alleykat

I just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

True story.

993Mpls

John, how many flats have you had in your life? How many caused a change in travel plans?

I've had a couple, 2 or 3, and none caused any major inconvenience. Limp to the nearest gas station, wait an hour to get it fixed, and off I go.

Carmichael

Nope.

Not having a clear bra on the front end of my car does, however.

For whatever reason, here in Chicago, we get a lot of gravel trucks on our highways, which are sloppily loaded and poorly maintained. I'm going to need to order a Dr. Colorchip kit soon. The PO just f***ing repainted the front bumper, too.

5CHN3LL

^ My wife and I flew to Chicago to drive a new-to-us car back to CA shortly after getting married - and not 30 minutes outside of Chicago, a gravel hauler threw a retread that ripped off my front bumper cover and a bunch of other plastics. You aren't lying about the crappy maintenance...

johnireland

If we can confirm that the 964 orange spare will fit on the front of the 997 S front rotors and calipers then that solves the problem. My understanding is that if a rear tire goes, the procedure is to mount the same side front tire on the rear and put the spare on the front. Might have put the wife in the back and the flat in the passanger seat but that sure beats sitting in the middle of nowhere...or even Detroit...waiting for a flatbed.

I have the jar of goop from Porsche...in fact I replaced the ten year old one with a new one...and I've seen how to do it (do NOT remove the nail or screw)...etc. I also bought a 996 jack so that even when using the goop I can get the tire up in the air and rotate the puncture to the bottom of the tire so the goop, when poured in, settles on the hole.

For all those that aren't worried by flats...more power to you but for me a car doesn't fully deliver on its promise of freedom unless it carries a spare tire.

If the 964 fix is true I'll probably keep the 997 S. I was looking at trading for a non-S as a possibility since the full sized 996 spare would work on them.

motopix

Stupid thread is stupid as to be expected.

Gonzo911

Good. You may have a solution for your flat tire phobia.

But what about coolant hoses? Your radiator? Battery? Your serpentine belt? Water pump?

You should probably tow another 997 behind your car at all times. Then you will have a complete set of spare parts.

KNS

I've had a couple of flats outs on the highway. One in the middle of nowhere and one where the tire valve blew out (you're not gonna put any goop in when that happens).

Other times found the tire flat while in the garage - just yesterday (on a Sunday morning, all tire shops closed) being the most recent. Every time the spare was installed and on my way within 20 minutes.

See today's Pelican 'Off Topic' and the Boxster tire destruction. He had a spare fortunately.

Ben Z

I had one flat on my 997. It was a bad valve, the tire was fine and didn't need the can of goop, but the tire slipped the bead and the dinky little compressor didn't have enough power to pop it back. Called AAA and had it flatbedded to my indie who put in a new valve and inflated the tire and had me on my way in 5 minutes. If that had happened in the middle of nowhere I would've been up the creek.

That said, even with a spare, the question becomes what to do with the regular wheel/tire. Would really hate to have to put it inside the car. Especially with a passenger.

Our new E-Class Merc doesn't have a spare either (it's a Bluetec diesel, and the spare tire well is used for the DFA tank).

Whenever we go more than about 100 miles from home we always rent a car. The reason being, my time is limited and any sort of breakdown would throw a real wrench in things, especially if on a weekend or if a needed part had to be ordered. With a rental, if anything happens the rental company would send out a replacement car. Usually I can find a special deal for $20/day. It's just more convenient.

johnireland

Please put more Vaseline on your lips when replying to one of my threads.

5CHN3LL

I have a hard time believing that renting a car every time you want to travel more than 100 miles is more convenient than just getting your car and driving 100 miles... but if it makes you happy, more power to you.

In my experience, renting a car is one of the least convenient things imaginable. I would much rather drive 100 miles in my car that I actually like and risk a flat tire than drive 100 miles in a $20-a-day sh!tbox I can't stand.

I'm starting to suspect that KrazyK is ghostwriting some of these posts...

Gonzo911

I have a feeling that there is no shortage of lube in your world...

Carmichael

I love these kinds of lawsuits.

Collecting on your judgment or settlement is another matter, however.

pavster

Funny thread. My mini had no spare and no run flats and I drove that thing everywhere. My motorcycles never had any spares either, and that never stopped me. Did a nice tour of Iceland a few years back.

In my 997 I have the orange spare, the DIY plug kit, the goo, and the compressor. Should cover 99% of issues. The only reason I sometimes avoid taking 997 on certain drives is when I know I have no choice but to valet park it (NYC Midtown) or if I know the roads are just terrible (again, NYC Midtown).

johnireland

For me having my plans interrupted by a 2+ hours (at least) event that could (with a proper spare tire) be fast fix, is a major inconvenience.

The goop fix is a cross your fingers and pray solution. If by "limping" to the nearest gas station you mean driving on a partially inflated tire or completely deflated tire, the tire will be trash and maybe the rim too.

I have not found any "gas stations" that carry 19" P Zeros or any of the other tires Porsche uses. Even most tire specialty shops often need 24 to 48 hours to get them in stock.

The last flat I had was a pain in the butt. First to change the tire (which I accept as necessary) and in this case also buying a new tire. Buying the new tire, round trip, is another three hours out of one's day.

It all adds up. And of course none of this is helped by the absurd low profiles used on modern cars. GTIs with 18" low profiles is just stupid, as is Porsche's with 20" 30 series combos. The 964s and early 993s on 16s made real world driving sense.



the odds are the tired tra