Your original alignment...

Hi All...

I have a 2005 Boxster 987 Base, that has about 50,000 km on it. One of my front coil springs snapped.

Porsche was very kind and replaced it even thou it was out of warranty - guessing wit the low mileage on the car. They ended up replacing both front springs as they mentioned they replace them as a pair. They also performed a 4 wheel alignment after replacing them.

My issue I've been having over the last couple of weeks is that the steering wheel appears to be more sensitive/jerky on the road. For example, going over any road imperfections I have to hold onto the steering wheel much tighter as its all over the place. Also at first, i thought the alignment is off... but I think it is correct - as it does track straight, but WAY more sensitive (thought it may be a toe-in/out issue)...as even on straight ground with the slightest ground imperfection I'm constantly correcting...

I brought it back to the dealership and a master tech took it for a drive and he thinks it drives fine... but he offered next time to put it bank on the alignment machine for me to verify the alignment is in spec....

Any idea if this is normal after a front sprint replacements, or is more likely a result of the alignment....? or is this my imagination? (lol)

Any input is appreciated...thanks!

Nothing else is "normal". Darty steering generally is generally an alignment issue. I would first guess Scrub radius, but you didnt change wheels or hubs. It could also be less caster or it could be toe. Remember that a car can track straight even if both wheels are set either in or out - total toe is zero but L&R toe is significant (pigeon footed).

I wonder if the springs have failed to settle, which could mess lots of things up.

Grant

... was probably off and the dealer brought it back to spec.
The "normal" alignment is for the car to try to "follow" any imperfections on the road.
That makes for a more crisper steering.
But, if you don't like it you can take it back and have them re-align to your driving style.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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It seems like everyone thinks its and alignment issue (which sounds most likely now)... not a new springs issue... that is making things sensitive.. At first I thought the new springs may be extra hard...hence more sensitive?

the car will have a harsher ride cause the springs are of course stiffer but the shock valving is wrong as well. The shocks are turned to help dampen the springs. The front tires can dance around a bit cause they're not in full contact with the road as often as they would be with the right springs installed.

Of course, the alignment can be off. Did you receive a before/after printout of the car's alignment settings? I always like to get this and look the numbers over. Also, I feel better seeing the printout. The one time I have been dissatisfied with an alignment is the time I never received a printout. The alignment proved to be crap cause the rear tires wore out in under half the number of miles I expected them to. A subsequent alignment after new tires installed found the alignment was off.

Anyhow, steering/handling issues are difficult to deal with. Every driver reacts differently to the car.

Also, one becomes quite accustomed to how a car feels and when anything is done that changes this feeling, even if what was done was to put the alignment right, this can be upsetting.

Be sure the tires are properly inflated. Use the recommended air pressures. Drive the car. Pay attention to how it feels and when. I sometimes encounter pavement that is so deformed due to wear or settling from heavy traffic that more than once I've pulled over to check for a low or flat tire.

If you notice the odd or unacceptable feeling on a variety of roads, in different lanes, then there is somethign wrong. Springs? Alignment? But not tires, assuming tire pressures are good and remain good that is.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Those "shims" are either 3mm or 6mm and cannot be interchanged. I can't recall the technical name for what I'm calling a shim, but I'll research what it is.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

[www.autoatlanta.com]

The part is numbered 4 and 5 depending on the thickness.

With an impact hard enough to break a spring, other bits might be messed up at the top of the strut. There's a bunch of stuff up there that should be carefully examined.

So my point is: perhaps a mismatched spring was installed. The color coding, I believe, is a splotch of paint on the coil. You can verify the new one against the one on the other side.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2011 08:38PM by Laz. (view changes)

Thanks guys for the input... Its been about 3 weeks since they installed the springs, so I can't check the color/codes.. I'm guessing now more and more it may be the Alignment.

The poster that mention that my original alignment may have been off - I think is actually correct... I brought my car into an after market tire shop a year ago (b4 this issue) to swap out some winter times and they alerted me that my tire wear on my tires was off. They told me there is more wear on one side of the tires than the other - may have been inner side, but I can't recall (I will go check later)

I was always driving for the 4 years with the factory alignment. I liked it, so i never questioned it and the car drove straight.

