Imo000

This is a technical forum. people look for accurate and relevant information. Not reading or putting him on ignore will not do a thing from stopping this kind of a long winded, jam pack posts. His replies are always drawn out, marathons with so much different scenarios that it confuses the hell out of pretty much anyone reading. When I was doing my research on engine tear down, I've noticed this and stopped reading his replies because they were useless and confusing. Now I'm a fairly good DIYer and can filter out nonsense from good suggestions but many others aren't. The only thing worst than not being able to find good info is misinformation.

Meares

THAT'S F'N funny!!!!!! LOVE it!!!!!

Gonzo911

RL is not just a technical forum. And you are just being rude.

In contrast to Macster, your advice is usually along the lines of "take it to a shop".

Thanks for that.

Nedster

I have a question in regards to alignment. Porsche dealer is replacing the rear shocks on my car as part of the pre purchase agreement. Should they check the alignment after a repair like this? Thanks.

Imo000

You are dead wrong but whatever floats your boat.

jordanturbo

I would suggest getting your alignment checked and compared with what porsche recommends. Just because tire wear is even, or feels like it handles fine does not mean the alignment is good. Alignment checks are recommended once a year for a reason, where I am from anyways because driving on ****ty roads aka pot holes bumpy roads, manhole covers, and other stuff will eventually throw out your alignment.

I check my alignment every time I change tires from summer to winter and always find that it is out slightly, more than what can be accounted for in roll out differences

Macster

23K miles. I typed 23K miles.

Macster

Ask the dealer.

If you hear "no" I would push for an alignment. Anytime suspension/steering hardware is R&R'd there's the very likely chance the alignment is upset.

If you need something else feel the tread of all 4 tires for any signs of feathering, or other surface characteristics that is a sign of tires not tracking true.

Be sure you get a before and after printout.

BTW, if the rear struts were shot this can have the rear tires cupped and they may cause vibration which can make the results of the strut replacement less than satisfactory. So feel those tires!

fpb111

Sorry little dyslexia crept in there. 23k is still impressive for rears on a turbo.

Macster

The tires have an impressive replacement cost so right from the outset of my time with my car I want to know the car is properly aligned so I can enjoy the car like I like to enjoy it and yet maximize tire life.

The best thing I have found is to ensure the alignment is correct. (Of course proper tire inflation pressure is important too.)

I can also state it is my experience even if the alignment is not out that bad that tire noise -- in my particular case front tire noise -- was so bad that I drove out of my way on a long road trip to get the car to a dealer thinking the front wheel bearings were going out. The bearings were found to be ok. Tire wear (scuffing) pointed to alignment issues. (The result of a few days earlier late at night when pulling into a hotel parking lot just bumping both front tires against the low edge of the sidewalk. My usual carefulness was undone by being just plain too tired. I should have stopped earlier than I did.)

Two thousand miles later -- all driven with the tire howl -- back at home I had the car aligned and this quieted the tires and extended the life of the front tires.

As for tire wear: My experience has been with a bad alignment -- yet with no signs at the steering wheel the alignment is bad -- a set of rear Turbo tires can be gone in 8K miles of driving that with a proper alignment with the same driving can have the tires lasting easily 2x to nearly 3x that number of miles.

It is second nature to me to avoid encounters with curbs or anything that can upset the car's alignment. This way I do not have to have the car aligned that often, only when the old tires' wear patterns indicate there's an alignment issue.

Nedster

Thanks for reply. I actually already got a NO from a dealer, that's why i was double checking with you guys. I am gonna try hard to get one out of them, if nit i will just pay for it, i believe it's about $250. As far as checking old tires, it's too late, they were not Porsche spec (N4), so dealer replaced them before i picked up the car. I got brand new Pirellis out of the deal, so one more reason to make sure the alignment is ok. On my Alfa, when i bought it, the alignment was so bad that inside edge of the front tires was so worn out you could see the wires, while the outside still had about 70% thread left. The car went strait as as an arrow on the highway even at 160km/h and i never heard any noise. Wise to check that alignment.