1989 944 NA Wheel Alignment
03-31-2015, 05:55 PM
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1989 944 NA Wheel Alignment
So ...
The thing I loved best about my 944 is the way it went down the road, both local and interstate. To go straight I just sat there without moving the steering wheel. It was a joy. It felt like I had my own private railroad track. I drive a lot anyway, but I found myself taking the car out every day just to experience the way it drove.
Then I had to get frisky, clipped a curb, bent a wheel and trashed the right inner tie rod. While I was having that fixed (new tie rod assembly, good used wheel) I bought 4 new tires, namely Yokohama Avid Touring S, 215/60R15 93T. I'm running the stock 15 x 7 phone dials all around.
While I was there I had it aligned. Supposedly a four wheel alignment. It wasn't - see below. Driving home I had to steer the car in order to go straight. So I bit the $319.00 bullet and took it to the nearest Porsche dealer for an alignment.
The service manager called me into the back to show me all the red lights my car had lit up on the alignment machine. They were laughing about how far out it was.
After about four hours the alignment was finished, but I was told that they had been able to get everything into the green except the right front caster. Factory tolerance is 2̊ 15' to 3̊ 00' and my right front caster is 3̊ 34'. Left caster is within tolerance at 2̊ 38'. I asked if I had done that by hitting the curb. The answer was "Yep". I was told the only way to get it back within tolerance is to slot the mount, and the service manager said "and you don't want to do that". They said I wouldn't notice the difference and it would not cause adverse tire wear.
It took them 2 hours to soak the rear adjustments loose enough to adjust, so so much for the $80.00 alleged four wheel alignment at the tire store.
On the way home from the dealer the car was much improved, but not perfect, as I still have to steer it a little bit.
Questions:
1. Will slotting my mount and getting the caster back within tolerance put my car back like it was, driving-wise?
2. I suspect that part or all of my problem may be a poor choice of new tires. Has anyone had any experience with these Yokohamas? Maybe just a better tire might fix the problem???
3. There are now very few decent tire choices left for the 15 x 7 wheels, so I'm looking for a good set of 16s or 17s, for which there are many more tire choices. (My son, who is restoring a 951, is cheerleading for 18s, but I think the bigger the wheel the less the pothole tolerance, so I'm resisting that advice.) It seems logical to me that the bigger the wheel the less the sidewall flex. If that is true it may be that a simple change to larger wheels and a better tire may get my car back to driving the way it did before I messed it up. Does that make sense?
This is a daily driver, non-tracked car.
TIA for any advice.
The thing I loved best about my 944 is the way it went down the road, both local and interstate. To go straight I just sat there without moving the steering wheel. It was a joy. It felt like I had my own private railroad track. I drive a lot anyway, but I found myself taking the car out every day just to experience the way it drove.
Then I had to get frisky, clipped a curb, bent a wheel and trashed the right inner tie rod. While I was having that fixed (new tie rod assembly, good used wheel) I bought 4 new tires, namely Yokohama Avid Touring S, 215/60R15 93T. I'm running the stock 15 x 7 phone dials all around.
While I was there I had it aligned. Supposedly a four wheel alignment. It wasn't - see below. Driving home I had to steer the car in order to go straight. So I bit the $319.00 bullet and took it to the nearest Porsche dealer for an alignment.
The service manager called me into the back to show me all the red lights my car had lit up on the alignment machine. They were laughing about how far out it was.
After about four hours the alignment was finished, but I was told that they had been able to get everything into the green except the right front caster. Factory tolerance is 2̊ 15' to 3̊ 00' and my right front caster is 3̊ 34'. Left caster is within tolerance at 2̊ 38'. I asked if I had done that by hitting the curb. The answer was "Yep". I was told the only way to get it back within tolerance is to slot the mount, and the service manager said "and you don't want to do that". They said I wouldn't notice the difference and it would not cause adverse tire wear.
It took them 2 hours to soak the rear adjustments loose enough to adjust, so so much for the $80.00 alleged four wheel alignment at the tire store.
On the way home from the dealer the car was much improved, but not perfect, as I still have to steer it a little bit.
Questions:
1. Will slotting my mount and getting the caster back within tolerance put my car back like it was, driving-wise?
2. I suspect that part or all of my problem may be a poor choice of new tires. Has anyone had any experience with these Yokohamas? Maybe just a better tire might fix the problem???
3. There are now very few decent tire choices left for the 15 x 7 wheels, so I'm looking for a good set of 16s or 17s, for which there are many more tire choices. (My son, who is restoring a 951, is cheerleading for 18s, but I think the bigger the wheel the less the pothole tolerance, so I'm resisting that advice.) It seems logical to me that the bigger the wheel the less the sidewall flex. If that is true it may be that a simple change to larger wheels and a better tire may get my car back to driving the way it did before I messed it up. Does that make sense?
This is a daily driver, non-tracked car.
TIA for any advice.
03-31-2015, 11:02 PM
#2
I think you need to find a GOOD alignment shop that can tell you WHY the caster is out. Your choice of tires are fine. Sometimes a bad tire can cause the car to pull. Try rotating the tires.
04-01-2015, 12:29 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
Sam, you can easily do as Marc suggested...swap the two front wheels/tires and see if the cars pulls less or pulls to the opposite direction.
Do you know if the dealership put ballast in the driver's seat when they aligned your car? While putting a 200# driver in the seat will change left-side camber, I don't suspect toe would be affected much, if at all. Just a consideration.
04-04-2015, 02:04 AM
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I have to go to DC soon. I live on the Alabama Gulf Coast. i can go through Birmingham, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Charlotte and/or Raleigh/Durham. Any great 944 alignment shops in or near any of those cities, DC or Northern Virginia?