I wanted to share my great experience with a tire popping on an Interstate in the midwest during a blizzard. As you could imagine it was great and i wish i could relive it

I just got on the interstate and about 100 yards in an extremely noticeable pull and noise to say the least caused me to pull in the unplowed emergency lane. Upon crawling to the other side of my car so i didn't get killed my front right tire had no inflation whatsoever. I couldn't believe that semis were going 60+ during a blizzard and the interstate was untouched by a snowplow. I really had no choice but to drive on the flat for about 4 miles going about 10mph to the closest exit and park in a gas station. Even with hazards on I couldn't believe how reckless the semis drove and waited to switch lanes.

On the other hand once i arrived at the gas station you could imagine the tire was done for, I had to decide on the interstate to try and save the tire or not. I chose not to as i did not feel the slightest safe in the situation. Anyways, i had to use the spare tire in the back without the air suspension. Take my word from a young adult who had never had a flat before. It was a piece of cake. The Cayenne comes with all of the tools needed and despite what other threads have said, i thought the engineering was brilliant. Besides the awful experience on the interstate once i was at the gas station the process took about 20mins. The spare is definitely crazy, having never seen one inflate before i thought it was broken until the very last second when it reshaped to normal.

All in all, i have no idea what caused the blowout, but i am very thankful of the tools and air compressor in the back. Getting a new Continental Extreme Contact tomorrow since not a single place in the surrounding 4 states carries my size I would totally suggest to everyone to keep some gloves and something to kneel on in the back compartment as i did and it was a lifesaver.

 

You did the right thing ruining you tire and driving to the rest stop, hopefully you didn't damage the rim.

Your life is worth more than the $200 tire you may have tried to save.

Also generally, when you replace a tire you should replace both side since the wear wont match and this can cause safety and reliability issues.

 

Well done. Happy you got out of it safely !!

 

Lucky you had a spare! Our 2004 S didn't come with one and I finally bought one from Sunset a few years ago. Never used it but its there for peace of mind.

 

WOW....having grown up in Iowa for the first 20 years of my life, i know how those storms can be ! Someone was watching over you on that experience.

 

Glad you mentioned that, I ordered a single tire that is being installed tomorrow. I only realized this after I ordered one. The tires were installed new last summer, less than a year ago. Do you think I should be good to just replace one? Just seems a shame to replace a perfectly good tire with plenty of tread left.

By the way, the rim is perfectly fine. The rim kept riding on the rubber all the way there. I took it slow hoping that I could spare the rim. As it says in the Porsche manual only replace the spare in a safe location.

I never expected to use the spare, not many do. Especially with newer tires, but that spare in the back saved myself a lot of time and expenses instead of having to call a tow in a blizzard. The things we take for granted in our peppers. When I pulled out the compressor and was inflating it someone walked by and made a comment, "of course it has that its a Porsche". Damn right..

 

Good move, even if you took out the tire and rim in the process. You don't hang around on the shoulder of any interstate, even in ideal weather conditions. We're taking our CD on a 400 mile trip Saturday. I think the owners manual deserves some review on the spare tire hardware. Thanks for sharing.

 

I don't see issue with replacing just the one tire. It's only an issue if the other one is extremely worn.

 

Sorry to disagree. This is how dealerships and tire salespeople make extra money. This is simply about matching wear. If the tires are relative new, replacing only the blown tire should be fine. Make sure, however, that the manufacturer hasn't changed the specs and that the tire you get is an exact match.

Cheers,
TomF

 

Thought I would chime in, I ended up getting just one tire replaced. As mentioned earlier all of my tires only saw a fraction of a year. Tread is still near perfect. The rim ended up being fine, and the spare is back where it came from. My only b*tch is the cost of the tire. 300 bucks from the cheapest place in town, 400 from Sears. Don't expect any place around to have your peppers size in stock unless it is a warehouse like tirerack. At least for the 19in.

The tire I use is Continental Extreme Contact, great tires for all seasons.