On the last day (Thursday) of my tour through eastern Oregon and Washington (1400+ miles) I got a flat tire near Naches on US-12. Luckily I managed to get the car to RJ's Tire Factory store in Naches, where they removed the tire. A nail was found to have entered on very edge of the inside tread and then into the sidewall. The tire was not repairable in any way nor would the bottle of goo supplied with the car have helped either.

What to do? Well, I called Porsche Roadside Assistance. Their initial response was to flatbed the car to another (approved) tire shop 20 miles away in Yakima and have them install two new rear tires, which would be shipped out by next Wednesday. Meanwhile they expected me to cool my heels in beautiful downtown Yakima at my expense.

As it turned out the car could not have been put on a flatbed without causing major damage to the front of the car and destroying the exhaust system without a spare wheel/tire.

Thanks to Atomic80 (Jason) who brought a spare wheel/tire from Bellevue we were able to get the car on the flatbed along with the further aid of some kind people loaning us some wood blocks to raise the car to prevent scraping the front and back.

With several more calls to Porsche Roadside Assistance I was able to convince them that the car had to be taken 140 miles to the dealer in Bellevue.

Again thanks to Jason who went to Home Depot and bought some 2X6 wood blocks we were able to get the car off the truck at the dealer in Bellevue.

I now await a new set of tires being shipped in from Germany sometime next week.

 

Some lesson's learned: Never travel in remote locations without being accompanied by another car. I was fortunate to have Steve in his mothership 7451L. Although in this instance he was only able to provide moral support it was never-the-less comforting to know I had someone who could take me home if all else failed. We had been traveling in very remote areas at least 75 miles from the nearest cell tower, and it's scary to think of the consequences if this flat had occurred out by Hell's Canyon.

Realize that with a AWD car you can't drive it (Porsche Roadside Assistance Technical Adviser) with mismatched tires, so you'll need two spares if your tire repair kit supplied with the car doesn't work.

Current flatbed tow trucks can't get a car like a Porsche on it without causing some damage if a flat tire is involved.

 

sorry to hear about your trip larry. todd and completely understand what you mean about traveling with other people! the same thing happened to me last year when i blew out 2 tires in seaside on a drive!

you came to todd's rescue on the icecream run when his oil cap popped off. (btw...we have a bottle for you! next time we see you...i'll kindly replace yours!). Thank you, thank you again. we appreciated your help VERY much!

it's great to have friends that help each other out. that's what we're here for!

i hope it all works out well for your car! thanks for the heads up and the tips!

 

Larry, I am glad to hear your car is back in Bellevue now ! I had my 997TT towed from Downtown Seattle to Barrier on a flatbed last October because of a clutch problem, but then that was before I lowered my 997TT and a flat tire was not involved. I hope you will get your new set of tires very soon !

 

I'm not so sure about that. As you know, all 996's (including C4s and turbos) have a spare tire. My service advisor at Barrier said it was no problem to drive on the spare for a short time.

 

Great stuff, Jason is a hell of a guy and a great friend! At least it is all said and done and you will be back on the road soon.

BTW Jody who found that oil cap? j/k

 

and josh....who did the lady in distress call over? you're my heroooooooo! hehe!

 

Larry, so sorry to hear about your flat tire! That is terrible and must have been a terrible imposition. What a good friend and person Jason is - to you and to us all. You (and we) are very fortunate to have him as a friend - that is so nice of him to come to your rescue. Between the flat tire and your tickets last week, maybe you should go for a walk rather than a drive next time

What kind of tires did you end up ordering? I hope they arrive soon so you can enjoy your car.

 

It was my pleasure coming to your help, Larry. I have to point out that I had a date with a beautiful young lady that very same evening. Much to my dismay, I had to miss the date but I suppose that there will always be other ladies but rarely will there be good friends. Although a bit upset at first, I've come to realize that I'd much rather come to the help of a friend in need than spend my time with a lady friend who by the way understood my reasons for having to bail on our date.

A few notes, the 997s do not come with spares, not as standard equipment. And I know for a fact that it would be inadvisable to drive with a different sized tire especially with the new AWD system being as sensitive as it is. You'd end up overloading the AWD/PSM system resulting in a very expensive repair bill. One fellow put on mismatched (front/rear) tires (fredttx50) on his 997TT and that ended up burning up his AWD system which I think was not covered by warranty. There's a thread on here somewhere where Fred goes to great lengths in warning us about mismatched tires. Perhaps this is why Porsche was very adamant about not allowing Larry to drive home. The older 996 AWD system is not quite as "sensitive" so hence the reason (probably) for the spare tires.

 

Glad to hear it all worked out for you, Larry! This is what good friends are for!

 

Great job Jason. Kind of. Next time you keep your date. Period. You kindly call another friend or a local tire shop. Or a flatdeck company. You tip them well and tell them to get on their way very quickly you have a friend in need. After Larry has been taken care of. You relax, shower for your date and take the woman out.
JT YOU NEVER CANCEL A DATE. THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL OF US

Larry. You get JT's girls phone number. Call her tell her how much of a good guy JT is and make sure you pay for their next date after you secure it.......

just my 2 cents

 

Mark,

I don't think I can call all of Jason's lady friends to tell them what a swell guy he is. I'd be on the phone for more than a month.

I will be paying for his next date as well as reimbursing him for his expenses.

To clarify the situation: I was at a very competent tire shop (they don't stock tires for a Porsche). I needed a tire and/or wheel to get the car on the flatbed with minimal damage. The flatbed bill was on Porsche (and it wasn't cheap). Jason had a friends winter tire/wheel in his garage so he was the logical choice to bring it over to Naches. BTW there were quite a few people involved in this "rescue" including Jason's dad, and I thank them all.

Another aspect of the situation was I didn't have enough medications for the long drawn out process Porsche was proposing to service my car. I did not want to have my car on flatbed going to who knows where and me in an aid car going to the hospital. It was shaping up to becoming a desperate situation.

I don't expect my car will be road ready until mid September. I'm hoping Queen City and Metropolitan can fit me into their schedules. Bottom line the car may TU until next spring.

Needless to say I'm very much bummed out on cars right now.

I hope none of you have to go through this sort of ordeal. It was very stressful.

 

Larry, I must have missed something, what is Queen City doing to your car? Was there more damage besides the tire that got the nail? (I am too lazy to go back and read the thread). So sorry for you having to go thru this - I hope you get your car back soon.

JT: I disagree with Mark - your family and friends always come first. However, you could have brought your date with you - kindof an adventurous 1st date meeting Larry in this condition

 

larry,
i thought i saw your car go down I405 Northbound today about 11:30 am around renton'ish area??? i guess not. there must be another twin! are you a triplet??

 

Ichiro, Jason and I are the only ones I'm sure of, but I'm sure there are a few more around. You didn't see me. My car is at Barrier waiting on a set of tires being flown in from Germany.