sorry - really

I spent last nigh trying to give a guy some pointers on buying a car and today others "helped" and he posted this

"Thanks guys. I'll just get my money back. F*** it... I'll buy a house with that money and get a Hyundai next to my VW GTI. With you guys,you can't buy anything... DME...PPI...IMS...RMS...BLABLABLA...you totally changed my buying mood. "

kinda put me in a bad mood, I thought he had a brain and wanted to learn... shame on me

 

@ivangene, I just decided to get with the tires as I lost faith in the local shops. So I'll switch tires, then next step I'll go to RUF in Dallas. I don't think anybody around here can handle this sort of troubleshooting.

About the brakepad, I'll try to make a video of the wheel spin and the sounds it makes. the sound is relatively linear so I don't think it would indude steering shaking but again...who knows..

I'm off to take some pics of the tire thread and wheels.

 

here are the pics and a little video of the wheel spin on jack stand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkJxjeeaIow

 

Brake sound is OK. No worries there.

As you probably know, vibrating steering wheel is virtually always a balancing issue. I can knock my wheels out of balance on the track quite easily - the tires spin on the rims. Try using some chalk or a white mark of some kind to mark the location of the valve stem on the tire. Then drive around and see if the tire is in the same spot. If your tires are spinning on the rims, you can use some aquanet next time they are mounted.

Also, some things you can try before you drive 6 hours:
try switching sides l/r on the front.
swap the lugs front/back - and if you have locking lug on the front, move them to the back so you have 5 identical lugs in the front.
take the wheel off and clean the carrier. Sometimes there is gunk that builds up between the wheel and the mounting spot.
Search really hard for a set of wheels you can borrow. I think you might even get away with some VW wheels.

Can you take a wheel off the front and take a picture of the carrier?

WOW - the PORSCHE lettering on your brakes is so nice and white! Get you some brown in them.

-td

 

argh I wished I had red caliper always wanted some of those, but I'll wait for my next 911

Good idea to mark the tire for spinning. I know that when they balanced the tires they had to make them move on the wheel and they added tons of 'oil/grease' on the rim to make it easier... I never thought the tire could move once on the wheel under pressure.

I'll also try to swap left and right tomorrow and at same time, I'll take shots of the carriers. I wanted to check the inside of the wheels anyways.

I need to buy some Champagne for the day I find what is going wrong !

Phil.

 

The lettering turns brown when the calipers get really, really hot.



-td

 

Agreed - nothing to do with the brakes. I thought you were having trouble turning the wheel by hand, like actually having to horse the thing around using all your strength (duh).

Keep us posted of course.

 

is that a sticker that indicate the heat on the caliper ? pretty cool.

I am glad to know my car wasn't tracked too much then

Nice little thing to know when you purchase a car... not that there is anything wrong with tracking the car... but good to know.

 

scratching my head. (thanks for pics and vid)

you have new tires coming, if that doesnt do it... the rims are out of round. if tire rack suggested the installer they might know how to check them, ask when/before installing to save having to take the tires off for the straightening

sucks that its such a long drive to the shop...is there a local chaper of PCA that might have ideas where to go - try 6speedonline as well??

 

Should be righted going to Ruf. I think a shop has to have a guy that has raced and experience a 996 and 997 to really know the water cooled. I know some tires end up making more noise when wearing more and I imagine some will tend to do the vibration.

What ruf is probably going to do is listen to your story of hisory of problem then disreguard since the others evidently weren't on the ball and take off on their path of diagnosing. Don't feel like they aren't listening to you. Just feel like you aren't running the hot set-up they can supply yet. Could even be suspension as far as I'm concerned and ruf should be an ace at that.

 

There is NO Rennlister in TX that will offer to lend you some STOCK wheels to test the issue before you buy new tires? I just noticed your rims are not OEM.

 

Lubbock is a LONG way from just about anywhere in Texas. Pretty sure those are BBS wheels btw.

 

the wheels seems to be OEM, I have the car window sticker and it says Turbo look II wheels.

About the shop, I am afraid the PCA people told me that when they have problem they have to drive to Dallas to a dealer or RUf.

The thing is roads are so bad here, I should be able to live with the shaky steering wheel but my OCD is taking over

 

LOL @ OCD !

and those are not OEM wheels

 

+1 on that. Pretty sure they are not OEM. The Turbo Look II wheels were I believe Turbo Twists.

I thought they were BBS, but I can't find a BBS that looks exactly like that. Could also be Champions, although they currently don't make a wheel that looks like that either.