$800 later.. AAA tow and new rear tire.

Last weekend while coming back from a trip west of Austin, the right rear tire blew out. By the time I made it to the side of the toll road, the side wall was shredded.

I know this is not a new story but this is the second flat i've had since I bought the car new in 06. The first one was close to home, this one was an hour away. How many flats can we all endure without a spare? What a hassle...

Called AAA, waited an hour for the $100 tow to the dealer (you get "3 free" miles and $8/mile after that), a loaner car from Beasley Porsche (thank heaven they stayed open for us) and finally home 3 hours later.

So who else has had a blow-out on a Michelin Pilot sport?

I haven't been inclined to go the route of the few of us who scrounged the parts from other cars to make a spare kit. But I'm gonna do it. The wife won't go for a drive anymore without a spare -she's probably right...

 

Where you gonna put it???

 

My biggest fear as well when on a road trip....especially because my car is so low and with the body-kit....there is NO way of getting it on a ramp truck without lots of planks....BUT a spare would save me huge issues!
This is a thread with all info and part numbers......
Contact Ric Knab at Suncoast https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post2841080

 

What is the process for fabing a spare tire?
My last toy car was a Shelby Cobra with no spare and I swore I wouldn't do that again but I did......
What do you do about the different wheel size (front and rear?)

I carry a tire plug kit in all my cars and I've been lucky to catch the leaks while parked and didn't shred the tire....

I try to stay out of the curb lane when possible, I swing as wide as possible when making a right turn, I try to remember where the chuckholes are so as not to break the seal.....

I have the GOLD triple A card that allows 100 miles of towing to the location of your choice... Two dollars per mile over the 100 miles...

 

With the Shelby I had the same problem and had to carry a pair of homemade ramps everywhere I went... It gave me the few extra inches I needed to clear the the end of the ramp....

 

Sorry to hear of it, I just had one in my Daily Driver and had it towed home as I wasnt too far.

But... AAA plus is the best ever, I think mine is at least 70 miles or 100. Way worth the extra $ even if you dont use the tows- I've gone 52 miles from work (busted coolant hose) to my normal mechanic, and avoided getting raped by the locals for a damn $10 hose.

 

Just curious....how many miles were on the tire?

 

thanks for the parts link! No question that's what i'm doing... or i'll be driving alone.

But what are the chances of 2 blow outs on the pilot sports with normal driving. The first blow out was with 300 miles on a new car, this one was with 6 thousand miles on the back tires, I've gone years on other cars including p-cars without flats. Something about the tire?

Yeah, you guys might be right about the upgraded AAA plan. We had AAA plus and stopped it. If the tire had blown at the farthest we we out, it would have been 80-90- mile towing bill

 

Do you have TPMS? I ordered it on my car in the hopes that it would warn me of a leak or a fast deflation in time not to ruin my wheels! I made my own spare tire kit and have had it in my car for 3+ years. Last week I listed it on eBay (it has never been used so all the parts are brand new) because, after careful measurements of both rear and front tires, the only place to put a blown one is in the front passenger seat! Now, my kit does include the plastic bag that is sold from Porsche to put the dirty flat tire inside so as not to ruin the car's interior. Not only won't the tire fit anywhere else, but my delicate full leather interior would most certainly get some kind of damage... and, where would I put my passenger? - not only would the tire only fit in the passenger seat but it also needs to be put all the way back so nobody could seat on the back seat on that side anyways! Should I have her/him take a taxi or bus back home? The spare would only work if I am in the car by myself, which is not the norm for me. That is why I see no point in having it so I am selling it to whomever it would work for. I have AAA Plus so I get 100 miles of free towing and they are usually <1 hour wait when I have called them for other cars.

 

Cibergypsy, PM sent.

 

i bought my 997 new in 2006 - mechanically it's been perfect. the only real expense has been rear tires. with only 19k miles i've lost 2 rears to nails and 1 to a screw.

now here's the frustrating part, my car goes out of warranty on 8/24, so i just bought the 6 / 60 extended warranty for it tuesday but passed on the tire hazard protection. figured i'd had my run of bad luck and hoped that it woudn't happen again.

i picked up the car tuesday from it's 4 year service, happy knowing it had the 6 / 60, warranty, and parked it in the garage. i hadn't driven it, and friday morning was beautiful here in san diego, so i decided to drop the top and drive the car to a morning meeting.

not two freak'n miles form the house, i hit something in the road, and wiped out the passenger side rear tire and rim. still can't believe it - just kept asking myself why i passed on the road hazard....

 

well, that surely sucks. My next p-car will have the road hazard insurance, that is a given. All it takes is money.

My wife was upset at sitting on the tollway, but in the end, it's only a tire...

No TPMS on my car, I guess that would have verified the pop I heard as the tire blew and i would have know what the pop was...

 

Learned a valuable lesson today about Porsche Road Side assistance and the need to make absolutely certain they send the right people to handle the problem.

I read this thread yesterday after a 200 mile drive and counted myself lucky that I'd not had a flat so far. Got up this morning to ride my bicycle and saw a rear flat on the '09 Carrera S. Called Porsche road side assistance and the young lady responded with an offer to tell me how to walk through the sealing process.

In my best Oddball (Kelly's Heroes moment) I said "I just ride em. It is totally flat and I don't know where to seal it" An hour later an emergency service guy arrives in a panel truck, gets out with authority, let his dog pee in my yard, and promptly jacks up my car. Then he proceeds to tell me "let's get the spare out of the trunk in front so I can change the tire."

I said "if this car came with a spare, I would have changed the tire myself. this is your job and you don't know the damn car has no spare? Where is the flatbed?" "What if I were 100 miles from home or in a bad area instead of in my garage?"

The "mechanic" said, "we both know it is a slow leak so I'll fill it with air and follow you to Tire Kingdom." In the end, it was a nail in the center of the tire. So he was wrong there as well. Luckily for me, we did make to TK without incident.

 

Scenario: You're away for the weekend with the little lady.. Your 'trunk' is full (her stuff, of course, crammed in there with the space-saver spare).

Your overnighter is behind you.

You get a flat - let's make it interesting - on the rear.

You smile, knowing you spent the few extra bucks for the security of having a spare, rather than being forced to wait for the guy who actually does bring a flatbed. You change the tire.

Now.. what do you do with the rear wheel and tire?...

 

For starters, put the front wheel on the rear and the spare on the front. That will save some space. But a possibly better solution to a "flat" (as opposed to the blowout the OP experienced) is to just use the factory tire repair system or carry a tire plug kit, to avoid having to rearrange the tires in the first place.