ralt12

I had the occasion to speak with a factory rep at the Los Angeles presentations, and he suggested that I refresh his memory by sending him an email. Here's the "conversation" , so we can at least know that the factory is well aware of the issue. I suggest that concerned 997 owners make this fellow aware that as a group we'd like the peace of mind that comes with a spare.



Dear Jim,

thank you for your email. I allready forwarded it to the Tequipment department (they offer the retrofitting parts for the Porsche models) so that they can use it for future decisions.

Best regards

Michael Hack

Kundenberater Exclusive & Tequipment
Customer Consultant Exclusive & Tequipment

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
Porscheplatz 1
70435 Stuttgart

Tel.: +49 (0) 7 11 / 9 11 - 2 41 78
Fax.: +49 (0) 7 11 / 9 11 - 2 41 28

Email: michael.hack@porsche.de


Von: Jim Nelson <jnelson@nelson-motorsports.com>
An: michael.hack@porsche.de
Datum: 29.11.2010 16:23
Betreff: Los Angeles questions about spare tires and ROW fuel tank




Greetings Michael--

Thank you for listening to my questions at the Los Angeles presentation at the Auto Show on Friday morning. As you recall, there were two primary questions:

1. Spare tire. There has been quite a lot of discussion about the lack of a spare tire on the popular forums for 997.2 discussions. They can be best summed up in this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...tory-long.html
The gist of the problem is that there are vast distances in the States that have not really been fully appreciated by the Factory. When you combine that with large areas that may not have cell phone coverage (or the possibility of a large distance to a dealer), there is a really significant potential for a Porsche driver to be stranded for quite some time. For example, Death Valley may have phone coverage, but the valley next to it, where you can travel hours without seeing another car, does not have that luxury.
What the Porsche driver NEEDS is a limp-home type of real spare. Apparently this driver found one:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...7-c2-help.html


As you can see, the 997.2 Porsche community has been buying up these spares, as no one wants to be stranded.
Please reconsider the solution to a flat tire. A limp-home type of spare is a must in large portions of the States, much less the larger portions of Russia or China.
I'm sure this issue of weight would not prevail over the issue of getting home when stranded.

2. The ROW fuel tank. There is also a smaller group which has a desire to fit the 90-liter ROW fuel tank, vs. the 64-liter tank that is currently fitted.
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...fuel-tank.html ,for example of these discussions.
We all know that the tank exists, and that European Porsche drivers are enjoying the benefits of a longer range. We would like the same thing. We know that the GT3 Cup cars are fitted with the larger tank (which immediately gets tossed for a fuel cell), so these tanks are available, but the larger question is how to make the car think it has the 90-liter tank, as opposed to the smaller 64-liter tank. Is there a software work-around that will allow the fuel gauge and related instrument functions to work correctly?

Thank you for listening to me at the show, and I'll be happy to share any response with the people on the lists.

Best Regards
Jim Nelson




Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft
Sitz der Gesellschaft: Stuttgart
Registergericht: Amtsgericht Stuttgart HRB-Nr. 730623
Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: Dr. Wolfgang Porsche
Vorstand: Matthias Müller, Vorsitzender
Thomas Edig, stv. Vorsitzender
Wolfgang Dürheimer, Wolfgang Leimgruber, Bernhard Maier, Lutz Meschke

Die vorgenannten Angaben werden jeder E-Mail automatisch hinzugefügt. Dies ist kein Anerkenntnis,
dass es sich beim Inhalt dieser E-Mail um eine rechtsverbindliche Erklärung der Porsche AG handelt.
Erklärungen, die die Porsche AG verpflichten, bedürfen jeweils der Unterschrift durch zwei zeichnungs-
berechtigte Personen der AG.

stevepow

Nice job.

ralt12

In the FYI dept. Michael is the fellow to speak with for special requests for cars.

Paul S.

I don't think you'll ever see Porsche re-introduce a spare tire in the 911's and other sports cars. That's the price for ever increasing rim sizes that won't fit in the front trunk if you have a flat. I too worried about this when the 997 came out, bought a tire plug kit at the auto parts store for backup, and have been playing the odds ever since. Flats where you actually need to change to a spare are fairly rare, thankfully

And I for one was happy with the 996 set up--I am not a big fan of 19" wheels. The 18" hollow spokes on my 996 Turbo that had an inflatable spare in the floor of the trunk were great.

