Hello all, I recently bought a 1990 964 with 171k. The car is in great shape, my only concern is the way the car handles is loose and wanders. the higher the speed the worse it gets. It feels like I'm constantly correcting to go in a straight line. passing on a two lane will cause the car to dart really bad. I just took it in to check the alignment and the shop said the camber was WAY out of adjustment, and they saw no way to adjust it, so they only corrected toe and caster (I live 500 miles from the nearest Porsche shop...). The shop thought the rear bushings may be worn out. My front tires are both worn on the inside edges, the rear tires are new so I can't see anything on them. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

I see this is your first post, so as you know, pictures are mandatory
Alignment, alignment, alignment by a shop that knows Porsches. Camber caster and toe is adjustable front and rear.

 

I have a similar issue, but not near as bad. My car wandered bad when we first purchased it, my wife and I changed the tie rods, and tie rod ends, one was bent, afterwards, we had the car alligned. This made a huge difference. The shop used a Hunter machine and was able to get the car back into allignment, it was way out! However we are at the limit of adjustment for the rear camber. I'm thinking this winter to upgrade the suspention, and "while I'm in there" I'll look into rear wheel bearings, and bushings.

BTW, where are you in Montana?

 

JMHO, but I think more detailed information is needed here:

1) Precisely, what are your current alignment specs?

2) How old are the tires?

3) Has anything been replaced in the suspension such as bushings and shocks?

 

what are you wishbone bushes like?

Is it due to stiff suspension and poor roads?

 

You didn't mention the service history, but the 171K jumps out at me. IF I didn't know for certain that susp. & steering wear parts had been recently replaced, I would fully expect to do so at that mileage. Alignment is an art and a science, hopefully you have a *good* alignment shop accessible to you (one with Porsche experience would be best). They can tell you what needs to be replaced. You've obviously got something going on there, by the look of the tires. Once done, they can align it to spec.

 

Thanks for the info!
The car's tires are new, rear with less than 2k miles, front with less than 4k
The tie rod middles and outers were replaced before the alignment with new ones.
Bushings all look good, no cracks bulges excessive wear.
I will admit the roads aren't great here. and the handling problems are worse going over pavement patches, etc. than going in a straight line on fresh asphalt.
This may be odd, but I notice when I have a passenger the car handles better. The heavier the passenger, the better the handling. maybe I'm crazy...
Also, how is camber adjusted on the front and on the rear?
Thanks again for all the help!

 

Likely an alignment issue due to the wear you described, but are the tires the same make/model/size or more importantly same tread pattern on the front and rear?

 

I know this might sound stupid but have you checked your tire pressure? My recently acquired C4S felt very darty and all over the place. I thought it was alignment but it ended up being tire pressure related. I'm sure thats been checked already but just thought I would mention it!

Derek

 

The tires are the same brand, correct size and tread for car.
The tires pressures are all set to recommended pressure (36 front 44 rear)

 

Do you have 16" or 17" wheels on your car? if 17" the tire pressure should be 36 lbs all around.

 

It has 16" wheels.
Can anyone tell me the camber adjustment procedure?
I'm almost convinced that is the problem, and plan to take the car back to the shop to get it adjusted, but since there are no Porsche shops here and my shop doesn't know how, I would need to know the procedure to pass that info along.
thanks again

 

The same tire wear pattern would occur with too much toe out.

 

Thank you all for your help!
time to plan a trip to the nearest Porsche dealer for a "proper" alignment...

 

Have you changed plans from providing instructions to your other guy?