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New Car, Under-steering like crazy!! What's wrong with this thing??

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Old 11-23-2012, 09:51 PM
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New Car, Under-steering like crazy!! What's wrong with this thing??

Hello,

I just picked up a 2009 C2S PDK with 20k miles.

Tires front and back have plenty of tread, PS2's all around. The car is under steering all over the place. ABS is kicking in on perfectly flat roads under medium pressure braking.

I drove a C2S loaner once and it was nothing like this. Very neutral balance... tail happy if anything.

I'm going to bring the car back to the dealer tomorrow to have alignment checked. The car is CPO though, so it should have just had it's alignment checked.

Anything I should tell them to look for specifically?

Thanks
 
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Old 11-23-2012, 10:15 PM
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Tell them to look at the car.

You don't need to tell them what to look for.
doing internet research then going advising the professionals isn't cool.
I liken it to going to a restraunt and telling the chef how to cook
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 12:20 AM
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CPO check means nothing! thats a gimmick, if the car looks clean- no leaks, etc they CPO it!
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:20 AM
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air temps & pressures

PS2s don't grip in the cold
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:35 AM
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Originally Posted by Steve997S
air temps & pressures

PS2s don't grip in the cold
Lots of variables before we blame the car, no offense.
I am in No. NJ this week and my car has started acting different with the temps falling here... Did you buy a black 911 from JD?
 

Last edited by cerbomark; 11-24-2012 at 06:37 AM.
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:45 AM
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Originally Posted by cerbomark
Lots of variables before we blame the car, no offense.
I am in No. NJ this week and my car has started acting different with the temps falling here...
you just supported my point, I didn't blame the car. I blamed the weather and suggested checking pressures as he should since they greatly affect grip.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Steve997S
you just supported my point, I didn't blame the car. I blamed the weather and suggested checking pressures as he should since they greatly affect grip.
No. I meant no offense to the OP and agreed with you.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 07:09 AM
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Even if tire pressures are correct, cold temps now mean no grip.
Summers skins pretty much useless below 7 degrees.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 07:59 AM
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Try going to a tire shop and check your alignment, they have the original set camber, caster etc on your car maybe is that.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 09:28 AM
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The car has Conti Extreme Contacts. I thought it was the cold weather at first, but if that was true the back end should be just as lose as the front, but it's not. The back end comes out a little, but it's far more planted than the front. I've driven a 2009 C2S in the past, and it was way more tail happy. This one just plows into corners.

I already adjusted the tire pressure. It's 37 in the front and 44 in the back, cold.

I bought a black on black from Town Motors in Englewood NJ.

Any other ideas. I'm gonna make them check alignment today, see where it's at.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 10:43 AM
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check to see if you don't have a problem with the PSM button being off all the time!
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 11:01 AM
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Checking the alignment is a good idea, to reduce under steer, use the throttle and brakes. Slower into the corner and faster out of the corner.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 12:25 PM
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When I got my 09 C4S it had 3500 miles on it and like your car, it understeered terribly, in fact after one moderate track session, the outside front tires were pretty much worn out! I was coming from an 05 C2S and was told that`s the difference with the 4`s. Took it to an Indy shop for an alignment check and while everything was within factory spec it was all at the limits the wrong way. Specifically it had too little front neg. camber, too much neg rear camber, and too much toe in front and back. I had researched a bit on the forum for ideal alignment specs, and when the adjustments were made it transformed the car. Even driving home on residential streets, the steering was much lighter and after a few track sessions handling is better and tire wear is fairly uniform. The car is slightly more sensitive to cross winds but only slightly. The other thing I`ve found with the large tires we have is that pressures significantly impact how the car feels. It sounds like the pressures on your car were set to max load, you may want to try them at the suggested normal pressures for your car which I believe are about 34/39 (check your manual) As others have said there are other factors which can cause the handling to be off but those are some of the easily fixed things that worked on my car.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by dudical26
The car has Conti Extreme Contacts. I thought it was the cold weather at first, but if that was true the back end should be just as lose as the front, but it's not. The back end comes out a little, but it's far more planted than the front. I've driven a 2009 C2S in the past, and it was way more tail happy. This one just plows into corners.

I already adjusted the tire pressure. It's 37 in the front and 44 in the back, cold.

I bought a black on black from Town Motors in Englewood NJ.

Any other ideas. I'm gonna make them check alignment today, see where it's at.
cold affects those tires too and your pressures are a little too high which will add to understeer especially in the cold since you have reduced the ability of the tire to flex and therefore generate heat. Those tires aren't as grippy to begin with. You're also comparing to a C2S with what rubber and what time of year?

If you say in your next post you have Pirellis then I give up.
 
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Old 11-24-2012, 03:54 PM
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Get used to it. The cars do understeer. We've been under 40 for a while and the tires can get very slippery. I found out the same thing. Go into a turn too hot and it really pushes. This is also part of driving a 997. You go in slow and go out hard. You might be a bit slower going in than other cars, but you can stand it on from the apex and the car just sticks from the weight of the motor and the wider rear tires. You need to run all seasons at least during the winter. I don't think an alignment is going to have much to do with it.
 


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