Lots of play in steering at 80mph

[Roxshot]

Hey guys! I've owned my '98 Boxster for about a year now and since day one I've had a problem with the steering once I get up around 80mph. There's about 1-2 inches of play in the steering which makes it feel very dangerous. What would cause that?

[Ben006]

Play, or shake ?
If you have play, you would have it at any speed and even on a stop.
Now if the steering wheel shakes, it's most likely your tires that are out of balance or out of round.
It can also be bad shocks, or worn suspension parts.

[Luv2Box]

Is your spoiler deploying? It should deploy at 75 mph and if not the front of the car can get light and cause a loose feel in the steering.

[CHRISP357]

Does the feeling remain or increase/decrease at even higher speeds?

[njbray]

Originally Posted by Luv2Box

Is your spoiler deploying? It should deploy at 75 mph and if not the front of the car can get light and cause a loose feel in the steering.

As the spoiler is at the rear doesn't it create rear downforce that will make the front of the car lighter? Or am I missing something here!

[mikefocke]

How many miles on the car?

Have the front-end suspension bits ever been rebuilt? When was it last aligned?

[Deadeye]

Time to check tie rod ends, ball joints and bushings

[JayG]

Originally Posted by njbray

As the spoiler is at the rear doesn't it create rear downforce that will make the front of the car lighter? Or am I missing something here!

Since the spoiler is not a wing it does not per say create down force, but disrupts the airflow over the car and prevents upforce.

The shape of the car is basicially a wing and without the spoiler, it would want to lift at higher speeds. The front would start to lift first.

There is a thread started by Kram about changing the speed where the spoiler deploys where this is discussed in detail

[Sassmatt72]

If it tightens up at speed (under down force) then lower control arms, or lower ball joints?

[oldlace]

Tie rod ends and lower control arms really tighten up steering. If they are in good shape maybe just an alignment will solve problem.

[sickbananas]

get all your wheels balanced/checked if they are balanced. Also check that the alignment is correct, when checking the alignment inspect all the mechanical parts mentioned already for wear.