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YOUR RESEARCHDo you carry a spare tire in your 996?
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Check manual regarding
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Read evidence and context
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: So, I checked the manual regarding using the collapsible emergency spare in the event of a flat in my C4 Cab.
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The rear flat is supposed to be replaced with one of your good front tires and the spare used on the front only.
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Suggestion
I keep a couple of 50-gallon contractor clean-up bags in my 996 toolkit so I can drop the dirty wheel into a clean bag before loading it into the passenger seat.
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Suggestion
Bottom line, until I have time to figure this stuff out, I'm just going to call AAA and ask for a flatbed truck to tow my C4 to the nears Porsche dealer or tire repairs shop (depending on the day/time/location) to repair the flat.
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I keep a couple of 50-gallon contractor clean-up bags in my 996 toolkit so I can drop the dirty wheel into a clean bag before loading it into the passenger seat.
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Bottom line, until I have time to figure this stuff out, I'm just going to call AAA and ask for a flatbed truck to tow my C4 to the nears Porsche dealer or tire repairs shop (depending on the day/time/location) to repair the flat.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Among the options given in the answer by the tech was "none." The tech implied that replacing a flat on one of the wide rear tires would be pointless because the damaged/flat tire (and wheel) wouldn't fit in the frunk or rear seat after installing the spare.
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Suggestion
If you plan to carry a spare and other stuff you might try a trial run in your garage using the jack, removing the tire, replacing the tire and then seeing how it would fit in the car...then think about doing all this on a dark night with traffic whizzing by at 65 mph - isn't that usually when flats happen?
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Reading through posts on PCA's
Technical Q&A
there was an interesting question about what kind of spare tire one should carry in their Porsche 996. Among the options given in the answer by the tech was "none." The tech implied that replacing a flat on one of the wide rear tires would be pointless because the damaged/flat tire (and wheel) wouldn't fit in the frunk or rear seat after installing the spare.
So I'm looking for your experience with flats and spares for your 996, and what measures you take in case you have a flat? /X3
That tech is an idiot!
The rear flat is supposed to be replaced with one of your good front tires and the spare used on the front only.
In my 45 years of driving, I've had maybe 3 flats and I think only one happened while I was actually driving.
AAA will always be first. After that a
Plug Kit
Plug Kit
. If I'm leaving civilization I'll carry the Porsche collapsible spare tire. I'll also carry a giant plastic contractor trash bag to wrap up the flat tire before it goes in the cabin.
As a 911 newbie, this is very important info to know. Thank-you, again!
The the collapsible emergency spare and the air pump are in the frunk of my new (to me) C4 Cab. My BMW had runflats that I replaced w/Michelin Pilot Super Sports and a full sized spare, as well as an air pump and sealant to use if/when needed. Doesn't look like there'd be enough room for a full sized emergency spare in the C4 but I may add a plug kit and can of sealant to carry just in case they're needed.
We were lucky to get most of the original tire change accessories such as plastic gloves, and I think there is a plastic bag which I suspect is to cover the flat tire when putting in the interior.
I wouldn't use a can of fix-a-flat because it deposits rubber inside the tire and on the wheel hub.
Yes but I didn't see a reference to this in my initial read thru. I'll look again.
Update
: So, I checked the manual regarding using the collapsible emergency spare in the event of a flat in my C4 Cab. Nothing mentioned in it about NOT using the spare on the rear or using the spare only on the front (and moving a front tire to the rear).
All that's mentioned is that if there are 5mm spacers in front, you should leave them there and if there are 17mm spacers in the back, you should remove them before installing the spare. Since I just bought the car, I currently have no idea what sized spacers, if any. are installed on the front/rear axles. Complicating the matter is the the car came w/aftermarket 19" rims on it, so they may be using different sized spacers entirely.
Bottom line, until I have time to figure this stuff out, I'm just going to call AAA and ask for a flatbed truck to tow my C4 to the nears Porsche dealer or tire repairs shop (depending on the day/time/location) to repair the flat. LOL!
Plug kit is the way to go. If you plan to carry a spare and other stuff you might try a trial run in your garage using the jack, removing the tire, replacing the tire and then seeing how it would fit in the car...then think about doing all this on a dark night with traffic whizzing by at 65 mph - isn't that usually when flats happen?
Teh J.I. Voodoo curse of curses!
And, nope, I don't carry one with me. My car waits until I get home to go flat, because that's where I keep the spares. And should it break that rule, I carry Slime, a 12v compressor, a plug kit and AAA RV+ coverage, which gets me a 100 mile tow before the $ meter starts.
The gloves are no longer available but the wheel bags that the kit comes with still are.
Also yes I have the spare in the car as well as a cheap 1/2 inch torque wrench.
To be honest id probably just call road side assistance.
I bought a 996 versus 997 for 2 reasons. First I don’t like the silver and gray and black in the 997. The NAV was ridiculous in 2005. Second, the spare tire. I carry a compressor and plug kit.
