Run Flat Tires

[Larry Nakamura]

Has anyone put run flat tires on their Boxster?

If so, did you add remote air pressure gauges too?

Just curious as I had a flat on one of my rear tires

recently and couldn't feel it. I was driving on surface

streets at the time (30mph or less). A guy next to me

at a light told me I had a flat. Glad I wasn't on the

freeway. Anyway, I must have driven on it a few

blocks like that cause I had some side wall damage

and will need to replace the tire. (Glad I have a 01S

with a real spare tire). Anyway, If I had known in

time, I could have stopped before I damaged the

tire.

I have 18 iinch wheels and checked Tire Rack, but

none were listed for our size.

[WARDHOG]

Has anyone put run flat tires on their Boxster?

If so, did you add remote air pressure gauges too?

   Just curious as I had a flat on one of my rear tires

recently and couldn't feel it. I was driving on surface

streets at the time (30mph or less). A guy next to me

at a light told me I had a flat. Glad I wasn't on the

freeway. Anyway, I must have driven on it a few

blocks like that cause I had some side wall damage

and will need to replace the tire. (Glad I have a 01S

with a real spare tire). Anyway, If I had known in

time, I could have stopped before I damaged the

tire.

   I have 18 iinch wheels and checked Tire Rack, but

none were listed for our size.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So to hear about your dilemma but, that's part of owning any car. Now as far as all of what you mentioned about run flats and tire pressure monitors, I would not get either. Porsche does not recommend either and the T/P monitor system can be more of a headache than what it's worth. Talking about false readings and actual sensor malfunction such as the the monitors breaking loose inside the tires and that means problems. Run flats would be nice if Porsche would say they're acceptable and not alter the handling characteristics of the car. Just my two cents worth. <_<

Edited July 10, 2005 by WARDHOG

[DANNOV]

Porsche may not recommend runflats but I would not be very comfortable if I owned a new 987, and instead of a emergency spare tire, I got a can of fix-a-flat and an air compressor. I have a 2003 Boxster S so at least I have an emergency spare.

I happen to also own a new Corvette C6 with runflats. It is my wife's car and there is a certain element of comfort knowing that she is not likely to be stranded somewhere with a flat.

But, a lot of Corvette owners do not like the runflats and many are switching over to standard Michelin PS2's or to Yoko's. The Corvette runflats are hard riding and most people feel that their road holding leaves much to be desired. I would say that the only Corvette owners who like runflats are those value the convenience, very few if any think much of the tires for their handling qualities.

In fact, it seems that Goodyear has made a special runflat for the Z51 Corvette (that is the performance version) that is so soft, that owners are only getting about 8000 miles on a set of tires. Lot of unhappy Corvette owners. These are the Goodyear F1 Super Car tires and they do improve the handling of the C6 quite a bit. But you get the good with the bad, to improve the handling of this particular runflat, Goodyear has to make a very soft tire that wears out very quickly. Many Z51 owners just wear out the soft tires ASAP and then switch over to conventional Michelins, they also carry a jack and a patch kit for emergencies.

I would not put runflats on a Porsche.

[deliriousga]

I think with the run flats, the rubber would be too hard. The Boxster (and any sports car) likes softer, stickier, better handling tires. I would imagine the speed rating would be much lower than a regular tire too due to the harder rubber.

As far as why you didn't feel it, you have 18" wheels. With those wheels the profile on the tire is so low that it's not a big difference in the height of the tire when it goes flat. A great reason to check your pressure every time you get gas, especially in front where the pressure is much lower. It's not like a Jeep where the tire goes flat and the car is tilting at 20 degrees. :lol:

Sorry to hear about your trouble and hope you're good to go soon.

[Larry Nakamura]

I was thinking more of feeling the mushiness of having a flat rather then the car tilting. The incident just made me start to think of a solution to having a flat and thus the initial question.

An answer could be to just use remote sensors with normal tires. Anyway, I have a new tire on the car now and will need to get road hazard next set of tires. Oh, by the way, I do check the tires all the time. Again, happy I had a real spare tire to hobble home on.

[DANNOV]

I was thinking more of feeling the mushiness of having a flat rather then the car tilting. The incident just made me start to think of a solution to having a flat and thus the initial question. 

An answer could be to just use remote sensors with normal tires. Anyway, I have a new tire on the car now and will need to get road hazard next set of tires. Oh, by the way, I do check the tires all the time. Again, happy I had a real spare tire to hobble home on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just for your info, TireRack has a remote tire pressure sensor system for about $229. Look at their site at: www.tirerack.com When you go to a new set of tires you could get this installed with little problem. I understand it works OK, it flashes an alarm when the tire is below 22 lbs pressure. There is a small warning device that gets the signal from the sensors, and it goes in the cockpit where it can be hardwired into your car electrical system.

My Corvette C6 has remote pressure sensors that give me an actual pressure readout for each tire. It is a nice system. When I go to new tires on my Boxster I may have TireRack install the remote pressure sensor.