Hi all. I just stacked up only 300 miles on my new Turbo s, with spyder wheels. Flat tire. Must have picked up something, invisible, from the road. Had it towed to the dealer, who is replacing the tire. He explained that the soft tires Porsche uses - at least on this model - are prone to road debris damage, and this often happens in our area (Northern Virginia) where a lot of construction is taking place. But this experience drove home several issues - (1) no spare, (2) almost no one except a dealer or perhaps high end shop can remove that wheel (single center bolt), (3) these tires a when damaged re replaced, not repaired, and (4) we would be screwed if this were to happen away from civilization (no Porsche dealer). And to boot, the dealer had to order the tire, which would require an overnight stay - two or three if this were to have happend near a weekend or holiday.

This issue very well may have been covered in a prior thread. But I feel frustrated, and now am worried about taking a trip with the beast. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

yep, a concern of mine as well. There are some very lenghty threads about this over on rennlist (the reg. 997 forum). The best you can do is pick up a tire plug kit and then hope the flat is something you can plug and at least get you on your way. I've even thought of having extra tires at home, and having someone ship them to me if I were to need one.

I've been lucky and the only flat so far was in my driveway. On my way to the airport for a 9 day driving tour thru Germany and Austria in a 911S. I will be in some pretty remote locations and a flat is something that would not be fun.

 

+1. I carry a tire repair kit and a small air compressor that plugs into cig lighter. enough to get me somewhere to get tire properly plugged or replaced. it is a must for our cars.

 

Oh yeah. I had a Carrera S and had one tire failure every 8000 miles on average. Amazing considering I had none in 40,000 miles in an '02 vete prior to that (half of the time with a SC'd 7 liter engine), and in two years with an Aston Martin afterward. I think it must also be the suspension since both other cars had high performance tires, etc., too.

Some recommendations based on experience. 1) Don't count on the patch/inflator kit that comes with the car: does't work on a lot of the lfats you will get. Don't count on AAA or whatever to save you. Like you said only a dealer or a high end tire shop
2) Buy a mini-spare, -- I hope they make one that is center locking, but anyway, I got one for my car (my carrera S had normal five bolt) -- the mini-spare eats most of the trunk space or takes up just a part of the back seat but . . . its worth it - you will use it. 3) Carry a big very heavy duty (industrial strength) plastic bag because - where are you going to put the flat tire once you failed with the inflator kit and got ahead take it off and have to get home on the mini-spare? Its dirty and greasy and you want that all over the interior. Or leave that valuable wheel by the side of the road, or tie it to the roof, maybe with its steel belts stickin outand rubbing the paint? Place in the bag and it will fit in behind the seats with some contorting and movement of the seats forward.

 

I've never thought about the issue of a spare, honestly had a previous car without a spare, but they did have a patch kit. I was not aware the car didn't come with "any" patch kit. Is one available thru the dealer shop or can i get one at the local auto parts store? Any recs? Also, i was told to get a battery charger, and before i drove off the lot the SA told me how to jump start the car, something you dont expect to review when driving off the lot for the first time.

 

Oh, my 996 Carrera S came with a patch kit and a little pump. It just would not work on most flats. The first time, at 3900 miles, there were tiny traces of belt coming out the hole in the tread -- whatever tore the hole it it was big and mean - no patch will fix that. Second time it was a puncuture right at the edge of the tread/sidewall. Again, not going to work. I think the patch-pump kits or the inflator can kits are just rationalizations the manufacturers talk themselves into, because they don't want to include the mini-spare -- in Porsche's case it isn't the expense they worry about, I think, its the fact that it takes all of the trunk space and they know many people will walk away from a car with no trunk space at all. I bought a mini spare and basically had no trunk left, only room for things the size of a bottles of wine (not a bad idea, but) not even a breifcase would fit.

