Boeing 717

Today i took my car to a shop that deals with 911's on a fairly regular basis. My steering wheel was cocked to the right about 3 degrees when i was driving straight. Anyway after putting the car on the rack all of the wheels were pretty far off so he adjusted everything (camber, toe, etc.) and we test drove it. Well the wheel is still cocked to the right when im going straight. He put it back on the rack and set everthing where it should be ( i watched and saw the numbers) but my steering wheel is still cocked to the right, do you guys have any idea whats going on??? He said my right control arm looks as if it had been bent a little in the past, but if all wheels were aligned perfectly that shouldnt matter should it?? Also i put new tires on the front as well.

jeff91C2T

Hey Jerry....it's tough to say. Did they set the wheel straight before aligning? Some folks will skip (or forget) this part as it makes for an easier alignment.

Metal Guru

So straighten the wheel yourself.
Search the 964 Forum. There's a ton of info on how to do it.
Why didn't you get a more performance-orientated alignment?

AOW162435

Take it back and have the shop straighten the wheel. It's a matter of adjusting the tie rods while keeping the new toe setting. Very normal to be off after an alignment and very normal for a shop to handle it.

I just had an alignment and returned a week later for this very issue. Four hours later and all was well - no additional charge.


Andreas

Boeing 717

Yea he did straighten the wheel and put a device on it to keep it from moving, thats why this is kinda odd. I watch him do everthing and the machine said everything was right on. I will call them tomorrow and have them try again.

Thanks guys

kimo964

+1. I would just take the wheel out myself and move it over a tread or two. Might be less hassle than taking it back. OTOH, you did pay for the service.......

Don't forget to unhook the battery(airbag) if you DYI.

hvh

I wouldn't work on the wheel myself - you paid for it. At the bottom of the report it even says 'The steering wheel was not level before alignment'. Well, very well recognized. Then do it right....

Cheers
hvh

viperbob

First I would start by getting an alignment from a shop that knows Porsches. Those are terrible numbers. WAY WAY too much toe. And no camber? That is fine, unless you like to make turns in your Porsche. Cut the front toe back to about .05-6 a side, and the rear to .11-13. In the front, bump the camber to about 1 degree negative, rear to .5 more (or less really since a negative number) than the front. Then look at the steering wheel. Your wheels are fighting so much too not go straight that anything can happen. Do this and you will also not be going through tires in a few thousand miles. You can not just plug the car into the Hunter rack and have it spit out desired numbers. You need experience to know what works better, and still safe, with these cars. I also assume you are not a track guy.

Boeing 717

No im not a track guy i just want a nice sporty ride on the street. Those are the factory numbers though Bob, at least the ones i got off the bently manual and they matched the ones in his computer?? The car just drives like ****, really squirrly at high speeds and it feels like it has rear wheel steering. I was really excited about getting this done because i thought it would be a different car but there is really no difference from when i brought it in to them and now. I freakin knew i should have made a post on here before i went in.
So front toe should be about .05-.06
Front camber -1.0
Rear toe .11-.13
rear camber -1.5

Is that correct??

viperbob

Correct Jerry. That will give you a free driving car. This should make a huge difference. You will most likely even see a slight performance inprovemnt as your tires will be rolling now instead of trying to scrape all the time... You'll find these settings will be safe, responsive, and does not eat tires. The alignment settings on these things are never by the book. Especially with the WIDE ranges. Porsche a long time ago (especially after a nasty lawsuit from a well know 930 owner which they lost) went SUPER conservative especially on the turbo alignment number so that us stupid Americans couldn't get the thing to spin if we tried.

And those toe figures are PER SIDE, or about .10-.12 Total toe front and .22-.26 total rear...

Boeing 717

Hey thanks alot Bob, i will give him those numbers when i get it back in there.

Metal Guru

Jerry, Your car has high mileage, correct?
If a more aggressive alignment doesn't do it for you, you may consider refreshing your suspension bushings and coilovers if you haven't done that already.
Also, your caster isn't even in spec. It should be 4.24 degrees, which should yield less nervous handling that 3.5 degrees.

Flachbau

Specific settings aside ... you need to have them loosen everything up and then you sit in the car and hold the steering wheel straight in your view then have them tighten everything up. That is the only way to get the steering wheel alignment set to your personal vision. Everyone's vision is a little different and what you view as off center someone else may view as straight.

Metal Guru

That's why I said he should straighten it himself.
Now that the alignment is done, only the wheel needs to be re-positioned. No need to touch the suspension to do this.

Flachbau

If you mean by moving the steering wheel on the hub that probably won't work. A one notch move on the spline is actually a rather large adjustment - and it won't produce the right result - unless you are very lucky. The proper way is to loosen up the suspension, straighten the wheel while sitting in the car and WHILE FIRMLY HOLDING THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT, tighten the suspension