Bringing my 991 'S' back to the dealer (Jack Daniels in NJ) next week for two recalls and now I going to add a very noisy front end to the list of repairs. When I cut the wheels to pull out of the driveway or even out of a parking spot the car's front end makes thumping noises and sounds like a 10 year old car with bad CV joints. Add this to the front trunk seal recall and the AC system recall and I'm not a happy camper.
Drove my Boxster for almost 12 years with nothing more than an occasional oil change and a few sets of new tires. My new 911 is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Anyone else experiencing this noisy front end problem?

 

You sure it's not the tires "skipping"? It'll happen when it's cold out and you turn the wheel all the way.

 

This was my thought as well. With the weather turning colder this would be the first time you would notice it.

Does the sound get better as the car heats up (particularly the tires)?

 

When I pull out of my spot after work, I am starting to notice a hopping, jitter motion in the wheels and up through the steering wheel that I hadn't noticed before. This sensation is amplified the sharper I turn the wheels. My car does have power steering plus. However, I have 8k miles on it and this sensation is just now showing itself. Living in the south, the temps have not been low enough for the tires to be affected.
At some point I'll have to take the car to my dealer.

 

My salesman told me that he has felt it before on other cars. Tells me it's amplified on mine because of the 20" wheels. He also called it a skipping but not of the tires but more of the mechanism reaching its limit. Sounds uncool for a 100K car, I'll still have it checked out.

 

That has happened on a couple new cars I have owned. Not sure it is anything wrong with the car. Assumed it was due to turning the wheel too far for the speed.

 

Anyone think that 20" rims on a sports car are too large? The larger you get, the more expensive the replacements become, in general.

 

Did the dealer say that it is normal due to cold weather?

 

Apparently normal with low profile tires.
When it's cold the rubber is obviously harder, hence it feels more pronounced.

Sometimes it feels like I'm reversing over large pebbles.
But some cars shudder while others skip..

 

I'm also noticing this especially in the cold mornings and after I get off of work at night. It does sound like a skipping noise or a popping noise when I turn the wheel extensively. I also get like a clunking noise underneath the car like I ran over something but nothing will be there. Maybe the differential? These noises do happen mostly when the car is not fully warmed up yet. But the noise the op is talking about sounds almost like the suspension is bottoming out or the springs popping. Don't know if I'm being paranoid or not.

 

Thing is I've had low profile tires on all my other cars and never experienced this. Although I've never had pzeros. Mostly used michelin ps2 or ss. Maybe pirellis are the culprit? And btw, I do not have power steering plus.

 

I suspect those noises are normal. Skipping noises happen with wide front tires when the steering is in full lock. Most probably the noises the OP mention are not it, but instead are brake pads shifting when backing out - totally normal.

 

Just FYI, this happened to me too when I had my C63 (couple of months ago); especially, as some experienced here, during the colder weather afterwork pulling out the parking lot or in the morning (I parked my car on the driveway).

 

Had it checked out and the dealer/mechanic listed it as behaving as designed and all up to spec.... really shocked for a Porsche

 

Did you go with the mechanic, make him hear what you're hearing and he said, "Oh I hear it, that's totally normal." Or was it really a case of nobody actually hearing it. I'd at least go out with a mechanic and say, "Hear that?! Is that normal?!" Otherwise you're getting the brush off.