 

they make quality aftermarket car tire repair kits - I think i got mine at griots and my mini pump will get tire to 35+ pounds. they work well enough to get you to a location to get properly fixed/replaced. If you get a really bad gouge or tear or sidewall damage the repair kits will not work. I have only had punctures from a nail or screw and it is fine for fixing the more normal flat. mini spares will not work for my turbo with PCCB's - and also where do you put the wheel/tire

 

Well, good luck. 40K miles in my Carrera S and I had five flats, four that no patch/inflator kit would ever fix. Maybe it was bad luck, but I always carry a mini-spare -- paid the $1134 for the one in the F430 now. Just not worth the worry. My son is service manager at an up end shop and has promised me he could get a mini-spare that would work for anything. There is something that can be made to fit.

As to the flat once off the car, I addressed what to do there in my post above.

 

On a recent trip to Utah in my '08 GT2 I got a puncture in the right rear tire. The culprit was a rather large screw judging by the size of the screw head sticking out of the tire near the middle of the tread. I left it in and used the Porsche sealant system which comes with the car to seal the leak. I decided the hole would be too big to seal with the screw removed. It worked perfectly well as long as I did not exceed 60 mph (the label warns not to exceed 55 mph). As I was driving south on I15 toward Las Vegas, at St. George in Utah, I had to go as fast as 70 mph because of traffic. Not long afterwards the screw was flung out and the tire deflated in seconds. I was prepared, slowed down, pulled onto the shoulder and took the next offramp which was only about 200 feet ahead. No problem at all, no damage to the rim.

I called Porsche roadside service; they sent out a truck with a low trailer which took us to Las Vegas. After mounting a new tire we were on our way. It was the first time I had ever used any of these manufacturers' roadside services. This one worked exremely well and the truck drive was very knowledgeable. The whole experience was very positive.

I did remove the spoiiler lip, though, because it was too low even for the low trailer. I was prepared and had packed the necessary tools.

I later found out that the screw was flung out with such force that it punctured the rear inner fender liner, which had to be replaced. It barely missed the hose from the turbocharger to the intercooler.

The Porsche sealant stays liquid. When the screw came out sealant spewed out and was sucked up against the back of the car by the vacuum effect of the duck tail and spoiler. Every little piece of dirt ended up stuck in the goop. The back of the car was an unhole mess (result of some fast driving after the car was fixed), which was relatively easily removed with De-Solv-It once home.

 

I did not think of this at time of purchase at all until you start taking road trips....my next car will have to have a spare of some sort and if that means no more Porsche, so be it.

 

This is exactly what my sales guy told me re these center lock wheels, and it was kind of laughed at I think by the aftermarket wheel guys when I brought it up on another thread. What are you supposed to do in the middle of nowhere?
Jim

 

I'll try to remember to ask my youngest for the details -- as I said he's service manager at an upper end shop. He told me there is an adapter that will permit temporary mounting of a five-lug mini-spare, as long as it is a narrow tire, onto a temporary center lock hub fitting.

 

The sealant provided by Porsche should hold for at least 75 miles. If I am not mistaken, using the sealant also inflates the tire.

FWIW, Ferrari and other high performance cars use similar sealants and do not have a spare tire.

The center wheel lock should not be that difficult for an experienced tire store to take off.

 

The Porsche sealant system requires that the sealant first be squeezed into the tire through the valve stem (after the valve core has been removed). In my one and only experience, that operation requires quite a bit of finger strength. Once the sealant has been pushed into the tire, the valve core is re-inserted and the tire is inflated with the electric pump (which worked surprisingly fast). Finally, the tire needs to be spun to distribute the sealant inside the tire.

Since the Porsche sealant remains liquid for days, I don't think there is a hard mileage limit. Again from my experience, I think the limit is given by the speed at which the nail or screw is ejected from the tire due to centripetal forces. That should depend on the size, weight and other characteristics of the nail/screw. In my case, the screw let loose at around 70 mph.

 

You are correct that there is a separate air compressor provided to inflate the tire.The sealant only requires the valve insert to be removed and not the entire stem.

I got the 75 miles range from my Ferrari experience. Ferrari provides a small air compressor and no sealant is required. The tire once inflated will stay that way for about 75 miles.