Actually, I would settle for a recommended alignment shop anywhere within two hours' drive. That includes Augusta, GA and Columbia, SC. If nothing that close, then I would consider Charleston, Atlanta, Greenville, or Charlotte. I'm looking for a shop someone has actually used with good results. I had mine done at a dealer and it's just not right. This car was in an accident in '96, so the alignment will be something of a challenge.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give,

 

Lee,

I live in Lugoff, SC... just 15 miles east of Columbia, and I take my car to Eurowerks in Charlotte. I forget Jim's last name, but the guy who runs Eurowerks is a former factory mechanic who struck out on his own several years ago and comes highly recommended. He doesn't have alignment equipment in his shop, but has access to it nearby and performed the alignment himself. I had my C2S aligned to RS specs about two years ago and have been very happy with it!

I know Charlotte is a long way away from Aiken, but if no one else has a recommendation, I would not hesitate to recommend Eurowerks.

No affiliation... yada... yada...

 

Gordon at Autometrics in Charleston is VERY good, too.................

 

I can't offer much and I know you asked for one's people have actually used, but I know there is a reputable porsche mechanic in Lexington, SC just up I-20 from you - Doc's Garage. I have never used him, but I thought I might mention him to see if anyone who has would chime in. FWIW, I drove by one day when they were closed and he had some beauties in the lot.

His shop is on 356 Porsche Drive.

http://listings.allpages.com/sc-0100...lexington.html

 

Doc's is excellent. Unfortunately, they do not do alignments. In fact, Les at Doc's is the one who recommended that I take it somewhere and get it aligned. I have only good things to say about Doc's and recommend them without hesitation to anyone!

I'll talk with Eurometrics and Autowerks. I'm surprised no one has recommended Ellis Porsche or Hendrick Porsche.

Regards,

 

I would also second that autometrics does top notch alignment and other work.

 

Why would it being in an accident cause issues? Are the suspension pieces bent? Frame damage? If the car was repaired correctly alignment shouldn't be a challenge (any more so than a "normal" 993)

 

These guys are the best in the state, lots of track setup experience, esp with 993's, one of the big reasons I was sad to move from charleston.

I think I met you once, sent you a copy of the 993 manuals on cd too, I think, isn't yours like the first US 993 targa ever? or something like that comesw to mind,

cheers,

Jason

 

Yes, I think we've met, too. You did send me manuals on CD and they have been extremely helpful. I have also given some copies of them to friends.

My former targa, which was a tip with only 16K miles, was shown by the redbook to have the earliest US serial number. I sold it and purchased a worn 6-speed 1996 targa that needed a lot of work. It's about done - most of the problems were fixed by replacing all of the top seals and some of the mechanism. Remaining problems are alignment (wheels and headlights), A/C and cruise control.

Greg - I assumed the wreck would be the reason for the steering wandering. No one ever told me that with this car, but I had been told before that on a unibody car it may be impossible to get a correct alignment following a wreck. I really can't see any evidence of repaired wreck damage but it's on the papers. No one tried to hide it. I don't know the extent of damage, though. It was wrecked on the test drive with only 20 miles on the clock. Seller told me the former owner rear-ended a mail truck.

I will take it to Euro at the South Carolina BMW plant this weekend, in case anyone's going to be there from the list.

 

My former race car had unibody damage and we didn't have any issue with alignment on it. I would guess a poor alignment is the issue or you have some worn out bushings, tierods, etc in the suspension that need to be addressed.

What are the toe settings? Usually a car that wanders doesn't have enough toe in. If that is all that is wrong it shouldn't require a "specialist" to correct.

 

If you want to go that far, Gran Turismo East in Atlanta. Highly recommended by lots of other Porsche and other performance owners. I just got new tires, balance and alignment last week, the most recent of many there.

 

I talked with Gordon at Autometrics today. He asked for a description of the tires then told me they were most likely the culprit. I was thinking the alignment I got at the dealer was faulty, but he says that's probably not the case. Pretty classy for a mechanic to turn down work because he thinks it is unnecessary. I thought the tires were probably OK, but it appears the car is more sensitive to tire irregularities than I expected.

I'll replace the tires and then pursue the alignment if the problem persists. Thanks for all your help.