I didn't mean to have you use elbow grease instead of a sealant! *NM*

Yesterday morning I went out to the Boxster, turned the key and saw the dreaded "flat tyre" message. Sure enough, a rather large nail was protruding from the right rear tire. My first thought was to try to pump it up with the air pump supplied by Porsche and see if it would hold air long enough to get me to a tire dealer. Unfortunately, the pump only worked for about 2 minutes before it stopped. ( I later figured out that the pump was OK but a fuse had blown). Then I thought I had never used the bottle of gunk supplied Porsche. I had always assumed it was one of those pressurized cans which would not only seal the tire but also provide enough air to get to a service station. I was really surprised when I pulled it out and saw it is not pressurized, that you have to remove the valve stem, pour in the stuff, replace with the new valve stem supplied, and then pump up with the air pump. With no operational air pump, that would not work.

Finally, I called 1-800-PORSCHE. Oddly, they will only take you to a Porsche dealer (which was about 25 miles from where I live) rather than a tire shop (only about 3 or 4 miles). If I wanted to go to the tire store, the price was $119.

Pretty good service after that. A flatbed arrived in about 20 minutes, the driver was polite, experienced with Porsches, and knew what he was doing in loading the car. He told me that his wrecker company had about 20-30 wreckers and contracted with most high-end makes such as Porsche, Ferrari, MB, Bentley etc. to provide road service I have to admit the service was the best I had ever received from a wrecker company. The wrecker was even clean inside!

Luckily, the dealer had a replacement Michelin PS-2 and replaced it in a little over an hour. At least I was able to get some work done on their WIFI while I waited.

I had thought that I had wasted my money when I bought a rather expensive 5 year tire and wheel warranty when I bought the car. However, this is the second rather expensive tire to be replaced - so I guess it was a good deal after all. It was nice when the dealer handed me an invoice for $0.00. I wonder if it would have been that easy to get the tire store to take the warranty??

Overall, only a morning wasted - but it did occur to me it would be a real pain if it happens when I am in the mountains of NC (where I spend most of my time) rather than in metropolitan Atlanta. When I replace these tires, I am thinking about buying a cheap wheel and mounting one of the "take-offs" on it. I can't carry it with me but at least someone could bring it to me if I happened to be in some remote place at night or over a weekend. If I do that, can anyone tell me if a front wheel and tire work on the rear, and vice versa, for a short term emergency?

... a front wheel will work on the rear as an emergency wheel.
But, why not buy a spare from a Boxster ('97-04) from a wrecker or eBay.
I know many Cayman owners that have done so and can carry it on top of the engine cover. The factory even offers an RoW option for it (not for US consumption).
For the Boxster ('05 and newer) some modifications are needed for the spare to fit in the front trunk.
The next best thing is to carry a tire plug kit. It's fairly easy to patch a tire even without removing it from the car.
Here's how: [www.pedrosgarage.com]
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I love this board. What a good, and simple, idea for the newer cars w/o spares to keep one at home. On my to do list.

as for tire repair kits, I have them in each of our cars. we have suffered at least 4 nails, bolts or other metal in our tires over the past half dozen years and the tire repair kits come in very handy. only once was the hole too large for the kit to work. the garage I take my daily driver to says that road junk causing flats has become epidemic in the past 5 years or so.

Thanks Pedro. I do keep an emergency tire repair kit - but with no air pump, it would not help. At least in metro-Atlanta, it was relatively painless and I was entitled to a new tire (under the tire & wheel policy I bought) anyway .

mike

Another option is to purchase a 'Slime Safety Spair Flat Tire Repair System' that is a complete unit with their replaceable sealant can linked to their 12 volt pump. All you do is screw it onto the valve stem and turn it on. I have one in each of my cars including SilverBox. In addition to the convenience of having the sealant inline with the pump, it quickly seals punctures up to 1/4 inch and is safe to use with the TPM system if you have it. Further, it is easy for the repair place to rinse it out of the tire when they go to do a patch if you are going that route (and it is non-flammable unlike some other tire sealants) instead of replacing the tire as recommended by Porsche. Like you I also have the extended road hazard insurance on SilverBox's tires and wheels, but if I am in the middle of no-where this will be the best solution (except of course for a total blow out). I have no affiliation with the product manufacturer- usually you can find some pretty good deals for it on the internet.

You are most welcome. It is really a great and highly convenient product. Plus it is not that big so I store it in SilverBox's front luggage area so it is at the ready just in case.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?