Rear suspension offset
05-25-2013, 10:37 PM
#1
Racer
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Rear suspension offset
The rear suspension on my car is slightly offset to the drivers side. I have read that it is not uncommon to have this condition and it manifest itself more readily with wider wheels. the question is what is the source of the offset and how to fix it. the distance of both my fenders to the outer fender lip is identical on both sides. The rear axel was transplanted from my pervious car that also had a 968 set up. Could it be that there is enough slop in the mounting points to allow an offset. It is not much but I what it fixed whatever it takes.........
TIA
Jpr
TIA
Jpr
05-28-2013, 05:08 PM
#2
I don't know if it is fixable. Many have run into this issue, and I've read the reason for the offset is driver position. No idea if you can move it over, and no idea about RHD cars either. You could ask a Porsche tech, someone who's worked at a dealer since the 968 days maybe.
Take care,
Take care,
05-28-2013, 05:50 PM
#4
There was another thread about about this recently. The issue is that the torsion tube is suspended by the carriers, which mount into sheet metal with one bolt on each side of the car. On the passenger side, the hole that the bolt goes through is round, but on the driver's side, it's oval-shaped, to make assembly easier.
Assuming your car has never had any kind of impact (even a minor one) that could change the relationship between the two mounting points on the body to each other and the other pickup points on the car, and all the bushings are in as-new condition, the distance across the car between those two bolts should place the driver's side bolt roughly in the middle of the slot.
However, there are a lot of variables there, and there's a lot of slop in the system. In practice, once the toe is set equal on both sides at the rear, there is usually a slight angle to the torsion tube. This means that the rear wheels will be offset from the centre line of the car, often as much as a few millimeters.
It is possible to use the slotted hole mentioned earlier to preload the whole assembly to counteract this, but in my experience, it isn't worth it.
Assuming your car has never had any kind of impact (even a minor one) that could change the relationship between the two mounting points on the body to each other and the other pickup points on the car, and all the bushings are in as-new condition, the distance across the car between those two bolts should place the driver's side bolt roughly in the middle of the slot.
However, there are a lot of variables there, and there's a lot of slop in the system. In practice, once the toe is set equal on both sides at the rear, there is usually a slight angle to the torsion tube. This means that the rear wheels will be offset from the centre line of the car, often as much as a few millimeters.
It is possible to use the slotted hole mentioned earlier to preload the whole assembly to counteract this, but in my experience, it isn't worth it.
05-29-2013, 09:18 AM
#5
Racer
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The difference is not large but it is noticeable to an OCD car guy. I does not make any sense that it would have anything to do with the driver position as this would have continued with all Porsche cars after the 968 and it has not. I had my rear suspension swapped out of my previous car and I bet that the guys were not careful in putting it in, it has not been something I have noticed in past with other 951/968 cars that I have owned with wide wheels also.
Jpr
Jpr