Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Does anyone actually carry a spare tyre (official Porsche spacesaver) around?

I have the tyre but no compressor, so i guess its useless. Was thinking about leaving it at home and replacing with a can of tyre weld and perhaps my cd changer?

Any tales of woe to discourage me if you please

Yes I carry a 16" spare for mine & a compressor. If you were to have a puncture without a compressor on board then at least AA/RAC?Green Flag etc. could either inflate it with their own compressor or run it to somewhere with an airline (garage etc.) Tyre weld won't help if the tyre is trashed & lots are now when they go flat unless you stop straight away.

I also carry a 16" space saver and the original compressor much easier than using tyre gel as you will also need an air supply or canister to inflate it after using the gel depending on how big the leak was. My Wife's Honda only has a can of foam and no spare and the only time we needed it it did not work and we had to call out the RAC to get the car home and then take the wheel for a repair.

My wifes 2 convertables came with a can of tyre weld and no spare, she was told that if she had a puncture and used the tyre weld then the tyre was unrepairable after it. The alloy wheel takes a bit of cleaning also. Never used it, so I can't say if this is true or not.

Lee.

i dont keep mine in the car, took it out 4 extra space once and never put it bak, was thinking of getting some spray fix in cas, but its the risk you take, if i went somewere far i would also take the spear wheel. you could alway put ur cd changer in the right side wheel well.

Still have the 16" space saver on board but 18 " wheels, hope the overall diameter is still roughly the same if I have to use it Bought a compressor in Tesco for £25 quid fits the tyres on all my cars even the recessed valves on the split rims Question though, is the space saver recollapseable (if thats a real word) after it's been used or do you need to get a replacement?

Andy

My concern with the spacesaver is just how old is it and will it actually stand being blown up?
I have an OEM compressor and it works although the gauge seems a little optimistic.
If I could get the spare on and it stayed inflated I would be taking it very easy.

I think that tyres can be fixed after tyreweld but it odes make a mess - no spare in the Caterham and I wonder how old the weld is too?

I had same concerns David and I asked my tyre fitter about a 20 year tyre being still useable. He said it was fine as the rubber on a space saver is very soft and doesn't perish like a normal road tyre does.

My wife's '07 model MX5 has a bottle of gunge and a compressor instead of a spare tyre. Shortly after getting the car she got a flat when a nail went in the tyre. I followed the instructions, removed the nail and the valve, put the gunge in, replaced the valve and blew the tyre up with the compressor. 'They' say that you should then get the tyre replaced, but we had the tyre on for another 30000 miles without any problems.

There is now a bottle of tyreweld in the boot just in case...

If you haven't got a Porsche compressor and you see a MX5 in the scrap yard, look in the boot - the compressor is in a very smart little black bag and you should be able to buy it cheap.

If you us tyre sealants, then its a pig to change tyres and to claen the crap off the rim.

Yes you can deflate spacesavers, but its not easy, OPCs can do this

The original wheel/tyre is very old, not too sure that I would feel safe using it. So I bought a 968 alloy spare and spacesaver for my 3.2

David, the guage on the genuine tyre inflator starts at 14.7 PSI which is atmospheric pressure!!
Alasdair

Al, I didn't look that closely it was just that the gauge read 36psi but the tyre only reached 39 on my manual gauge. As long as it around there!

Personnally I wouldnt trust any bit of 20 year old rubber no matter what anybody says, its just not worth finding out the hard way. Also these german space savers are not legal on our roads as they dont carry the required tread. I find the space saver a bit of dead weight in the rear of the car and I dont have a compressor either so I've taken it out. I pay a nice premium for road side breakdown assistance, as most of us do I imagine, and so would probably call them in the event of a flat, I also carry tyre weld for emergencies just in case. If the tyre is ruined I guess I'll have to live with replacing it...

Edd

My Spare is the original from 1991 and I inflated it when I got the car around 2 1/2 years ago and it went up fine with no cracks or signs of wear and never having been used looked brand new, it also spends all its life in the boot with no sunlight, salt or water to degrade it so I would hope it is OK. As I said it held pressure for over an hour and then deflated in about 5 minutes back to its folded shape.

Hi,

Mine is more a tale of stupidity really. I have and do carry around the spare space saver wheel. The compressor was missing but I had a fairly decent one from my last car.

Anyway, I was checking all the tyres one day and thought I should check the spare. Well it was flat. So out came the tyre from the wheel well and I filled the tyre up to 60 psi. I discovered it was flat for a reason when I couldn't get the spare back into the boot!

Tyre was promptly deflated again and put back into the boot. Someone mentioned about the space saver not being legal for UK roads. I would think that it should suffice to get you home in an emergency. I'm sure any understanding traffic cop would accept that explanation. Tyres will always let you down (pardon the pun) when you least expect it. I'd take the spare any day of the week.

Ben