Steering Alignment

[Pancho]

I took my car in to have my summers installed and was advised to have an alignment as there was edge wear on my winters. When I collected it, the car pulled (horribly) to the left. The dealership told me that the machine needed to be recalibrated, and they then carried out an alignment on my car. It was still pulling to the right (less so) but when corrected pulled left, although the printout showed it was perfectly aligned. The tech. adjusted the alignment after we both drove the car, and it seemed ok. However, after driving it for a day or two, found it pulling slightly both left and right. I have arranged to return tomorrow, please can anyone offer any advice? there has been no impact, and the dealership agrees the problem arose when they first tried to align the steering. Any feedback is much appreciated. thanks.

[RFM]

Be especially careful that the correct tyre pressure is set, and the tank full of fuel !!!!

[flyingpenguin]

I took my car in to have my summers installed and was advised to have an alignment as there was edge wear on my winters. When I collected it, the car pulled (horribly) to the left. The dealership told me that the machine needed to be recalibrated, and they then carried out an alignment on my car. It was still pulling to the right (less so) but when corrected pulled left, although the printout showed it was perfectly aligned. The tech. adjusted the alignment after we both drove the car, and it seemed ok. However, after driving it for a day or two, found it pulling slightly both left and right. I have arranged to return tomorrow, please can anyone offer any advice? there has been no impact, and the dealership agrees the problem arose when they first tried to align the steering. Any feedback is much appreciated. thanks.

Pulling to the left AND right sound like it's wandering, IMO a result of too little toe-in. Neutral toe or toe out usually cause this.

Also be aware that the crown on many roads tends to push the car a little bit to the shoulder (in RHD countries that would be to the right), so best to check steering behavior on a level road without any crown to it.

If you are coming to the conclusion that whoever did your alignment is not qualified, and you want to take a shot at it yourself, check out these posts:

http://www.planet-9....adjustment.html

and

http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/service-items/p230-downhome-toe-measurement-and-adjustment.html

JP

Edited April 21, 2010 by flyingpenguin

[Pancho]

Thank you for your responses. I am dealing with an official P service, and we have discovered what is causing the problem. They suggested it might be my tires, but as I had plenty of tread, it seemed unlikely. In searching the net, I came accross the attached (see below ABC news) item, and checked the codes on my tires. The front ones are dated 2004, and are obviously the original ('04 4s cab. -I bought the car in '07). I did change the rears in '08 (these are dated '07!).

I drive my car in winter, and have snows on rims. My car has done 41k in total, and I believe the previous owner didn't drive in winter. All that to say, is that although I had sufficent tread left, when we examined the two front tires, the shape/contour was irregular and had changed/deteriorated with age, not necessarily wear.

I admit to being one of the more uneducated members of this forum, so perhaps my epithany is 101 to everyone else, but the news item was a relevation to me, and I thought perhaps there are other fellow members who didn't realise that a tire isn't necessarily safe just because it has tread, the age is equally important.

Finally, I checked the dates of my two new front ones, they were manufactured in 2008! However, I was told the I was lucky to get them, as they match my rears, otherwise I would have had to buy 4 NEW PS2? (at least I think that's what they said... the latest from Michelin!)

I hope this is of interest.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4826897

[Pancho]

Oh I forgot to add......... my steering is back to perfect with my new front tires!

[flyingpenguin]

.................. I hope this is of interest.

http://abcnews.go.co...ndex?id=4826897

Sad but very interesting story. Moral of the story; make sure you really buy NEW tires and drive the hell out of them, leaving little chance there's any tread left after a couple of years.

JP

[ALLSPEED]

Something for sure to watch for!

[whall]

From page 202 in the 2003 Carrera Owner's Manual:

Note

Under no circumstances should tires older than

6 years be used on your Porsche.

The age of the tire can be obtained from the

"DOT" code number. If, for example, the last

three (sic) numbers read 1202, then the tire was produced

in the 12th week of 2002.

The book is full of good information. As one philosopher has said in the past, "RTDM".

Bill

Edited April 24, 2010 by whall