My Porsche dealer phoned my last week to tell me that my spare tire had eventually arrived. I went to collect it and
proceeded with a "dry run", duly documented here for your information.
The inflatible spare tire is a regular, orderable part from Porsche. Check with your Porsche parts advisor. Cost here in
South Africa was around $760 using todays exchange rate.

Here it is, deflated, standing up in the trunk. It is a comfortable fit and leaves plenty of space.


After inflating it for the first time using the electric pump from the 991...


Next to the 20" rears. Nearly the correct diameter, it will do in an emergency.


On first inflation it's a bit lopsided. The Porsche electric pump is a little, ah, shall we say, "not quite up to the task".
I recommend the tire be pumped the first time to it's full maximum pressure of 3.5Bar and held there for a day or so. The
rubber settles into a more agreeable shape.
Obviously the spare is not armoured in any way - it does not have any form of reinforced belt so if you use this, take it
easy - most likely it does not take much to puncture the spare. It should get you home or to the nearest workshop though.
Right - so what happens with the tire that has been replaced ?
Pack a large enough plastic bag or a plastic sheet. The plastic sheets sold in hardware stores to painters are large, thin
and when in the original packaging, very compact. You'll need that to protect your interior.
With the passenger seat fully forward and backrest forward it is no problem to safely load even the 20" rears fully inflated
onto the backseat.
They don't really fit into the trunk, even deflated so forget that option.
I complemented the new spare with a correct sized socket wrench, jack and a suitable tire patch/plug kit that I can carry in
a small bag in the trunk. Now I'm ready for some longer trips into the wild...

Rainier

 

thanks for info!!!! they are 1200USD here??

was the Fit ok when you had it in trunk? pic looked ok?

 

Fit is perfect, no issue at all. It fits either upright as shown or I put it at an angle so it wedges itself. Either way, it leaves plenty space for a good bit of luggage, easy enough for a weekend trip.

Price is only for the tire itself. The higher price you mention includes some additional, highly overpriced bits and pieces you don't really need or can get at a small fraction of the price from your local car parts shop...

Rainier

 

Great info, have you done a actual trial fit on the front to see if the caliper clears?

 

What is the Porsche part number? Am I correct that you get wheel and tire?

John in Vancouver

 

Thanks for sharing. Though, what do most of the owners do when they get a flat, say, on the highway?

 

In Canada we're supposed to call 1-800-PORSCHE and they are supposed to send a truck! Or use the flat repair gunk which I understand may mess up the TPS modules. I'll dig into this further when my car gets here.

John in Vancouver

 

Is there any room inside the car for the potential flat tire?

Hopefully never need to find out.

 

It is listed as "ACCE" under "options" on my invoice. Yes, wheel and tire - ready for use.

Rainier

 

As I wrote in my writeup - yes. Either front or rear, inflated or not, will fit on the back seat (use something to protect the interior from dirt or damage). You need to move the backrest fully forward as well as move the seat fully forward. The resulting space is more than enough for an easy job.

Rainier

 

It clears, no problem. Rim looks smaller but the inside diameter is pretty similar to the 20" wheel.

Rainier

 

are you tying down or putting any packing over the top of spare when in the trunk to prevent it from hitting the hood if you hit a speedbump or pothole?

 

I made up a small bag that contains wrench, jack and a few useful odds and ends. I wedge the tire in the trunk and with the bag in place it does not move. Might investigate a solution involving a single mounting bolt later. For now, this is just perfect.

A flat tire is not a joke here - if it's a special like these ones are, you have about zero chance of finding one. Calling Porsche (if you happen to be in range of a mobile phone tower) is an option and they will come to your aid but that can take some time - distances are pretty vast.
Using the gunk is a last ditch (very last ditch) solution. You'll pretty much ruin the tire and TPM sensor. Cleaning out the rim is a terrible job. There is also no guarantee that it will work satisfactory before you give it a go.

My "strategy" if I may call it that, is to first try and fix the flat on the spot if that is an option (i.e. small hole, side walls OK) - a tire plug kit works very well for that and I don't go anywhere without one. Should that fail, the new inflatable spare gets a chance. Provided you can inflate it (good idea to check out your Porsches tire inflator once in a while), it will easily get you at least to some form of civilization from where you can call Porsche in comfort or a tire repair outfit that is able to patch yours good enough for a careful drive back to base.

Rainier

 

Good post, Rainier - nice to know this is available and ready to use. Fortunately I have always been able to drive to the stealership after inflating it with the car pump.....provided one isn't too far away!

Cheers,

 

Nice post Rainier... knowing Porsche, they probably made you pay extra to get that spare in a "deviating color"