Minok

But Porsche DOES deliver a spare tire with the 997.2. That is part of the point we are making.
In some countries, it is mandated by LAW that a spare be delivered. Offering that mechanism as an OPTION to US Buyers, or as a retrofit, is the least they can do. We are not suggesting they add a standard spare to the car.

While being stuck with a flat is very rare, and you may never encounter it with your car, it only takes ONE such event to have you re-evaluate the benefit of not being stranded and dependent on untimely, and unreliable and inconvenient rescue services that leave you in a worrisome and uncertain situation of hours or possible days until you get the car operational and pick up your travel.

I can believe that for 95% of the drivers or more, this isn't an issue as they stay within 50 miles of an urban center at all times. Thats why the spare kit should be an OPTION.

stevepow

I will never travel without one again. I am still working on getting the final bits of my kit sorted out. Probably use the 20% Holiday eCoupon next week for that. Some bits like the rear seat collapsible 17in tire, bag, and cradle just aren't going to show up on ebay.

DMoore

Or not. A good friend of mine has had, in the last year, two separate flats in which the sidewall of her tire was cut by road debris. One was a rock in her 996; the other was something sharp in the roadway in her Cayenne. The 996 had a spare; the Cayenne has a space-saver wheel. Both flats occured in an area with no cell phone coverage and not much traffic. If either flat had been in a 997, she would have been a woman, alone by the road side, in a sparsely travelled area - stranded. Not good.

I agree that some type of space saver spare is vastly preferrable to a compressor and a can of fix-a-flat.

I can at least understand that there's really no room for a spare in a 997. But I've also got a Panamera, for Heaven's sake, and that care is HUGE. Why on Earth can't they fit some kind of spare in it?

DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S

Mike in CA

I'm late to the spare tire worry group (just read the account of your 22+ hour ordeal, OMG) so I apologize for asking a question that's probably already been answered somewhere else.

Will the spare tire shown in the link below fit it the frunk? My harness bar precludes placing it in back as intended. Are there better frunk spare options? I can fit a couple of duffle bags over and behind the harness bar so if I have to give up the space in front on a trip, so be it.

Carrera Spare Tire Kit

jakes dad

I've got about $325. tied up in a spare tire set-up. That includes a lug wrench from Sears.
LA Dismantlers shipped me the tire in a nylon cover with jack and tools. I've removed both front and rear tires to simulate a flat and everything lines up just fine. When we travel we move the spare into the back seat and pack the hood with the things we need to secure.

stevepow

Wow - kudos to Suncoast for putting that together and with pics - those guys truly rock!

Yes, that space saver will fit in both a C4 and C2. The 996 17in inflated tire (from dismantlers on ebay) will only fit in a C2 frunk. Certainly the cheapest solution.

I have one of the 996 tires, but I'm thinking to get the Suncoast bits I don't have yet because it seems like that un-inflated tire will save a bit more space.

See my avatar - does it look like Roadside Assistance is anywhere near there? No. These cars are just too much fun to have a geographical RA proximity tether on them.

Mike in CA

Thanks. I'll shop around, but I think I'm going for the Suncoast kit. All the pieces in one package at what I'm sure is a competitive price based on my previous dealings with them.

TerpsRED

keep an eye on ebay, and check with the folks in the 996 forum. I found a kit from a member in the 996 forum who race prepped his car and needed to shed the weight. Sure I lost the trunk space, but I now have a full spare kit just in case. It was an easy trade for me. I usually stow any luggage in the rear seat anyway. The trunk was empty all of the time.

I see it as balancing more weight to the front. Now I'm at a 11/89 front to back weight ratio :-)

Edgy01

We'll see how long you tolerate having that crap in the trunk.

Mike in CA

For my part, I'd see it as useful insurance for long trips. I wouldn't want or feel the need to keep it in the car all of the time.

spare tire

With low profile tires like 18" 40s or 19" 35 you can just drive on the rim and destroy the tire and wheel on the very rare occurance of a flat. It should cost less than $1500.00 for a new wheel and tire. Unless you are running BBS magnesium wheels.