unable to get rid of the shakes!!

[jhandy]

Well for those of you that followed my other thread you know what I am talking about.
I get a weird shake at 70 that comes and goes, mostly there when I drive after sitting for a little. Never had a wreck or anything.

On the suggestion of others, I went to Goodyear and got a HUNTER road force balance with alignment.

Well now the shake it worse than ever. 200$ later and my car still shakes.
What else could it be? I plan on going back to Goodyear, but really, I dont have time to mess with this.

I have spacers, could it be them? They are H&R 7 mm spacers.
I had to get spacers to fit the new rim and tires that I got because I was told that the front rims where bent and that is why there is a shake.

So...As you can see I have been dealing with this for a bit. total spent (rims tires spacers alignment and balance) 2700$$+
James


I am about to just stop driving the car, It is not fun anymore.

[Cloudsurfer]

Did you get printout from the Hunter machine? It should show how much road force was needed to balance, lower being better.

My guess is that you either have a damaged wheel, which the Hunter should have picked up, damaged tire (again, which the Hunter should have picked up), or other issues not related to the rotational wheels and tires (wheel bearings, suspension bushings, etc).

If possible, try swapping wheels with another car and see if that solves the problem. Proceed accordingly from there.

Patrick

[FrayAdjacent]

With shaking at speed, the things that should be checked (in order, for the most part) would be:

Tire (tire damage, uneven wear, balance)
Wheel (damage, bends, balance)
Alignment
Shocks
Tie Rods
Ball Joints


This list might not be complete, but afaik, these are the things that can contribute to a shaky wheel at speed.

Originally Posted by jhandy

I have spacers, could it be them? They are H&R 7 mm spacers.
I had to get spacers to fit the new rim and tires that I got because I was told that the front rims where bent and that is why there is a shake.

If your wheels are in fact bent, don't bother with anything else. They would need to be repaired (if possible) or replaced. You can't compensate for a bent wheel.

[jhandy]

Fray,
I did get new rims. They are new 3 piece HRE rims. New tires to. I had to get the spacers for these wheels to fit. I was told that my OEM rims where bent, that is why I got new ones. Well the shaking is still there.

I will ask for a printout tomorrow.
I will replace the HRE rims with OEM tonight and leave the spacers on. I will see if the car still shakes.

I know I keep going back to this but where I live It is very hard to find anyone that will work on my car. I have the only porsche in town. You just cant understand unless you live here.

For those who know texas.... I live In between LaGrange and Bastrop. The middle of nowhere.

[RandallNeighbour]

Friend, I think you should drive to Houston next weekend (I'm out of town this weekend) and put on my 17's with nearly new tires (a spare set of rims and tires I own) that are properly balanced. We can take off those spacers too and figure out what your problem is.

I live in the Heights. Wanna try it?

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

At this point I think it would be cheaper to not play hit-or-miss battle ship with this problem and take it to a qualified Porsche shop so they can inspect your suspension and steering components. Especially your Ball joints and tie-rods.

[jhandy]

Randall,
I just might take you up on that. I have a home in North West houston, (jersey village). I can use that house if we need a garage.

Let me update on my testing tonight.

I took off the front passanger side and replaced with my OEM, Shaking was less, but still very much there.

I then left that OEM on and replaced the front driver with the OEM. All spacers are still on.
The shaking was very much better. No shaking at 70, very light shaking at 90+.
This is the ORIGINAL shake that statred this whole thiing. So it looks like it is the front driver that is the problem. So why did the great Hunter not pick this up?

Could it be the ebay PS2? They are "new" but they came from spain. Should this matter? I am worried about factory seconds.....
James

[jhandy]

Socal,
you might be on to something. - there is a porsche dealer in houston, austin.
I brought the car to Austin 4 months ago- they said the shaking was a bent rim.
So i replaced them. still shakes, I should just bring it to them and leave it there.
I will have to make an appointment - maybe wait two weeks.

The car is still under factory warrenty. Are tierods and ball joints covered items?

In the meantime I may driving to Houston to meet the famous Randall.

James

[FrayAdjacent]

If changing wheels doesn't ELIMINATE the vibration... I'd agree with SoCal... ball joints or tie rods.

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

Jhandy, absolutely! suspension components like Ball joints and tie-rods are covered. Those parts should last you at least 100,000 miles if they are not defective.

[insite]

Originally Posted by jhandy

I get a weird shake at 70 that comes and goes, mostly there when I drive after sitting for a little. Never had a wreck or anything.

if it's worse after your balance, take it back to that shop and have it re-done. also have them print out your alignment sheet. others have mentioned ball joints and tie rods. while those would indeed cause the shake, it's unlikely that they're that worn yet. a wheel bearing is a possibility. you mention that the shake comes and goes, mostly after the car sits. what type of tires are you using? some tires (Kumho MX) are notorious for flat spotting after they sit for awhile. once you drive for a bit, they round back out. this could be your issue.

[EPIQTodd]

Maybe wheel bearings? The bearings on the Boxsters are known to go at about 50k miles, and don't necessarily happen in pairs or all fours.

Either that or headlight fluid - that's often a problem.

[jhandy]

Insite,
I have NEW Pilot sport 2 on all four corners. The rears where bought at the store, the front tires were from Ebay- I got a great deal on them. Maybe that is what is causing the trouble.
James

[djomlas]

that COULD be it,
if the tires are unevenly worn, meaning more on the inside than outside, or vice versa.
i knew there had to be something else
if you have the funds available, get new tires and see if that would get rid of it.
but damn man, such expencive wheels, so y the use tires?

[jhandy]

The tires were NEW. Brand new, still had the stickers on them.

But
they were from Spain.

Nothing against the spanish, but they were 100$ each including the shipping.

Maybe they were factory defects. Sometimes I have found out that you get what you pay for.

James