new tires on the box and guess what...? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mach schnell · 06-04-2006, 04:45 PM

i'm actually contacting the dealership where i bought the car and inquiring if the car had any damage or accidents before i bought it -(it had 70 miles on the odometer when i purchased). also gonna contact the service department at walter's (dealership i've been dealing with re: the vibration) and inquiring why, if 3 tires failed roadtest, only 2 new ones were put on the car, rather than all 4 (as denverpete put - problem solving 101)

by the end of this week i will either no longer be a boxster owner or the ultimate cause of my shimmy and shake will be discovered

denverpete · 06-04-2006, 04:59 PM

MS, I was wondering if those 19's require spacers. Now, I don't know alot about spacers (except that they, well, space things) - but I do know that my wife's car had a shimmy at around 70-80 mph. She replaced the tires which helped. But, the guys who replaced the tires noticed that the aftermarket rims were supposed to have spacers. They ordered them, put them on, and TADA! Shimmy gone. I don't know why - but it worked.

Just another thought.

06-04-2006, 05:37 PM

Is it possible (along the lines of being wrecked) that one of your rims is bent? It might not even be noticeable until the tires are dismounted.

Even just hitting a pothole can dent, bend or loosen things up enough to cause a vibration.

Was the alignment checked?

Suspension looked over to make sure everything was tight?

I know these are basic things, but sometimes they don't get checked...for whatever reason.

mach schnell · 06-04-2006, 07:05 PM

denverpete - the wheel spacers suggested is a good one, and if these were aftmkt wheels rather than the factory carrera s wheels, i'd really consider that, as i've driven cars with poor wheel spacers that caused vibration. however, i'd hope (but am starting to doubt the all-knowing ability of porsche) that their factory wheels wouldn't need spacers or if they did, they'd put them on the car if they're gonna sell the car with the wheels.

creseida - all your suggestions are great! and again, the basics 101 rule, if it applied to porsche service, i think we'd be at a solution. however, with the dealership having the attitude of "we don't feel it or its normal" so, we're not going to look for anything.

a month after i bought the car i took it to walter's and complained of a machine like vibration in the gas pedal - so bad my foot would fall asleep. tech said he didn't feel anything, so he didn't look for anything. a month later i brought it in for this shimmy/vibration/wobbly thing - tech and service mgr both said, nothing wrong or its normal and didn't look for anything (they didn't even check the tires for balance probs). it was only after i said i wasn't leaving the dealership unless they looked for something that they actually road force tested the tires and determined 3 were defective - yet, i have no clear explanation yet, as to why only 2 new tires were put on the car. i've debated taking the car to a private certified porsche tech i know and have him investigate the problem, but not knowing if i'd get reimbursed the few hundred dollars i'd pay him to find the problem, i'm tentative to go that route. ya know, it's a brand new car, 5400 miles on it and under warranty, i shouldn't have to go pay a private guy to find and/or fix a warrantable issue - at least that's what i said to myself when i picked this car over some of the used 911's (that didn't have a warranty)

denverpete · 06-06-2006, 08:13 PM

I think I've found your problem...

Mach Snell Boxster

mach schnell · 06-06-2006, 08:35 PM

dude you are so right - no vibration when i'm driving it in the backyard on the patio but boy when i get that lil plastic sucker up to 60mph - holy crapy it's jiggling and wobbling all over the place!

good thing the 993 i'm looking at has more reinforced plastic!

eslai · 06-06-2006, 10:24 PM

Y'know, with as many times as I've visited my dealer about stupid ****************, I was positive that they thought I was some high-maintenance dickwad.

However, I've actually formed a really good relationship with my service advisor. He understands my issues and doesn't think I'm being a pain in the ass. I come in, we joke around a bit, talk about the issues and he does his best to address them. I'm really impressed.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't had as much luck with your guys up there, but perhaps it's just your perception. Maybe they don't see you as a pain in the ass. Think positive.