Vibration
#16
You sure the "vibrations" aren't from the new suspension pieces just doing their job as oppose to the worn out components you had on there?
#17
I have a similar issue with my car:
No vibration before winter, car in great condition with new engine mounts.
Over winter fitted new MOW 030 suspension, all new control arms and bushes, ECS 8mm spacers at the front. New wheel bearings all round.
Drove the car 100 miles to settle the suspension, during that time had a vibration at around 75mph.
So last week had the car correctly aligned and all wheels balanced, the car drives better now the toe is correct, but it seems the vibration is still there. I haven’t really had a chance to drive the car much, i.e. ensure the sumi’s I have fitted run enough to get the flat spots out, which they are pretty bad for.
The spacers seemed good quality with tight fitting centering rings, next I will take them off to see if it makes any difference, after that it’s back to the shop that did the alignment & balance!
No vibration before winter, car in great condition with new engine mounts.
Over winter fitted new MOW 030 suspension, all new control arms and bushes, ECS 8mm spacers at the front. New wheel bearings all round.
Drove the car 100 miles to settle the suspension, during that time had a vibration at around 75mph.
So last week had the car correctly aligned and all wheels balanced, the car drives better now the toe is correct, but it seems the vibration is still there. I haven’t really had a chance to drive the car much, i.e. ensure the sumi’s I have fitted run enough to get the flat spots out, which they are pretty bad for.
The spacers seemed good quality with tight fitting centering rings, next I will take them off to see if it makes any difference, after that it’s back to the shop that did the alignment & balance!
#18
Thanks ECS for the reply, I torque me wheels exactly as you suggest, but I will have a play around this weekend to try and understand what the problem is, and hopefully find a resolution
#19
You must be sure of the quality of the balance. Were the tires load force balanced? Did the tech check each tire/wheel for any excessive run out? Where the wheels mount is important too. A piece of dirt, a ding, anything that prevents the wheel from bolting on flat to the hub can cause a problem even if the wheel/tire are balanced perfectly. Also, when the wheels are put on the tech should check there is no free play that the wheel and hub fit with no slop. Otherwise, the wheel can be off of center in relationship to the hub. I recall at least one case of winter wheels this was a problem. But aftermarket summer wheels, even Porsche wheels need to be checked for this possibility. You do not want to overlook anything for doing so can send you into more expensive areas and for naught. Be sure the tire pressures are ok. As I mentioned in an earlier post, overinflation I have found can cause a vague but real vibration that can have one thinking balance when it is nothing more than a few PSI of overpressure in the tires. The tech should have checked this but be sure the tires are identical, and if unidirectional mounted in the right direction. If you believe -- make that if you are sure -- that there is no balance, tire mounting, wheel mounting pressure explanation, then you have to consider alignment. Now, I remember one owner who had something going on with his Porsche and all the usual and even unusual explanations were offered and dealt with. Several times he took the car to his dealer and was assured the car's alignment was ok. Finally, in desperation he took the car to another shop and the shop found the alignment was not ok. The dealer, I'm sorry to report, was lying that is telling him it had checked (again) the alignment and found it ok. Inexcusable behavior from a Porsche dealer. Just simply inexcusable. Anyhow, at the alignment time the tech can check for other issues, like any suspension or any steering component that is bent, has a loose or damaged bushing, is showing any signs of any issues in the bushing area. He can check the engine and transmission mounts too. On a side note whenever a car has its drive shaft or axles shafts removed their current position in relationship to the mounting flanges must be marked so they can be installed with the same relationship. I mention this in case the shafts have been out of the car to replace the CV boots, or perform some other work. You must get your money's worth from the alignment. Not only must the car come off the rack properly aligned -- get before and after numbers printout! -- but it must come off the rack with the tech's stamp of approval, with the techs's assurances that nothing else is wrong. No alignment will cure a bad suspension/steering bushing.
Thank you for the follow up everyone. I will be trying to road force balance next. Maybe an alignment? and then take it from there...
#20
So I think I have resolved my issue, it seems to be linked to the spacers and my non OEM wheels.
Took the spacers off and my vibration disappeared.
There was a small amount of play between the spacers/wheel & hub.
I cleaned the hubs and spacers up and refitted them to the hub ensuring there were centralized by using a dial gauge. After doing this and very carefully torqueing the wheels in a start pattern with no load on the tires I seem to have all but eliminated the vibration.
There is still a little play between the spacer and the hub, I’m going to use some Kapton tape on the spacer to eliminate the play, also when I torque the wheels up they should be perfectly centric.
Glad that I found a fix as I really like the look the spacers gave.
Also a big thanks to ECS, they contacted me as soon as I said I had an issue, and offered a refund and replacement. Absolutely perfect customer service from their side. I’m not so sure new spacers would have fixed my issue, so I was happy to keep them and work around it.
Took the spacers off and my vibration disappeared.
There was a small amount of play between the spacers/wheel & hub.
I cleaned the hubs and spacers up and refitted them to the hub ensuring there were centralized by using a dial gauge. After doing this and very carefully torqueing the wheels in a start pattern with no load on the tires I seem to have all but eliminated the vibration.
There is still a little play between the spacer and the hub, I’m going to use some Kapton tape on the spacer to eliminate the play, also when I torque the wheels up they should be perfectly centric.
Glad that I found a fix as I really like the look the spacers gave.
Also a big thanks to ECS, they contacted me as soon as I said I had an issue, and offered a refund and replacement. Absolutely perfect customer service from their side. I’m not so sure new spacers would have fixed my issue, so I was happy to keep them and work around it.