After the spring replacement, the dealership never gave me a printout (I should have requested it - my mistake). I may have to go back, put it back on the machine (they offered to check it for free) and see what it is set too.. they told me factory spec - whatever that is?

In the past when I had a BMW.. I always preferred driving with a little bit more Toe-In (I think that right)... the car would be less twitchy... would that give em my desired less twitching on the road?

Also, back to the Porsche, if my tires had been worn for a few year with an improper alignment, and now supposedly its at factory spec, could that also be also causing me this sensitive/twitching?

Quote
porschestar
Thanks guys for the input... Its been about 3 weeks since they installed the springs, so I can't check the color/codes.. I'm guessing now more and more it may be the Alignment.

The poster that mention that my original alignment may have been off - I think is actually correct... I brought my car into an after market tire shop a year ago (b4 this issue) to swap out some winter times and they alerted me that my tire wear on my tires was off. They told me there is more wear on one side of the tires than the other - may have been inner side, but I can't recall (I will go check later)

I was always driving for the 4 years with the factory alignment. I liked it, so i never questioned it and the car drove straight.

After the spring replacement, the dealership never gave me a printout (I should have requested it - my mistake). I may have to go back, put it back on the machine (they offered to check it for free) and see what it is set too.. they told me factory spec - whatever that is?

In the past when I had a BMW.. I always preferred driving with a little bit more Toe-In (I think that right)... the car would be less twitchy... would that give em my desired less twitching on the road?

Also, back to the Porsche, if my tires had been worn for a few year with an improper alignment, and now supposedly its at factory spec, could that also be also causing me this sensitive/twitching?

many miles after I first got it with its factory alignment but the alignment was not right. Tire wear -- rear tire wear -- was very concentrated on the inside edges. Because most of the tread face looked ok I thought nothing about it until belt material started peeking through. And I thought this inside edge tire wear was normal. It looked like it should arise from the obviously large amount of negative camber the rear wheels have. I have since learned that the negative camber counts for little if any tire wear, that toe in is the much more critical setting. Incorrect toe in can be a silent eater of tires. The car feels ok. Handles ok. Steers ok. But the rear tires wear out in sometimes 8K miles when given the same driving with a proper alignment will last twice or even more that many miles.

Anyhow, the tire life was 'good' in that I got maybe twice as many miles out of the rear tires as I have found is the normal since with the right alignment but the factory alignment was not right.

Of course I replaced the tires and had an alignment done -- at the dealer where I bought the car -- and the alignment was found to be out (rear toe) and afterwards? The car felt the same. The car felt and steered just fine before the alignment and this was not improved or diminished after the alignment, but rear tire wear was much more even across the tread face. But rear tire life was shorter, running around 20K miles sometimes a bit less sometimes a bit more.

More recently I bought a new Cayman S and drove it a few days and took it back to the dealer to have the alignment checked and the steering wheel centered and the alignment was out enough to warrant a full alignment which was done under the new car warranty. Afterwards the car felt much better.

If you take the car to a Porsche dealership the alignment machine (computer) can generate a before and after printout. The printout is partially graphic in that it shows the range of adjustment, the area (centered) of adjustment that is within what the factory recommends, and what the actual settings are, along with the numbers.

I have found no need to have the techs deviate from the factory settings for any of my Porsches but I know some drivers like a more agressive alignment (generally more front negative camber) with more or less toe in (at the front and sometimes at the rear wheels too) and there may be other preferences as well. I am perfectly happy with the way the car feels with a proper by the 'book' alignment and I could probably only end up making the car feel worse by trying to have the tech improve on the numbers, so I don't.

If the alignment was out and the tires run in this condition for a while, then the alignment made right, this could very well account for the twitchiness you feel. The best time to get an alignment is with new tires fitted, all 4. At this time the gas tank should be full, the spare tire (if any) and tool kit should be in place and the car empty of any junk (weight). Some shops like to put ballast on the driver's seat and some don't. I have had the car aligned both ways and I can't tell the difference.

Not sure what you can do about this twitchiness... You might be able to have the tech compensate some to make the car a bit less twitchy. A good tech should be able to advise you on what can be done.

Even if you do nothing over time the twitchiness will diminish (and you will get 'used' to it, somewhat) as the tires take on near wear patterns.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I had the same problem with my '97 BluTurq but on the front. Cost me a new set of tires