spend 24+ hours totally effed up realize how they've been played by Porsche.

Doesn't Porsche give a sh*t? I have things to do. I don't want to drive an unreliable car when I'm trying to get thru the day.

Jack, loosen, tighten, de-jack: DRIVE AWAY. I don't even have time to eff around with a can of goop which may or may not get me out of the mess I got into because of a missing spare tire.

Ucube

That sounds like a miserable ordeal, and I'm glad you made it through. I've had a flat out in the boondocks between Houston and Austin three times in the past, all without warranty or any RA membership. Having a spare really saved my hide in each instance. I've been lucky so far with the P-car, as I've never had a flat in 10+ years of ownership. I guess hope is a strategy until it stops working.

stevepow

Actually the goop is pretty easy and quick to try - and the included pump is leagues better than the crappy one my M5 had. Although two problems:

- it is a naive view of tire problems; the ideal goop-able nail hole.
- if it doesn't work, now you have a really messy tire to pack away and if you do cut the rubber off the rim, an even messier wheel (trash bags for sure).

Changing the tire is incredibly easy as well - and tire hangers - wow - brilliant whoever came up with that (some poor guy who's apparently been banished for thinking of useful ideas related to flat tires). I never had them before on other cars - maybe they existed and I was just a noob. Now I have them, but only by hook and crook. Life just wants to play hardball with me all the damn time lately.

LlBr

Yes. The other thing. Maybe it is just me but I don't want to stand there at the parts counter buying a new can of goop and pay, what? $75 for it? (guessing). I have more interesting stooopid Porsche things to blow $75 on. LOL.

IOW, if the stuff were bullet proof, worked every time, got you out of a jam 100% no problem? Then yes! Great $75 well spent. But Nooooooooooo. It's just a "might work" solution which creates a mess either way. Like how much BS can a guy take after being unlucky enough to get a normal everyday flat tire?

Besides, I don't know many Porsche guys who want to rely on "might work" solutions. Ya know? I WANT stuff that works. A happens. You do B to fix it once. Done. Porsche is about precision, effectiveness, engineering, not messy duct tape, spit and goop POSSIBLE solutions.

Goop FANFARE at the tire shop shown below:
.
.
.
.

stevepow

- can-o-goop - $34.37 with PCA discount.
- for everything else, there's Mastercard...and a Motel 6

LlBr

LOL. Gee what a deal! Nevermind.

Minok

Yup those are the ones I was thinking off. You can get inserts to fill in the circular voids as well. You'd probably want something rugged in there to cover the whole wheel and THEN put the wheel in the those carriers to prevent the mess/brake dust/water/ protruding steel belt from damaging the rear seat leather.

Minok

Then you should be driving a car that has 4 identical tires/wheels on it and a full-sized spare with it. That isn't a Porsche.

At a minimum, IF the 997.2 came with the collapsible spare and the kit to do the change you would, in the worst case of a back tire flat:

1) Loosen bolts on front wheel
2) Jack up front
3) Remove front wheel
4) Put collapsible spare on front
5) Inflate collapsible spare
6) Lower front
7) tighten front bolts & verify front tire pressure
8) Loosen bolts on rear flat
9) Jack up rear
10) Remove rear flat and store in bag
11) Put front takeoff wheel on rear
12) Lower back
13) tighten rear bolts & verify rear pressure on this tire.
14) stow the bagged rear tire in the cabin back seat
15) rearrange any luggage into the space that used to have the spare as needed

If you don't have time to apply the goop, you don't have time for those 15 steps either.

A can of fix-a-flat worked just fine in my case of driving a VW Golf out in Idaho, over a mountain pass where I picked up a chunk of barbed wire fencing wire that led to a flat. I pulled the wire, applied the fix-a-flat, and that got me enough air to drive the car back to a town 40mins away to a tire shop to get the tire plugged. I told the guy I'd used the fix-a-flat when I handed over the car at the tire shop. So don't discount the utility of the liquid sealers and compressors.

If you get a flat tire everyday, there are bigger problems going on in your area, I think.

Terry Adams

Happened to a 2010 TT traveling in our group in the remote CA Sierras. Rock chip in sidewall.
I put 3 plugs in it but he did
not want goop. Almost 3
hours rt w tow truck. Overnight motel for him and wife.

No spare is a huge problem.

I had offered to drive him rt to Reno but tire dealer closed. And. No jack.

LlBr

But I DO discount it.

I can't explain why my ACTUAL plan is this:

Jack car, remove-replace tire, drive away.

I think it's because I don't want to feel [f word past tense here] if the goop doesn't work.

IOW, I want results not possibilities when I put the car in drive again and pull away from the side of the road.

But that's just me.

Oops. I forgot I ALSO have a plug kit, so I would use that for definite simple nail-in-tire leaks INSTEAD of the goop.

IOW, goop will always be the last choice because I have a plug kit - goop will never be used in my case.

uzj100

Eh, plug this?

LlBr

It looks like a good clean "nail-hole" candidate for one of these DIY kits (basic non-deluxe kit shown below). Better than waiting for help. AFAIK, Goop requires nail to stay stuck in the tire.

zanwar

Goop didn't work for me when I had a flat and some of it got on my trousers. It doesn't wash out. Ruined a nice pair of jeans.

TerpsRED

You all scared me enough that I just filled my Frunk with a 17inch inflated spare. I picked it up from LVDell from the 996 forum. He was a real good guy. He built up a race car and parted out his extra weight. I never use the Frunk anyway and if I need to that tire is pretty flat and can fit on the rear deck with the seats folded down.

Fix-a-flat has worked for me in the past, but the circumstances have to be right for it to hold for long. For me, the price of a spare and losing the nearly useless frunk was a small price to pay for some peace of mind.

911FM

Sorry to read your ordeal. That's why I kept my RFTs AND bought a spare for my BMW DD. Funny that everyone on the boards is complaining about RFTs... until you actually get a flat on the highway. But then RFTs get you only so far if you far in the middle of nowhere on a week-end. Nothing beats a spare. You would have been on your way in less that 15 mins..

FM