Got a flat tire - how to use Porsche tools?

[rondocap]

OK, so I got a flat and had some issue with the Porsche tools. The jack I more or less figured out, but how exactly do you take the lug bolts out?

There seems to be 2 pieces in the tools, one that connects to the lug, and a handle that goes through it. Is that it? I used a lot of force and I could not get the lug nuts to budge, but it was much easier with a regular lug wrench.

Did I do something wrong or are those Porsche tools just kind of a bad and inferior to the lug wrench?

[Steve Tinker]

You can't be serious - surely the average person can loosen a wheel & change a flat tyre without posting for help on the internet.?
This has got to be a setup.....

[husker boxster]

No, the original tools don't have much force to them. A socket and breaker bar work much better for removal, esp if they have been on for a while or some tire jockey has over torqued them. There should also be a 6" rod that's threaded on one end. This is the tire guide. You screw it into the hub and then guide the wheel into place. Not an easy job hitting the exact lug hole locations if you don't use the guide.

Porsche remedied the wimpy lug wrench situation in the 987 - they replaced the spare tire and tools with a can of goo and a wimpy air compressor.

[shadrach74]

The stockade lug wrench is only adequate if the bolts are not over tightened. 96ftlbs is the spec, but tire shops often over do it. I was doing the rear brakes on a
Jeep Grand Cherokee last week that was so over tightened that it cracked my 17mm socket. It split right down the side...

[shadrach74]

Originally Posted by Steve Tinker

You can't be serious - surely the average person can loosen a wheel & change a flat tyre without posting for help on the internet.?
This has got to be a setup.....

Are you suggesting that there's a problem that Ronnie Johns might be able solve?

[Porsche Chick]

At least you have a spare tire! My 2009 comes with an over-glorified can of fix-a-flat in a styrofoam holder. If I have to use it, a replacement will cost me $900. Plus the new tire.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Porsche Chick

At least you have a spare tire! My 2009 comes with an over-glorified can of fix-a-flat in a styrofoam holder. If I have to use it, a replacement will cost me $900. Plus the new tire.

During a road trip I had a flat in the middle of Nowhere Oklahoma, a can of fix-a-flat would have been of no use, the sidewall was cut from the wheel rim to the tread.

[Porsche Chick]

Originally Posted by Jager

During a road trip I had a flat in the middle of Nowhere Oklahoma, a can of fix-a-flat would have been of no use, the sidewall was cut from the wheel rim to the tread.

Oh, yes, this scenario did occur to me when I first opened the frunk.

I really don't know what Porsche was thinking when they took away the spares. I believe the 911's don't have spares anymore either.

[Jittsl]

So suggestions would be:

Even if your car didn't come with a spare see if you can fit one. My gt3 didn't but the spare from a turbo did the job.

Throw the supplied wheel brace in the dumpster and buy yourself a good quality 18mm deep socket and 18" arm. Practice standing on it to loosen your wheel nuts - even if they are correctly torqued they can still be a bastard if they are hot.

Do not let anyone do the final torquing of your wheels beside yourself.

Porsche bilt everything supplied in our kit down to minimum weight with very little regard for whether it would actually do the job of changing your tire. When I bought my latest GT3 I picked it up in Boston and blew a rear tire outside Buffalo NY on my way home. Cost me a full day while I waited for a new tire to arrive, to say nothing of the lengthy tow and a lot of screwing around. Promised myself that I would always be prepared after that.

[Botoxster]

Originally Posted by Jager

During a road trip I had a flat in the middle of Nowhere Oklahoma, a can of fix-a-flat would have been of no use, the sidewall was cut from the wheel rim to the tread.

This is a blatant lie.

Nowhere Oklahoma has pothole ridden asphalt roads, and no discernible shoulder to change a flat tire on.

You must have been in the big city.

[mountainman]

I have 2 boxsters and a C 4 and put a minimum of 10K miles on each one in a years time, and at about 1 set of rear tires on eash every year I have a lot of experience with tires and due to the fact that these new high speed tires are about as thick as a newspaper anyway, I see a good number of flats from rocks and potholes. Of the flats that I have had, none could have been dealt with by the can of flat fix. When I bought my 08 boxster S the first thing I did was get a spare tire for it . No way would I travel without one. On a recent trip into the mountains of west virginia I had a flat on the rear and could not get a replacement tire for several days and was forced to drive ( slowly and carefully ) 300 miles home on the 5 inch spare. Without that spare I would still be sitting on the side of the road playing with that can of flat fix. I do always have an air compressor and a tire plug kit in each car, but virtually all the flats I have had are larger jagged holes that cannot be plugged either If you drive these cars very long, you learn to be prepared with tools and a few choice replacement parts when you go out.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by Botoxster

This is a blatant lie.

Nowhere Oklahoma has pothole ridden asphalt roads, and no discernible shoulder to change a flat tire on.

You must have been in the big city.

he had to have just crossed the border into oklahoma - his rims and bottom 2/3 of the car are not red yet!

[recycledsixtie]

When I go on my solo summer hike in the Rockies four hours west, I eject my mini spare on my 2001 Box and take two winter tires/rims. If I get a flat then I can replace the front or back for temporary use. I could not imagine a later P car with a can of inflator and leaving the city. That is crazy. What was Porsche thinking!

[Jager]

Originally Posted by Botoxster

This is a blatant lie.

Nowhere Oklahoma has pothole ridden asphalt roads, and no discernible shoulder to change a flat tire on.

You must have been in the big city.

I was about 200 miles from Oklahoma City:

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Jager

I was about 200 miles from Oklahoma City:

So it's safe to say...you were in the middle of Nowhere?

[rondocap]

I had taken my car in for a balance 2 days before, and they over tightened the wheels. It was also 25 degrees!

Rocks on the parkway, ripped right through my front tire - rock was about the size of a brick. Good thing this car has a spare.

[san rensho]

The tools in the kit will likely be inadequate to remove the wheel bolts if they have been overtightened, which they invariably are when a shop with impact tools works on your car.

Whenever I have tires removed at a shop, I always check the bolts, they are usually way over spec. They were so tight once I couldn't break them with a three foot breaker bar and had to take it back to the shop to have them loosen them with the impact wrench and then re-tighten with my torque wrench, and the mechanic still gave me the stink eye.

[BoxsterSteve]

Originally Posted by san rensho

The tools in the kit will likely be inadequate to remove the wheel bolts if they have been overtightened, which they invariably are when a shop with impact tools works on your car.

Whenever I have tires removed at a shop, I always check the bolts, they are usually way over spec. They were so tight once I couldn't break them with a three foot breaker bar and had to take it back to the shop to have them loosen them with the impact wrench and then re-tighten with my torque wrench, and the mechanic still gave me the stink eye.

The nerve of you... asking the tire jockey to actually use a torque wrench. I do not believe (m)any are trained to use such a complicated device. What were you thinking?

Just kidding... I once got the stink-eye too for asking exactly the same thing. Funny how they all seem to use an air impact like it was an Uzi.

Too much MW3.

[thstone]

A good reminder that the Porsche tools are of minimal capability and usefulness. I usually keep a small tool kit in the front trunk that includes an 18" breaker bar and lug bolt sized deep socket.

[rondocap]

Isn't the socket 19mm? I think mine are.