Michael S.

Guys and Gals,

Before you ask... I've searched... and searched... But, I can't find the numbers that I'm looking for.

Here's my problem. I have a Cayenne S that is eating rear tires. Not that that is anything particularly unique , but mine is eating only the inside edge of the tires... And, at $1k per set, I'm getting quite tired of replacing them every 5k miles!

A bit of history... My first set of factory installed 19" Pirellis lasted 17k... from what I read, not too bad by Cayenne standards! Wanting to smooth the ride and lessen vibration, I replaced them with a set of Michelin Diamaris. Being the proactive type, at the same time I had my local VW dealership do a 4 wheel alignment. I have the before and after printout, and the two things they had to adjust most were the front and rear toe settings.

Before the original alignment, each of the front wheels showed -0 degrees, 03 minutes toe (?out?)... This was corrected to +0 degrees, 05 minutes toe (?in?). My fronts do seem to be wearing a bit more on the outside edge, but this isn't a problem compared to the rears.

Each of the rear wheels showed +0 degrees, 45 minutes toe (?out?)... This was "corrected" to +0 degrees, 10 minutes toe...

I have since had to replace THREE sets of rear tires and I'm getting damn tired of it! I have had VW check the alignment again twice, and I just finished taking the vehicle to my local Toyota dealership today, where I was again assured that the vehicle is "within specs". Both dealerships (VW and Toyota) are using brand new, mega $$$ Hunter alignment racks and both have Road Force balancing gear, so I don't think it's a matter of the equipment they are using. In fact, I've had two separate Porsche dealerships tell me that there is no reason to bring the Cayenne to them for alignment... "Any competent shop should be capable of aligning the Cayenne," or so they tell me.

I surrender! The only thing I can figure is that the Hunter software maybe has the wrong values in it for the Cayenne?

If any of you know what the alignment values are "supposed to be", I would appreciate your help... In fact, if any of you have ANY ideas as to why my Cayenne might be eating rear tires, I would be VERY interested! For now, I'm off to the Tire Rack site to order ANOTHER set of Diamarias!

MadFox

I have the alignment printout from several alignments at my office, I'll post them in the morning for you.....

now, IMHO, and biting my tongue, but why in the heck wouldn't you have gone to the Porsche dealer one time and paid their rate and been sure?

FYI, I am taking my Tit.S in for its first rotate and balance and align (nearing 6K and tires are wearing evenly.. doing it at my Porsche dealer.. if there is a problem they would re-do it for free. That's on Friday and I'll see if there is any difference vs. the Beta car's alignments and post the results Friday p.m.

p.s. does your wife jump curbs with that whole female depth perception thing?!

Michael S.

Madfox,

I appreciate any help you can provide... And, (of course) you are right. I should have just taken it to my P-car dealer and had them align it from the start... Even though they want over $400 just to do an effing alignment!

Trouble is, I live in rural SC and just getting to the Porsche dealership without burning a day of vacation time is a major production for me. Plus, I don't really trust my local dealer to do much more than routine maintenance, so I end up going to Charlotte which is more than two hours away... But, your point is a good one, and one I shall heed from now on.

For what it's worth, the wife is a pretty good driver... She is much "nicer" to the Pepper than I, on the rare opportunity she allows me to drive it!

MadFox

No problem. My oldest son is at Furman.. so I've driven in BMW land with my Cayenne for the past 3 years! I would think that with the Hunter machine it may be that they just don't have the right specs.. but I've also heard that the machine is NOT easy to work with and that when my dealer first got their's, they called me back after a week when they discovered that they had been doing them wrong (this was back in the beta shimmy/vibration days) and so it was also about vibration not just tire wear. So your wife sees proper distances... hmmm, apparently you've been truthful about "distance" issues!

ltc

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-955-957-2003-2010/181215-lateral-g-and-the-new-alignment-spec.html

MadFox

I knew a senior member of the forum would beat me to the punch. I pulled the 5 inch thick service file on my beta model and found the alignment and balance paperwork.. however, I can only read the values that were out of range in the before measurements and then what they were corrected to on the current. The range is printed but the dealer was using an inkjet printer and the range values are so small that the ink blurred them to the point that even with "cheaters" on my older eyes, I can't read them! One difference from ltc's old thread.. the print-out that I have - has the measurements in degrees and then minutes FWIW.

Michael S.

Ok... I've relented. I have an appointment at Hendrick Porsche in Charlotte next Monday to have an alignment ($315) and my 40k checkup ($475).

I'm curious to see what they come up with.

ltc

Reprinted with the permission of Larry's widow and his estate.......

Kevin M.

Mine just recently starting eating the rears, the right rear worn completely at 5K miles while the fronts still looked new, left rear was 1/2 gone, turned out the left rear was out of spec. Paid $50 for alignment that the Porsche dealer took it to.. You guys need to move to Fresno

MadFox

I had the alignment done at the dealer on Friday.. got a new print-out.. still TOO SMALL!! but, I have a magnifying glass that helped and the print-out was more legible.. here are the current alignment ranges from the Porsche dealership in degrees and minutes (not tenths).. FYI, I have even tread wear and the tires were in good shape.. the only out of range (just barely) was the front toe specs when it was done. Rotate/Balance/Alignment was $275 plus I had a coupon for $50 off.

Camber Front: -0*35' to 0*05'
Caster Front: 8*05' to 9*05'
Toe Front: 0*03' to 0*08'
Steer Ahead: -0*03' to 0*03'

Camber Rear: -1*00' to -1*40'
Toe Rear: 0*05' to 0*15'
Thrust Angle: -0*07' to 0*07'

* = degrees ' = minutes

For the record anyway!