Where does the full size 'spare' go? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

jamscal · 01-05-2006, 06:48 AM

Hey,

I blew a rear tire on my S last night. Dark, country road. All driveways were sloped and gravel. Drove less about a mile on it and found a church with a paved parking lot and proceeded to put the spare on.

All that went ok, even quickly. No rim damage either.

Anyway, I went to put the spare in the front trunk, and the hood wouldn't close. I tried the rear though I knew it wouldn't fit. I tried the front again and got the 'safety latch' closed, but after thinking about that, decided against it.

So, I turned my floormats upside down, placed them on the passenger seat, and sat the tire on that.

Good thing I didn't have a passenger.

Anyone know what the official stragety is?

-James
'01 Boxster S

BTW, I have Bridgestone S-03's on order.

Brucelee · 01-05-2006, 07:24 AM

Great question, as this has never happened to me. Did you at least try the rear trunk, as that would be my first guess.

Yes, the front trunk is useless!

RandallNeighbour · 01-05-2006, 07:24 AM

I think the solution (passenger seat) is the only place it will fit inside the car. Did you try to put it in kinda front and back in the front trunk (at an angle instead of perpendicular like the small spare sits)?

I can picture my wife's face as I drove off with the spare in the passenger seat, leaving her stranded on the side of the road.

I guess I could drop the top, put a cloth of some sort over the clamshell and set it behind the roll bars and tie it down with some rope in a pinch.

While this may never happen to the rest of us, it's certainly worth thinking about and preparing for should it happen so we don't have to leave a girl or a rim on the side of the road! The rim would be very expensive to replace, and the girl would be so pissed that a $10 bunch of daisies wouldn't repair the damage. I think jewelry would be mandated.

limoncello · 01-05-2006, 07:30 AM

I usually keep an old tarp or beach towel in my cars - useful to lie on when looking under the car or make roadside repairs. I guess I would use that to protect the pass. seat. But like Randall, where does the wife go?
Could you put the tire in the rear trunk, tie the lid down with a piece of string (very un-Porsche-like, but hey) and head for home/tire shop?

wild1poet2 · 01-05-2006, 07:49 AM

Simple; you could put the tarp on your girl/wife and set the tire on her lap. Instruct her to hold it securely so as not to interfere with gear changes.

Brucelee · 01-05-2006, 08:27 AM

Seems to me a repair kit is in order.

Ditch the spare and use the space?

RandallNeighbour · 01-05-2006, 08:40 AM

I don't think a passenger holding a rear tire with the top up will work.

And everyone knows you get a flat tire when it's pouring down rain and you have your best clothing on, heading to a big meeting, a wedding, or whatever!

jamscal · 01-05-2006, 08:50 AM

I tried the rear trunk, it was a no go.

BTW, these are the 18's ....265-35-18.

RandallNeighbour:

I didn't think of putting it in at another angle in the front trunk, but I don't think it will work.

Brucelee:

I had that thought until last night. The whole inner sidewall was ripped almost halfway around the rim. A repair kit would have done me no good.

Oh well, new tires are on the way.

-James

Ronzi · 01-05-2006, 08:52 AM

I think the flat tire storage issue is the reason for the Porsche Roadside Assistance program that comes with new ones.
Maybe we're supposed to do like the racers and drive on the flat tire until we get back to the "pits". Everybody has a half-dozen mounted tires and rims just sitting in the garage at home, don't they?