My reasoning is as follows. I just got off the 407, I am two thirds of the way to the cottage. I blow a rear tire. So I pull over, swap a couple of tires and I am on my way in 30 minutes. Maybe the tire is repairable, maybe not, Regardless, I can finish my trip. Other option is to be towed home. Grab Jeep and start trip all over again.
Tires fail. Nothing like having a functional spare.
I don't carry one with me. My car waits until I get home to go flat, because that's where I keep the spares. And should it break that rule, I carry Slime, a 12v compressor, a plug kit and AAA RV+ coverage, which gets me a 100 mile tow before the $ meter starts.
Exactly ^^^
FWIW,,, if you use a sealer in a tire MANY shops will either refuse to fix it,, or charge a 75+ dollar
premium to clean up the mess it makes on the tire machine. Some fix-a-flat cans use PROPANE/isobutane
to inflate and push the secret sauce in to the tire,, so they are highly flammable.
Worse even, some brands harden on the inside of the wheel and removal is done with sand paper.. Or worse..
Of the dozen or so flats I've had,, only 1 was fixable with a plug,,
I carry a tube,, for the extreme emergency, I can get 1 bead loose and put a tube in to gimp me to help.
And yes I've had my 911 out of cell coverage.. with no other traffic guaranteed.
I've got a C4 with the collapsible spare in front. In addition to being a spare tire, I've read that it's part of the "crash safety" apparatus designed into the car...
I carry mine along with a tire/wheel bag that I got from discount tire. I had to use it once when I was at my dad's house and I noticed one of my rear tires was low. Inspection revealed a screw in the treads. It would have been pluggable, buy I live only 15 miles away so I threw the spare on. The tire/wheel bag came in handy since the rear tires will not fit in the frunk. I have Euro GT3 seats that don't fold, so the only place to put it is in the passenger seat.
I carry the spare and used it once on my first 996. That was 15+ years ago, so my memory is foggy, but I think it was the rear and I think it fit in the back seat area. The one thing I do remember, vividly, is to (as Hula mentioned)
carry a trash bag with you
because putting the dirty tire/wheel in the interior is not something you want to do ever. I was wearing a suit at the time also, so moving that filthy tire/wheel around sucked.
Carrying a plug kit is a great idea, but sometimes you can't find where it needs to be plugged if it's a slow leak. My brother-in-law is on construction sites all the time and he had about 10 flats over a period of about a year and he was able to plug them all without using a spare.
I've had AAA Plus almost since birth and never call them for anything. What do they do for a flat? Do they plug the tire, or just put on the spare for you?
I do not keep a spare in the frunk when driving locally - I don't like the weight up front, and sometimes I actually want to use the entire depth of the trunk (C4). Anything under a hundred miles is AAA territory.
Any road trip, longer drive, or multi-day trip, the compact spare goes back in the frunk. If I hadn't had my spare when my driver-side front tire got smacked with a flying drive shaft halfway between San Diego and Las Vegas, my wait for a tow would have been REALLY long, and that tow would have been costly.
I keep a couple of 50-gallon contractor clean-up bags in my 996 toolkit so I can drop the dirty wheel into a clean bag before loading it into the passenger seat.
Heh:
As OP stated, the spare tire affectionately referred to as a "May-Pop", is engineered in the design of the front crumple zones of the car.
I believe that is why the spare fixed in the original position is the only thing allowed in the frunk at a HPDE.
I was lucky enough to have all the factory goodies including the plastic gloves for changing the tires.
I had one flat, I called a flatbed, I was only 10 miles from home. With AAA, I think it was only $40
It might have been that cheap because the tire was only flat on the bottom.
Nope: Just carry a current AAA + membership and a small air compressor / plug kit (although I worry the glue is any good in Phoenix temps, and replace it often).
I have the stock spare tire and compressor in my C4, but I'd only use it in an absolute worst case scenario--seems like a bad idea to drive around with three different sized wheels/tires on a 4WD 911.
As for the spare being part of the crash protection, it's not necessarily that I disbelieve that, but I don't believe that the NHTSA would recognize that as part of a safety system if it's removable. You guys are telling me that the crash protection relies on the spare not being used at the time?
Mines an 02 c2 and it's in the owners manual.
Maybe the 4x are different. Either way, just prepare the best you can and try not to worry about the little things...These are such fun cars and we're all blessed to have one!
MAYBE in a RWD 911 - but I have a hard time believing the spare's location in a 996 C4 is going to contribute much toward me not dying if things go extraordinarily wrong...
Normally, I don�t keep the spare in the car. I carry a 12v air compressor and tire plugs around town. I always take the spare on a long road trip. I also keep a couple large trash bags in the car. It wasn�t until my first flat that I realized the tire won�t fit in the trunk.
^ Agree 100% re: inflator and plugs. I keep them in the car regardless of whether or not I have the spare - the plug kit gives you options you don't otherwise have when you're sitting on the side of the road listening to your tire hiss.
My 2002 manual has "Wheel Changing" in the index also...3 pages but no reference to which wheels go where...but Porsche did offer this advice:
Please use a suitable knee rest to protect your
clothing against soiling.
