mferris

This is my first (real) sports car and Porsche so I’m not convinced if this is me just not being used to highly sensitive performance cars.

I loved the car for the first 1500 miles and was getting used to it when I sadly hit a pothole in my 992S with SPASM and RWS and PDDC and 20/21” Continentals which blew a front right tire (yay) and I immediately stopped to avoid damage to the wheel. It was a jarring shock which ruined my night but I had it towed to the dealer for a new tire and an alignment (which requires an extra $400 calibration of the LKA cameras every time apparently).

However after an extra 1500 miles I now feel 75% of the time as though I have to correct the wheel to the left at any speed. On the highway typically within 50 ft of releasing the wheel the car is drifting out of the lane to the right and I swear it feels harder to turn left than right at low speeds (but that might be my perception). On the highway I usually drive in the right lane and yes there is some difference when I drive in the left lane when at times I can release the wheel and it will stay straight. But for most driving even at 45mph on 2 or even single lane roads the car is drifting off within 50 feet. Most roads in NC don’t seem terribly crowned or rutted. I don’t feel as though it is tram-lining out of ruts as it should pull left or right out of them.

All tires are at proper pressure and I’ve tried both comfort and higher pressures. I took it back for an alignment check and everything is in spec (although either the left front and right rear or vice versa are at the edge of one spec - don’t recall but my SA claims it’s fine). Dealer claims no damage from the pothole and of course at times I feel as though it drives perfectly.

I do recall at low speeds and tight parking lot turns that before the pothole I felt the Ackerman tire popping but that seems much more subdued now and I only presume that is due to tire wear or is that alignment? I even turned off the Lane Keep Assist to see if it was the electronics fighting me.

The car and experience was so new to me that I don’t recall how it drove prior to the pothole. To top this all off I’ve had a painful pulled left shoulder for most of the post pothole experience which which further erodes my confidence in understanding whether this is machine or my perception.

A primary reason I got the 911 was for the steering precision and this either real or imagined experience is killing me. Next step if I can find is to take it to the well known local Porsche independent mechanic in Durham NC but I’ll start here for better or worse.

Welcome all opinions of my mental state as well as machine.

Richard_Wallace

Your mental state is fine.. Take it back to the dealer to get checked, it shouldn't pull hard to the right. After the incident, it may still not be right from an alignment perspective, tell the dealer and have them re-check/calibrate.

mferris

Thanks. Have already had it rechecked and spec sheet was within specs so I guess I need to go to a different shop at this point.

Metalblond

This happened to me on a previous car and they thought I was nuts-- so I understand the mental state questioning. You are fine and you are expecting your car to perform the way it should- so this isn't on you. In my case, after another re-alignment and a tire balance it was corrected. Go to another dealer if it makes you feel better, but this dealership should redo it again if you aren't happy.

Oh- one other thing. I'm not mechanical at all so I'm not sure what this meant--but they had mentioned something about the "arm" that possibly needed correcting? Maybe someone here will know?

TheStanman

Can you have a friend or family member drive and see what they think? There definitely might be something wrong, but I know from my own experience that the mind is a weird thing. Can get in your head and perceive things that aren't there.

997usa

..

rk-d

How many miles were on the tires when you busted it? Did you just replace the one? If there is a significant wear difference with the one tire compared to the others, it could cause problems.

mferris

1500 miles on original tires but this was a front one so I doubt there was much wear.

mferris

For worse (well better maybe) I can’t get any family members to drive my mid life crisis. One of the benefits of being the only car (guy) in the family I guess.

even with that the dealer has driven and claims nothing is wrong. I’ll have to beg someone else.

bboerit

I know exactly how you feel, been there/done that. For peace of mind, I'd take it to that Durham guy you mention for a second opinion.

rk-d

It shouldn't be drifting. My car is solid as a rock. My other Porsche has hydraulic steering and a lowered suspension with aggressive camber and wider offset tires. That one is highly sensitive to road conditions -- you feel EVERYTHING. The 992 is very solid in comparison and runs straight and true with very little correction needed. If your car is physically drifting when you let go on a straight road then that is not in your head.

I'd have the Durham guy really inspect for damage - tie rods, etc. in addition to doing a careful alignment.

kush70

100% this is an alignment problem, I had the exact same thing happen, I hit some unmarked construction at about 30 and...bang. Car started drifting way more than I recalled and wheels starting scraping the wells when I pulled out of the driveway. A set of new tires and an alignment later...that is all gone and the car drive as good as it can on crappy uneven Texas roads.

WCE

You're still getting used to the car - and if this is your first "sports" car, there's a lot to get used to here!
That 25% of the time the car doesn't pull pretty much means to me that you don't have an alignment problem.

mferris

Now you all are making me recall my year 2002 BMW 530i/sports suspension (sorely missed but reliability was getting low) - my BMW service dept could *never* get it aligned properly - finally took it to a independent specialist who showed me that one of the front struts had been over-compressed resulting in some shortening of the strut itself - new struts (and something magic he did with the ECU) and it was an amazing change.

I'll go through one round with an independent shop and see what happens.

ryandarr1979

What happens on the highway in the left lane? FYI, roads aren’t totally flat, they have a slight grade to them, mainly due to rain. If the car is still pulling to the right from the left lane, then yes, alignment is an issue.