wheel alignment help - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

_KNW_ · 03-24-2015, 11:53 AM

Hi all.

first post here having bought a 2001 2.7 986.

on the drive home from picking the car up I realised the steering wheel was off center to the left. I called the garage where I bought it straight away, and was told it simply needed a wheel alignment.

I took it to 2 Tyre garages who both said the tracking was true. Not convinced I took it to a Merc / German car specialist who carried out a 4 wheel alignment.

I'm slightly ignorant to what the report says but the way I am reading it is that it is still "out". I drove the car for 100 miles today, and although better, it is still off center.

any any any help would be greatful!

Gelbster · 03-24-2015, 12:20 PM

Surely they centered the steering wheel during the alignment ?
Try finding a flat,empty parking lot .With no hands on the wheel & at slow speed, does the car 'pull' to either direction?
Consider rotating the tires if possible - check sizes F/R, L/R first. This is in case there is a tire problem that only shows up when driven. The other thing to consider is finding a place with a Hunter "road force" alignment machine. Other Forum members will comment on how relevant these suggestions are.
Art's Automotive, We Don't Just Install Tires -- Correcting For Road Force Variation and Lateral Force Pull.

KRAM36 · 03-24-2015, 03:54 PM

Is the car pulling to the left or is the car driving straight, but the steering wheel is cocked to the left?

Smallblock454 · 03-24-2015, 11:13 PM

Why didn't they adjust the camber on the left side? As you can see it is way off.

Maybe you should ask somebody who knows about how to adjust a Porsche.

_KNW_ · 03-25-2015, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Why didn't they adjust the camber on the left side? As you can see it is way off.

Maybe you should ask somebody who knows about how to adjust a Porsche.

Hi - is that representing the camber then is it??

I'm going to go back to them and ask them to resolve the camber and the fact its still off to the left ... or get my money back

Smallblock454 · 03-25-2015, 08:56 AM

Hi,

take a look at the sheet i've attached. There you'll see the wheel align values. As you are livning in the UK, please use the clumn RoW Series for orientation.

It seems that they didn't adjust the camber on the left side. Maybe because you can't adjust camber on most older MB cars. Also it takes a lot longer to adjust everything to specs.

Over here in germany it is very important to adjust wheel alignment very correct, because the car is sensible at high speeds.

Regards Markus

Bigsmoothlee · 03-25-2015, 10:22 AM

Take it back to them and tell them to adjust the camber, then remove your steering wheel and center it, for free. It's terrible that they just set the toe and sent the car out.

Tell them to open the hood, remove the plastic trim, and they'll find slots at the top of the shock to adjust.

-1 deg of camber with the adjustment in the stock position probably means something is bent, most likely the strut assembly... Which is also why the toe was off. I have a feeling that once they correct the camber and reset the toe, the steering wheel will be straight.

_KNW_ · 03-25-2015, 12:09 PM

thanks so much guys

I called the garage today to explain that i was far from happy.

They have said they can have another look but will also inspect the car to see if something is "damaged".

I am not more inclined to ask for my money back and take it to a porsche specialist.

Being a bit of a noob - but what could be "damaged" and indicative costs?

Also - is there somewhere on this forum that I can find recommended UK garages?

Smallblock454 · 03-25-2015, 12:50 PM

Seems that the workshop doesn't know anything about Porsche cars.

There is a Boxster forum in the UK. Maybe they can help. Porsche Boxster Forum

Regards Markus

KRAM36 · 03-25-2015, 03:06 PM

Strange I called a local Porsche Specialist shop, told them I was installing a ROW M030 kit and wanted to know the price for an alignment. They replied back they send cars to regular tire store to have them aligned and they would just be a middle man in my case.

ganseg · 03-26-2015, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Hi,

take a look at the sheet i've attached. There you'll see the wheel align values. As you are livning in the UK, please use the clumn RoW Series for orientation.

It seems that they didn't adjust the camber on the left side. Maybe because you can't adjust camber on most older MB cars. Also it takes a lot longer to adjust everything to specs.

Over here in germany it is very important to adjust wheel alignment very correct, because the car is sensible at high speeds.

Regards Markus

Markus or others, what column would I look at on your chart? I have a US car with 030 on the options list stuck inside the front hood. And in the camber column, how do I translate that to degress of camber? Thanks.

Smallblock454 · 03-26-2015, 08:43 AM

@ganseg:

The adjustment data is in degree and minutes.

So if you are looking at the first column (USA: Series and Sport) and go to camber
front is 0 degree and 5 minutes - plus / minus 30 minutes
rear is -1 degree and 20 minutes - plus / minus 30 minutes

Whereas it is best to get the correct value. So 0 degrees and 5 minutes in the front and -1 degree and 20 Minutes in the back.

German term for second is Winkelminute. I think it's "minute of arc" in english.

An arcminute is a 1⁄60 degree.

Here is an english description: Minute of arc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope that helps.

Regards from Germany, Markus

ganseg · 03-26-2015, 09:17 AM

Thanks! So that is like my RX-8 was - very little negative camber up front but good handling.

Gelbster · 03-26-2015, 11:07 AM

If adjustment within the spec ranges fails to eliminate the 'pulling' problem -you need to know why.
It may be tires. Have you switched tires L to R yet?
If it is a bent suspension part -replace it. If no bent parts can be identified and the pulling is slight, that can be resolved to in some cases. Some resolutions are hacks - "camber bolts" for example.
Other remedies like adjusting camber and caster slightly out of range may be effective at eliminating the pull. But it may cause accelerated tire wear. An alignment technician who specializes in working on accident repairs would know how to do this. So far it seems you have been dealing with amateurs.

jrblackman · 03-30-2015, 12:15 PM

They just need to be competent. I have had two four wheel alignments done in the last three years. The first was done at a local independent tire/brake shop that has been in business in my area forever. I had just purchased the car and had new tires put on it at the same time. The second was done at Belle Tire after I changed the rear control arms. Both places had Hunter machines and completed the alignment without any trouble.