Does anyone know the trick to "re-collapsing" these 928 spare tires? I used mine, and it worked fine, but now I don't know how to get it back into a condition where it will fit back in the spare tire well in the car. Help!

Has anyone done this, or they essentially "single-use"/disposable items?

Thanks.

Eric Buckley

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Eric,

Not single use at all but you might need to throw it in the boot till you get home.

Techniques I have heard are pull the stem valve and use vacuum and/or strap clamps while pressing the stem. Never had to do it myself. Course now that I have said that!!!

Jay K.

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Eric,

I used my '83's spare for the first time and it just collapsed after letting the air out. I took out the air valve so it vented quickly.

Rich

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The spare on my Euro GTS has 2 valves. According to the Driver's Manual the second one is a "blow-off valve" to prevent over inflation. On my car the spare is inflated to 36psi. I too have used the spare and it is very difficult to get it back down to its original (collapsed) size. I removed the inflation valve, put a series of wooden rollers and a large compression strap around it, brought it into the house to let it warm up a bit, and left it for about a week - tightening the strap daily. It still did not go back to its original size but could just be pushed/squeezed/forced back into the spare wheel compartment.

A point of info: the spare on the GTS is a 16 inch 5.5J wheel.

George.
1995 GTS Auto

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To any who may be interested, now or later. I succeeded a few nights ago in getting my spare tire back in the car. There had been two basic approaches suggested by helpful list members. One involved using a vacuum pump, which I suspect most of us do not have. The other approach involved the use of a tie-down strap, with a ratcheting pawl. The idea is to wrap the strap around the tire and then reef it down to shrink the tire back to original size. I had initially not been successful with the tie-down approach. Eventually I figured out that the bead of the tire had shifted during my initial deflation, and the outermost bead had shifted in towards the centre of the rim, by about 1.5 to 2 inches. This was  preventing this side from collapsing properly. My initial deflation had been done with the tire and  wheel lying on the ground with the outer side of the wheel facing up. I re-inflated the tire, and allowed it to deflate while mounted on the car, but with the car jacked up and no weight on the tire. The beads both stayed against the rim of the wheel this time. I was then successful with the strap. It might have been nice to have had 2 straps, one for each edge of the tire, but I was able to get it down by alternating edges. Of course you have to keep removing the valve stem as you tighten the strap, and reinsert it prior to releasing the strap. With this technique I was able to get the tire back in the car. It is a somewhat snug fit in the spare tire recess now, but not really tight.

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks again to all who offered their suggestions.

Eric Buckley
83S 5Spd. Red