dak911

What is the latest "thinking" about flat tire preparation for a long trip?
Can you use an older model "doughnut", what about a jack?

Spiffyjiff

well aside from relying on cell coverage & AAA...you can this?

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product//997STK.html

personally i'd opt for the former, as long as youre not doing something crazy like crossing the alps with 2 newborns or something...

Frino

Search "emergency spare" on 997 forum.

TerpsRED

Lots of posts, but in short, yes a boxter donut or older 996 collapsable spare, and jack kit will work as long as you don't have the Ceramic brakes. On my base 997 there is plenty of clearance over the front calipers for the inflated donut to fit. I have one taking up most of my trunk now, but I feel it is worth it. If a rear goes down, I'd move the front tire to the rear and put the donut on the front.

NC 997

Lots of discussion about this very topic over the past year or so. The one question I continue to ask, and have yet to receive viable answer to is this. Say you're out on a long weekend trip with your significant other, and you have a flat (pick a corner). You've been proactive by buying and carrying a spare & jack up front. You pull over thinking, 'this won't take long..'.

You loosen the lug bolts, jack up the car, remove the flat tire, install the donut spare, tighten it down, and lower the car back down on the ground. You grab the wheel with the flat tire, and suddenly realize, "Holy!!.. WTF am I going to do with this..!?..." It won't fit up front (regardless whether it's a front or rear wheel/tire), it may fit in the back seat/cargo area, but you’ve loaded it with your lady-friend's weekend get-away baggage.

I suppose the only alternative is to hope that her gear will fit up front, so you can put the tire behind her (I hope you brought something to wrap it in so it won't damage the carpet & seat area. Or, you tell the lady to get in the back, and you put the wheel/tire in the passenger's seat. You do that knowing you’re not going to get lucky that night…

I'm not joking.. what is the recommended solution for what to do with the flat once you've installed the spare? Inquiring minds want to know (no speculations required - I've read 'em all). I haven’t considered picking up a spare because of that possible dilemma.

KNS

I believe Bruce Anderson brought up this very subject a while ago. He suggested the same thing - load it onto the rear seat area. But what if it's already full of your stuff? Leave the wheel by the side of road? Leave your lady by the side of the road? He didn't have a good answer either...

jplanaux

You need to have some plastic and duct tape. So your interior won't look like the back of bubba's truck, when you load that flat tire in the car. I carry a plug kit. I was able to plug a flat already w/o removing tire.

jhbrennan

Carry a big, sharp knife and if the tire is destroyed, cut it off the rim and leave the rubber behind.

dak911

Isn't this wonderful, $99,000 for a car with out a spare tire, and no real way to carry one
What was I thinking...Oh well, I guess we take the X5 (2006) on the road...at least that one has a spare...(until the model change in 09) then RUN FLATS, another disaster....
That said, I DO LOVE THE 997.....
(Seriously A BIG SHARP KNIFE?, has anyone done that?)

KNS

You won't cut through the steel cords with a knife.

simsgw

Assuming you're looking for a serious answer because you really have to worry about a spare while traveling in areas where you can't call for help, then the obvious answer is the roof rack. It will handle 75kg which is certainly enough. We made one long cross-country trip from California to Alabama and then up to Minnesota in a Camaro with a roof rack that held an eighteen-foot canoe and custom luggage devices, one on either side, that each were about six feet long. We unlatched those and took them into motels with us at night. Many years later, we had occasion to haul six bales of hay in/on that Camaro as well.
Damn, I wish I had pictures. The truckers had a field day talking about us on CB.

With discretion in the maneuvers you attempt, most cars will handle considerably more weight than is possible within the safety standards. And a blown tire isn't even extra weight. It just changes from unsprung to sprung weight after you remove it. Think of it as emergency only and don't keep it up there for your next track day.

If the situation had arisen on that trip though, I'd have put the damaged tire elsewhere. We were towing an MG Midget with a cat inside, so she could have shared the driver's seat with a tire and not complained more than already was her wont.

Gary

jhbrennan

You don't have to cut through steel cords to remove a tire.

Jack667

You'll fit most of the stuff from the back seat into the front where the spare was. You'll be fine. Bring a trash bag for the flat. I made this video a while back and it may help you to picture the scenario with the spare:

Also, I have an extra one of those spares that I'm willing to sell, but it's just the tire/wheel (and a cover, I think) with no jack, etc.

Edgy01

This has been debated on the Rennlist for years, ever since the car was introduced and people discovered there is no spare. I simply carry a radial tire repair kit and hope for the best.

The most difficult part of this entire exercise has been dealing with the takeoff wheel/tire--assuming you were even proactive enough to carry a collapsable spare--if one even fits. With PCCBs, nothing will fit so I don't have that option.

I have been in some pretty remote areas without a spare, but find better safety in numbers. On outings we provide each other with mutual support. Otherwise, you're on your own.

alexb76

What are the chances of a flat, to carry a spare, eh? I just use the Porsche supplied tire repair kit, IN CASE it happened. It is easy to use, and works GREAT.

I got a flat ON TRACK in Portland, that's 500 miles away from home. I got it repaired, stayed the weekend, drove back home, and drove on the repaired tire for another 2-3 weeks, and didn't even lose ONE PSI! Then, I got it properly repaired, they just had to wipe the inside of the tires and wheels clean, and fix it.