Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

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FRUNKenstein
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Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

Post by FRUNKenstein » Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:21 pm

The middle son, who drives the Lapis Blue '06 Cayenne S, was supposed to come home from college today. He calls to tell me that someone slashed his right front tire while it was parked in his fraternity parking lot. The car next to him had its window shattered. Not sure which is worse, but damn, that sucks.

He's replaced brakes on the car, so he knows how to change over to the spare. Problem is that it's got one of those collapsible spare tires. I've never used one, so I was the blind leading the blind over the phone. And I didn't want him driving 120 miles home on it. Bottom line, I told him to pull the wheel off the car and get a buddy to drive him to a tire shop to have a new tire mounted on the wheel. Then, take the wheel back to the car and just skip the spare tire altogether. That's what he did.

But, I thinks to myself "Self, what if you get stuck out where you must use the collapsible spare - shouldn't you know how to use it?" I went looking for instructions, and found very little on the forums. I did find out that not all 955 generation Cayennes even have a spare. You have 3 options for filling the spare tire space in a Cayenne, but you only get to choose 2 of the 3: collapsible spare tire, spare battery, subwoofer. So, you can have a subwoofer packed over a spare battery, or a spare tire over a spare battery or a spare tire and a subwoofer. If you bypass the collapsible spare, they give you a can of fix-a-flat.

As for the collapsible spare tire, you must air it up before putting it on the vehicle. Here's a video of what it looks like to air one up:



I watched a couple of other videos of inflating collapsible spares, and word to the wise, watch where your fingers are when that spare spreads out to the rim of the wheel. The way some of them pop out, it would probably leave a mark.

Several people asked if Porsche provides a compressor in the cargo area. As you can see from the above video, it looks like there's a built-in compressor somewhere on the car. A little more digging revealed that there is a bag in the spare tire well with a air line that you plug in below the front passenger seat. Apparently you can use the onboard compressor to air up all kinds of things in addition to the spare tire. I assume all Cayennes have the onboard compressor, even those without a collapsible spare. For your convenience, I found a Youtube video on how to use the onboard compressor and how/where to plug it in below the passenger seat. Here's a link:

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Current:
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1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
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gnat
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Re: Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

Post by gnat » Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:01 pm

You never tried the DIY spare in your C4 or TT? Same thing. I inflate ours every couple of years just to make sure they still look safe to use (e.g. hold air and no dry rot).

The 957 and 958 have similar options (DIY or can of goop).

In the Cayennes, if you have air suspension you use that compressor to inflate the flat (what they are doing in the video). If you have the normal suspension you get a portable compressor just like the AWD 996s.

As far as fingers, yeah. Hook it up and step away until it's done.

Regarding distance, I believe it is only rated for 50 miles and at least on the 996 it is not fun to drive in. Basically enough to get safe.

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FRUNKenstein
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Re: Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

Post by FRUNKenstein » Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:18 pm

My 996TT came with aftermarket amps and speaker crossovers where the spare would normally reside. So, no spare there. Never needed it on the C4. I do remember using it on the 964 once, but I believe it wouldn't inflate and driving just a little ways trashed it (had to).

Hmm, our silver Cayenne had the air suspension, but the blue one doesn't. I'll have to check when he gets home and see if there's a compressor in the cargo area. Seems like the small amount of space you save with a collapsible spare would be eaten up by having to pack a compressor in there also.
www.kansascityautomuseum.com
Current:
2002 996TT X50, Guards Red
1987 928S4, Guards Red
1987 951, Guards Red
1973 914 2.0 Bahia Red

2006 955S, Lapis Blue
Other toys:
1988 BMW 325i Cabriolet, Alpin Weiss
1987 Bertone X1/9, Verde Chiaro
Gone but not forgotten: 1975 914 2.0, Laguna Blue; 1999 996 C4 Aerokit Black; 1990 964 C2 Guards Red; 2006 955S Arctic Silver

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32wildbilly
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Re: Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

Post by 32wildbilly » Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:10 pm

gnat wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:01 pm You never tried the DIY spare in your C4 or TT? Same thing. I inflate ours every couple of years just to make sure they still look safe to use (e.g. hold air and no dry rot).

The 957 and 958 have similar options (DIY or can of goop).

In the Cayennes, if you have air suspension you use that compressor to inflate the flat (what they are doing in the video). If you have the normal suspension you get a portable compressor just like the AWD 996s.

As far as fingers, yeah. Hook it up and step away until it's done.

Regarding distance, I believe it is only rated for 50 miles and at least on the 996 it is not fun to drive in. Basically enough to get safe.
Never had to inflate a space saver spare, but changed numerous tires on wheels while racing karts and sprint cars. gnat is right use a latching hose end and walk away till the beads seat. The 18" rears would pop off the ground when the rear bead would seat.
Never gonna make you cry...

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Re: Onboard Compressor & Collapsible Spare Lessons Learned

Post by gnat » Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:19 pm

FRUNKenstein wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:18 pm My 996TT came with aftermarket amps and speaker crossovers where the spare would normally reside. So, no spare there. Never needed it on the C4. I do remember using it on the 964 once, but I believe it wouldn't inflate and driving just a little ways trashed it (had to).

Hmm, our silver Cayenne had the air suspension, but the blue one doesn't. I'll have to check when he gets home and see if there's a compressor in the cargo area. Seems like the small amount of space you save with a collapsible spare would be eaten up by having to pack a compressor in there also.
At least in the 958 the compressor is stored with the tools next to the wheel (maybe different for non-diesels?). That takes more space that direction than a real spare, but it will take less space front to back.

Having the compressor (while slow) is also handy at the track or AutoX to adjust your tire pressures.

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