alignment & tires

[jefla]

I've a 2000 base, w/ 50K mile. It's my commuter and fun weekend drives car.

I'm replacing Bridgestone Potenza SO3 Pole Positions, probably w/ B-stone RE-01R but maybe w/ Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Comments?

My question concerns an alignment. Would you trust a tire shop doing an alignment or should I take it to a Porsche specialist?

[Topless]

I've a 2000 base, w/ 50K mile. It's my commuter and fun weekend drives car.

I'm replacing Bridgestone Potenza SO3 Pole Positions, probably w/ B-stone RE-01R but maybe w/ Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Comments?

My question concerns an alignment. Would you trust a tire shop doing an alignment or should I take it to a Porsche specialist?

The Stones will be a stickier tire with a fairly stiff sidewall for precise handling during performance driving. The Goodyears will run quieter, last longer and give a smoother ride, but give up a little precision in the corners. Always a tradeoff...

If the tire shop has a modern alignment rig and a very experienced operator you should be fine. Make sure he is has Porsche experience. Our cars have a fairly wide range of alignment specs so talk to him about your driving style, % highway miles vs performance driving miles and track days. You will get the best tire wear if the alignment is adjusted to you.

[jefla]

I've a 2000 base, w/ 50K mile. It's my commuter and fun weekend drives car.

I'm replacing Bridgestone Potenza SO3 Pole Positions, probably w/ B-stone RE-01R but maybe w/ Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Comments?

My question concerns an alignment. Would you trust a tire shop doing an alignment or should I take it to a Porsche specialist?

The Stones will be a stickier tire with a fairly stiff sidewall for precise handling during performance driving. The Goodyears will run quieter, last longer and give a smoother ride, but give up a little precision in the corners. Always a tradeoff...

If the tire shop has a modern alignment rig and a very experienced operator you should be fine. Make sure he is has Porsche experience. Our cars have a fairly wide range of alignment specs so talk to him about your driving style, % highway miles vs performance driving miles and track days. You will get the best tire wear if the alignment is adjusted to you.

Blew the first attempt at replying, sorry.

Re tire noise, how much variability is there in noise levels among high performance tires? We've a lot of concrete roads around here (Washington DC) and the B-stones are pretty noisy. Are "quieter" tires really all that much quieter?

[White987S]

Are "quieter" tires really all that much quieter?

If you can hear the tires...you need a louder exhaust! :D

[mikefocke]

There are alignments "to spec"

and alignments that do something for you. Only the guy who does Porsche alignments every day (and perhaps racing alignments frequently) will be able to align your car to benefit the way you drive and to achieve the mileage/handling balance you want to achieve.

Alignment specs don't say just a number, they say between this and that number. And the good alignment operator knows what effect being on one side of the numbers has on the vehicle dynamics.

As for noisy versus quiet tires, the difference is between being able to hear the radio with the top up or down and not. I got rid of a set of Yoko's that were known to be noisy at about 1/3 of their wear just so I could get into a set of quieter tires with actually better mileage characteristics. Since my car had 17" wheels, I went with Michelin Ribs at the same time I had the car aligned to favor tire wear. 12k miles later (and the tires/wheels I went to were used so I really don't know how many miles they already had on them) and they have 1/2 wear still available on the rears which is where there wear shows. My alligner asked what I wanted out of the car, and since he set up cars for racing, he had more than book knowledge about what a setting within Porsche specs but at one end of the spec would do. Quiet tires made all the difference in the enjoyment of the car. It went from horrible to quite enjoyable.

If I couldn't have that kind of alignment, I might not even bother with one if your current tire wear was even.

Buy some tires rated by users at TireRack as quiet. Use their prices as comparisons. Even consider CostCo if you are a member. Take pictures of your wheels at the tire shop the day you go in and go over the wheel condition with the manager of the shop prior to the deal. Ask if they have stick on weights or if they are going to use bang on the edge weights. If the latter, go elsewhere.

[jbboxsters]

I was told by 2 local tire shops that they could NOT align my 02 Boxster because they needed the Porsche tool to reset the steering wheel sensor after alignment. If I heard this from just one place I would have blown it off, but the same info from 2 places, they must know what they are talking about.

[Loren]

I was told by 2 local tire shops that they could NOT align my 02 Boxster because they needed the Porsche tool to reset the steering wheel sensor after alignment. If I heard this from just one place I would have blown it off, but the same info from 2 places, they must know what they are talking about.

Only if you have PSM.

And, the manual says check and calibrate if needed.

The alignment shop does not have to do it -- any shop or person with a PST2 or PIWIS could check it and calibrate it if needed.