Been there, done that myself. I feel your pain.

 

With all the talk here I decided to buy a spare. I'm in the car abouT 80-90% by myself on the daily commute so a spare could save me a big headache and I can fit a front or back tire in the passenger seat or maybe even the rear.
I bought a Boxster spare from eBay, then found a "spacesaver" spare on Craigslist and bought that, too planning to try both the inflated and inflatable type to see which I liked better. After committing to buy the second one, I found that it was the same type as the first one!!
So - two things:
1) it seems to be a great solution!! The inflated 17" Continental spare fits very well in the trunk of a C2. I have a nice leather-like bag for it, plus the foam thing with the jack. I think i could still use a simple lug wrench and have the torque wrench in there for now. Also, I want to confirm that the standard lug bolts will work. Otherwise, I think I'm all set. It sucks to give up the storage space, but at least I have peace of mind. (also, I already have two guide bolts but I need to find them and put them with the kit)

2) I have a second tire and oem cover to sell to someone. I have $150 into that tire and the cover, bought on separate eBay auctions, so i want to get that out of it. Let me know if anyone is interested. If I don't here anything from this post, I'll list in the classifieds here and maybe elsewhere, then maybe eBay. Both tires/wheels are in like-new shape and I can provide pics to anyone interested. I don't have the foam insert or the Jack for the set I'm selling, but I might have an old Jack laying around from the 944

I can also provide photos of the setup in the trunk. Not doing it now as I wonder if such has already been posted. Just let me know if anyone thinks that would be helpful.

 

I picked up a nice little lug wrench at Sears (19MM) today that fits the bill nicely.....

 

Love to see your photos!

 

ok - here you go:







Plus a video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0wanzSCfs8

 

Thanks for the pics and video! Definitely takes up most of the frunk... I guess it's a tradeoff. I suppose I'll continue to push my luck for now because I love how many groceries I can carry upright without having to change my driving style! Everything is right where I left it when I arrive

 

I think I'm the exception in that I very rarely use the trunk. My previous daily driver for 11 years was a 1990 C4 with very little space up there, so my groceries have been in the passenger seat and floor area for years - just by habit. I did use that space on a car trip with the wife. 6+ hours each way with two carry-on luggage pieces up front. I'll certainly miss that, but - like you said - it's a trade-off.

On a trip like that, I could always pull out the spare, but we all know about Murphy's law...

 

jack
Will the flat tire fit in the trunk?
Or does it go in the back seat?

 

No - I'm quite certain the flat would need to go in the cabin. Either front or back seat, depending on if I had a passenger.
I can't see how that would ever be an issue for me.

 

So, what I learned from this thread is: Keep my stock runflats.

I was considering taking them off, and putting a full size spare rear wheel in the trunk (I'd still have room for upright groceries), but I no longer feel it is worth the hassle.

However, the wife and I are considering picking up a 997. Is there a runflat tire that fits that is worth a damn for traction in the dry & wet?

 

What is the problem with purchasing the top-level AAA tow package instead of going through all of this complexity, dealing with the danger of roadside repair, risk to yourself and the car of jacking the car in unsafe conditions and loss of trunk space? And turning to run-flats to avert a low probability problem sacrifices the handling quality of the car all of the time. I understand that if you frequently drive the car in out-of-cell-range conditions might have me reconsidering, but I'd more likely consider driving a different car if I could.
Anyway, just another POV.

 

good call...

 

Here's my 2 cents on towing. It sucks. Whether it's 80 miles from home/dealer or 2 miles, you are still at the mercy of the tow guy. It took an hour to get there and we were in a metropolitan area. He had to use wood planks to increase the ground clearance so the car wouldn't scrape at front or for the tailpipes. You hope they know what they are doing to prevent damage

I've been searching the forums and it looks like there are two choices in spare tires. The collapsable spare from the 996 C4S and the inflated spare from the 996-boxster. Both appear to fit over the "S's larger calipers.

One of the posters tried a front and rear tire in the back and it fits so that answers that my question.

Thanks Jack for the pics. Works for me!

 

This post may be unwelcome but . . .

We all realize a tire failure is a 'pita' but we also know this comes with the country of pcars. Engineering is still an art and Porsche is near superior to any other firm. I travel deep into the mountains every week and i'm aware of the risks. Tire failures have occurred on my Audi's and Mini, all four were a serious inconvenience, but I had a spare or a inflation kit. With a spare you still need to find a matching tire (or new rim). And fixing a flat in NYC is a serious problem. It is the driver / owners responsibility not the manuf. if you bought the toy without due consideration of the contingent events !

So you've had a 3 hour delay and there is a solution: get a Lexus or Chevy. These cars are stable and reliable, but NOT PCARS. Porsche shouldn't be dissed due to the lack of a 50 lbs. donut. Thirty years ago there were alternatives, service stations carried replacements. But we didn't buy a car with a 15" or 16" standard tire that is 6 1/2" wide.

Stop whining . . .

 

Or....you could put the wife on the roof rack and the tire in the passenger seat. Seriously I just got new back tires today- first rear tires after about 14.5K miles. Opted to stay with the P zeros which were OEM on my car. One of the rears had a good size nail in the center, so I wonder how much longer before it would have been a problem. Its amazing to see how big the tires/wheel are off of the car!
Jim