Alignment recommendations?

[Woodhouse]

Ok Folks, can anyone recommend alignment settings for my Gen 1 S with PASM on 18" wheels?

 

I probably won't be doing track days but I want less understeer than standard settings.  I don't drive the car to its limits but I do like to have fun when I get the chance.

 

 It was set to around -0°20' camber and +0.2mm toe front, -1°36' camber and +1.0mm toe rear last time I had it done - these are nominally the factory standard settings.

 

I recon the rear might be ok but I'm wondering about say 0°45' camber and zero toe front?

 

I will be doing some long distance motorway trips so don't want to lose too much in straight line stability.  

[Woodhouse]

Well it hasn't gone well so far...............

 

I took the car to a local place I've used before for a Boxster alignment.  A tyre specialist with a Hunter alignment machine.  Unfortunately, they have damaged the eccentric adjusters on the rear, to the point where the rear toe couldn't be adjusted and they had to give up.  I had to drive home with the rear end miles out of alignment, to the point where PSM kept kicking in until I got a PSM Failure warning.

 

I've had a good look at it after I got it home and it looks like they haven't loosened the securing nuts sufficiently on the eccentric adjuster bolts before heaving on the bolts to adjust camber and toe with a large breaker bar.  This has sheared off the end of one of the aluminium clips that locate the eccentric adjusters and distorted the rest to the point where you can't make any adjustments.

 

I've ordered the new aluminium clips from my OPC, who say they've never ever had to supply these before, either to their own workshop or customers.

 

As you might imagine, I'm more than miffed.  I will get my OPC to do the alignment properly.  I really don't want to go back to these guys, which is a real shame as they are a friendly lot who we've often used for tyres and the occasional alignment.

 

 

 

[Luke]

32 minutes ago, Woodhouse said:

Well it hasn't gone well so far...............

 

I took the car to a local place I've used before for a Boxster alignment.  A tyre specialist with a Hunter alignment machine.  Unfortunately, they have damaged the eccentric adjusters on the rear, to the point where the rear toe couldn't be adjusted and they had to give up.  I had to drive home with the rear end miles out of alignment, to the point where PSM kept kicking in until I got a PSM Failure warning.

 

I've had a good look at it after I got it home and it looks like they haven't loosened the securing nuts sufficiently on the eccentric adjuster bolts before heaving on the bolts to adjust camber and toe with a large breaker bar.  This has sheared off the end of one of the aluminium clips that locate the eccentric adjusters and distorted the rest to the point where you can't make any adjustments.

 

I've ordered the new aluminium clips from my OPC, who say they've never ever had to supply these before, either to their own workshop or customers.

 

As you might imagine, I'm more than miffed.  I will get my OPC to do the alignment properly.  I really don't want to go back to these guys, which is a real shame as they are a friendly lot who we've often used for tyres and the occasional alignment.

 

Surely you can claim the money back from the garage responsible? If the OPC have said they've never supplied those replacement parts it's clear that they've massively screwed up. Any responsible garage wouldn't have let you drive home either...

[Woodhouse]

Yes, I need to have a difficult conversation with them tomorrow.  It really is a big shame as they are nice guys and I'm sure they'll be as upset as I am.  But this doesn't take away from the fact that this is incompetence.  They really should have realised that you don't need a 2 foot long breaker bar to move these adjusters.  When I got home, I was able to easily remove the eccentric bolts.  They aren't seized and once the nuts were loose it all came apart without any problems.

 

 

 

[briggy]

Take it to Chris at Center Gravity : http://www.centregravity.co.uk

 

Reassuringly expensive, but will set the car up the you want. Top bloke too. Well known in Porsche circles.

[Woodhouse]

Thanks briggy.  I did contact Chris a couple of months ago and I'm sure he'd do a great job but I know what I want and I know that a competent alignment specialist will set the car up to my settings at a much lower cost.

[Beanoir™]

I have my CR set with max -1 camber and front spacers, makes a big difference in the balance of the car, removes any understeer and mobilises the rear end on the throttle.  

 

Doesn't make any noticeable difference to tyre wear at all.  

[Woodhouse]

Thanks Beanoir.  That's the sort of improvements I'm looking for.

 

I've been into my local OPC this morning to order the replacement parts and I've booked the car in for them to do an alignment to my required settings on Wednesday. 

 

The consensus is to max out the front camber (around -1 to -1.2 if I'm lucky), zero toe and stick with standard rear settings.  I'm sure it'll make a nice difference.  Our other Cayman has around -0.6 to 0.7 front camber and it's noticeably less understeery than mine.