jw1977

Is this a fairly common problem? I have 15k miles on the front and they are started to get really loud due to the cupping. I also have a vibration in the steering wheel around 70, I assume it's due to the cupping since I just had the tires road force balanced. Anyone else experience this? Is this an alignment problem? I think the fronts still have 5-7k left, should I get an alignment now or when I need new tires? Thanks

Edgy01

It's best if you photograph the tires so that we can evaluate what you are trying to describe. I would not describe your experience as common at all. When is the last time the front end alignment was checked? Tire manufacturer? As you may have seen posted earlier, the routine tire wear rate is 2:1 rears to fronts (on the 2WD cars).

jw1977

I'll try to take a pic tomorrow. I've never had the alignment checked, I have the Pirelli Pzeros. I have seen the 2:1 ratio before which is why I think I have 5-7k miles left. I got 11k out of my original rear tires.

MJones

Vibration in steering wheel = Balance
Cupping of tires also = Balance
Bad shocks / struts can add to the equation.

flintworks

In my experience Pirellis often get noisy as they wear. Definitely have the alignment and balance checked. Your rear tires are probably close to being due for replacement and I would recommend Michelins for the best ride, great performance, and they're quiet.

Carrera GT

If you drive the 911 pretty energetically on the stock alignment, the P Zero's will chew up like crazy. If you have actual "cupping" (a distinctive, excessive wear on the shoulder of any tire) as apposed to feathering (as sort of flap or scoop developing on the edge of the tread blocks) it's likely a bad alignment or minor (but dangerous) damage such as a bent control arm or tie rod.

In any case, the car needs to visit the doctor to diagnose the symptoms. It sounds like an alignment problem, but if the tire wear isn't abnormal beyond cornering with insufficient camber, then unless you get it aligned, the tires will deteriorate much sooner than 5K miles now that they're bad enough to be detected as out of balance vibration.

You really should be able to wale on these cars for the life of the tires without an alignment unless you set the car up and track it. The 911 doesn't just sort of wear out or "go out" of alignment, it either has a mechanical failure or there's been an impact. As evidenced in the recent Targa thread, you can really work the car hard and not have the suspension lose its settings.

If you've damaged a part of the front suspension or steering, you really don't want it to fail. Don't take it for a weekend blast through the hills or a high speed freeway blast let alone a track day until you get it sorted out.

jw1977

Just a follow up, I called the place where i got my tires roadforced balanced. I dealt with another person this time and they said sometimes the lubricant they use to do the road force can make the wheel slip when accelerating or braking hard right after having this done. Has anyone heard of this? They recommend I bring it back in early in the morning and then let it sit the rest of the day so it can dry before being driven. Is this crazy?

Carrera GT

Absolutely sound advice. And full points to them for using a good installation lube. You can drive almost immediately, but drive as if you had a ripe peach between your foot and the pedals ... very light braking, gentle cornering and minimum acceleration. And the most common thing is the fronts to move under heavy braking, so that goes a long way to explaining the vibrations, but says nothing about the cupping (and probably wouldn't explain feathering, if that's what you're really seeing.)

jw1977

I'm going to take it back tomorrow and give it another try . The cupping I have isn't as severe as I had in my M3's and they never had a problem with vibration in the wheel. This is why I think it must be a balance issue. Thanks for help, I let you know the update once it's done.