FTS

I am having alignment problems with my Cayman S. About 3 weeks ago, I took the car to my race shop to get it aligned. We got the camber and toe settings as we wanted on the car; however, as I picked up the car from the shop and drove off, within few miles, I noticed that the alignment was off, feeling as if it was going sideways and the rear toe being quite off.

About a week later, I schedule another time slot with the shop to correct the issue. They found that somehow, rear toe, as suspected, was way off. One side +0.1x and other -0.1x. So, one side had toe in and the other had toe out, hence the side ways feeling. Picked up the car towards the end of the day, I drove off, and the same thing.

Couple of days later, last Friday, I took the car in, stayed there and made sure the process was followed properly. I have to state that my race shop has some of the best techs in the area and they truly now what their doing. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure everything was done by the book (I have done more than few dozen alignments myself on various cars). When we put the car on the alignment machine, we observed that this third time we had rear toe out/in situation like the previos times. We did the alignment, re-verified by going back and forth between the front and the rear camber/toe adjustments, making sure everything were as symetric as they can by to the 1/100th of a degree and that all bolts were properly torque and so forth. Confident of the process, I drove off..... I can't believe it, THE SAME THING!

So, today, owner of the shop called the manufacturer of the alignment machine and the techs came in, I went down with car and we started to whole process again a 4th time. Between 9:30 am and 6 pm, the car got aligned probably 12-14 times, each time narrowing down the possible issues. And between each alignment, we drove the car on the road for couple miles for the suspension to settle down. Alas, no luck, rear and front toe changes from alignment to alignment, we are not getting consistent numbers at all, and the car is still side ways, much more subtle though at this time.

The only things we have been able to rule out were that the machine is calibrated properly and there are no problems with the software. We aligned and verified a different car on the same machine and the numbers stayed the same to the 1/100th of degree.

So, now I am and they are at a loss; we do not know what the problem might be. If anyone experienced something similar, I would really would like to hear about it, or any information you guys can share would be great.

Some facts:

I really appreciate some help, I am at a loss what to even try at this time.

Thank you in advance,

FT

Edgy01

It sounds like you have done everything that can be done on THAT machine. I assume that you didn't record the BEFORE settings? I would have immediately gone back to them if it wwere possible. It sounds like you tried.

I would hunt out another facility and machine. Not that those guys are no good,--it's just that after 3 tries you need another set of eyes touching it now.

MichaelL

Take it to the dealer and pay for an alignment. The car is still under full warranty and they are obligated to get it right. Some component in the suspension may have gone off.

FTS

I have all the print outs, before/after of all alignments; its quite a thick stack of paper

Yes, that is my next step, I'll take it to the dealer and see what they find out. It is a puzzle that is going to keep me awake until we find the answer.

Thank you very much for your responses, I really appeciate it.

FT

kauai_diver

Couple of "long shot" ideas:

* Anyone else drive that you may have been unaware of?
* Any new/late model Porsches aligned with the same aligment equipment?
* Are the tires balanced/properly inflated when you noticed the problem(s)?

As said by the folks above have it aligned at a certified Porsche dealer, after which drive the car verify all is good and store all settings on your pda or whatever

Hope all goes well for you!

JMAGOLAN

As a 928 owner (along with my 2006 C4S Cab), I know that with that model, you have to pull the suspension down if the car has been lifted, before aligning it, or the alignment will be off within a few miles of driving. I don't know if the same situation applies to the Cayman S. Before doing any alignment, be sure the fuel tank is full. Did the car have to be lifted to attach the alignment reflectors, or did you just drive it up onto the rack? If the former, see if the reflectors can be attached to the wheels without lifting the car, or find a shop with the Hunter rack that allows this. It sound like, with the mid engine (mid-rear, really), the suspension is not fully settled before doing the job. I hope this helps.

Jerry