Figured i'd take some advice from you guys.


I'm battling a steering wheel shake / balance issue. It originally started when putting back on my freshly refinished wheels. So naturally I thought it was a balance issue, had them rebalanced 4 different times, even put new tires on the front, shake was still there (needed new tires anyways as i went much wider up front....running 18x9.5 with a 255/35 now and an 18x11 with a 295/30). Ironically with each balance things seemed to get better, but it may have been in my head. Well, problem still didn't go away, finally fitted my OEM wheels and tires, problem is still there.


I've looked over the front suspension, everything looks good. wondering if it may be the wheel bearings. Ball joints and all look good.

I'm thinking i'll try alignment again, the car has spent a lot of time going up and down / on and off jack stands the last few months and wondering if it maybe knocked the toe or something out (would also be good to do this since i've gone so much wider up front).


Any other suggestions?

 

I had the same thing. Happened after new tires. I got a Road Force balance with Tire Indexing from a local speed shop. (RennTech, the Mercedes guys, in Stuart FL). Steering wheel shimmy gone!

I think they charged me about $150.

 

Found my invoice

 

Ya. I've sat and watched them road forced balanced at 3 separate places. Two of places I've always had good success with. Given it happens on the stock wheels too which were never a problem I've ruled balancing out.

 

And damn those guys charge a lot for balancing

 

I didn't buy the tires from them and all four had to be removed from the rims. They identify the heavy spots on each wheel and each tire and then mount them 180 degrees apart, so that the forces counter each other. It worked, so I found it totally worth it. Much cheaper than the "chase and replace" I had planned if it didn't work!

This:
https://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech....jsp?techid=17

 

Absolutely agree. Much better to knock out the cheap **** first

 

If you have "gone so much wider up front" after an alignment the alignment is suspect.

However, I note that with the OEM wheels/tires the symptoms are still there.

I also note you mention the car has been up and down on/off jack stands. I have to think -- based on other posts I've come upon on this subject -- that too often owners of these cars are not as careful about how the car is lifted in order to get the car in the air and on jack stands and my WAG is you have bent some suspension hardware while lifting the car.

You will have to fit the tires/wheels you are going to run and get the car in and have the alignment checked. If the tech finds one (or more) adjustments "way off" this suggests something's bent and should be investigated.

 

Macster, thats a concern of mine as well. Which actually just reminded me I did a bone head thing.

My wife was 9 months pregnant a few weeks back and had an emergency while I was jacking up and I had to drop everything not even realizing I had only one side jacked up and a stand under the front. So ultimately the car sat on one jack stand in the front with the opposite end hanging in the air a bit. Totally spaced on this (has been a long 9 months with a 6 and 4 year old and new one on the way, who is now here)

 

Belated congrats regarding your 3rd.

Up to you how you approach this but one way with something possibly bent would be to have the car and its running gear (suspension) checked by a senior Porsche tech on the alignment rack after telling him what happened. Maybe he can spot the problem and if it is a bent component you can replace it *before* he does the alignment. Could save you some $$$$.

He could also find that nothing is bent just the alignment managed to get horribly out of spec.

 

No clunks right?

 

No clunks. Solved that a few months ago with new strut mounts.

Car does pull to the right slightly. Which has me thinking alignment needs redoing either way.


I'll start there. There's a local guy that's cheap. Real close to my Porsche mechanic so I'll have them do a once over while it's up.

 

I'd say possibly a bent wheel. They can be perfectly balanced but a slight bend will cause oscillation which will shake your steering wheel. If toe is out a bit it can cause it too but much more subtle.

 

I'm also having a high frequency vibration at 60ish mph. It starts about 57mph and goes away above 64mph. I've had my fronts balanced 3 times and the wheel trueness checked. It's all perfect. I put new suspension on last summer and it was fine after install. I'm suspecting wheel bearing(s) too.

 

. They are freshly rebuilt with new barrels. I've had them back to the rebuilders twice and while there is a very very ever so slight hop in one. They are probably the straightest 3 piece whees I've owned.

Plus I ruled that by using a different set of wheels and still having it. It's possible, for sure. Just wouldn't add up.