[Kaj Hallstrom]

Continuing my brake work on the rear of the 968 I discovered good news....and bad news. The brake pads where in fine shape with more than 60% left. The bad news was the tire. Completely gone on the inside. Metal sticking out from it. It went unnoticed until today when I had the wheel off. Ordered replacement right away. Looks clearly to me as an alignment issue. Tires was fine on the outside. Here is the question. Big O Tires does not do alignment on Porsche's........HMMM....Is an alignment on a 968 a science project?....I find it hard to believe it could be any more difficult to do than on a Honda Accord.

 

Your input Gentlemen!!

 

   

   

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[az968]

You were really lucky with the tire. The other one is good? That looks to be far off the side of the tire, is it on the sidewall?


I would take it to a specialist for a four wheel alignment.

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[ds968]

Inside ? So the inner band / edge of the tire ? The toe setting may be too much toe-out. Rear wheel drive cars automatically cause the front tires to push out a bit , if the alignment setting of the toe is already a degeee or more out, thatll compound the problem. Dont ask me how I know, lol. Not sure aligning a 968 is really is quite simple as a Honda Accord , the set up is a bit more finicky, with less tolerance for ah, its close enough but its not rocket science either - any good , reputable alignment shop should be able to figure it out for you and set it where it should be .

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

No Bob, both are bad. The wear is at the inside edge. Will consult on alignment. You notice my spare out?...Never been used after 25 years. The reason for it out was that I had to use the car jack to lift up the front. Not enough clearance for my big floor jack to get in place......Glad I caught this before something bad happened.

.....and yes, too much toe out might be the issue.....TBC!

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[Spokayman]

Kaj, the wear on the inside edge could also be caused by excessive camber (tilting of the tire).


After installing all new tires on my cab last month I had it aligned at a local shop that is familiar with the 944/968 cars.

Aside from too much toe-in front and rear the rear wheel camber was off as well. The old tires (rear) had a small amount of inside wear that was blamed on the camber.

The car drives very neutral now, and it feels like it rolls more freely as well. Maybe that is partly the new tires though.


I have been told a couple times that the 944/968 alignment is unusual compared to modern cars (rear mostly I think) and I have been advised to seek out someone who knows what they are doing.

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[ds968]

Right, camber can also be a big contributor . There is a thread here somewhere in which Flash posted very comprehensive information on alignment , with three different types of settings ; for normal street driving, for slightly more aggressive sport driving , and for not quite track driving but as close as youll get to it if you really want to push the car to test its limits. I have to head out to work now so no time for a search, but its here for those that have the time and interest to do the search ..

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[Ryan]

When I have had alignments I was told they couldn't do the rear because of a special tool needed but I was just inside spec so no problem.

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[tejon007]

Kaj, hope you are well...Are you sure the tire(s) aren't rubbing? That looks worse and different than just a bad alignment...


I had a shop that was really good at alignments and I used to take all my cars there until the service manager changed jobs, which resulted in nowhere near the service quality.


Since then, I can't seem to find a good shop. One was so rigid that when I gave them a print out of a technical service bulletin from the car manufacturer that showed the differences directed for the rear camber and toe, they said we can't change what the "machine" tells us for the alignment. Then they put the staggered tires on incorrectly (same size ties on the same side not front/rear)and were telling me that I needed to buy an eccentric "kit", so they could perform the alignment. It's not the shop, it's the quality and skill of who is actually performing the alignment (whether it's with lasers or a piece of chalk and a tale measure).


I've been seriously thinking about getting an alignment setup, so I can just do my own alignments and so I would really know what I had...Anyone doing that??

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[Chris Vais]

968s require a 4 wheel alignment and it should be done after you put on new tires. ABP Repair in Oakland where I take my car for service can do the alignment. I have them set the car up with a somewhat more aggressive alignment on the front than factory spec. Improves the turn in and with the D1R strut tower and and caster braces the front end does not washout in a curve.

 

I'm surprised that you didn't hear a howl like a 4 wheel drive truck from those rear tires.

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[jsheiry]

After several winter projects including new front Koni strut inserts as well as rear wheel bearings Im finally getting my wifes car out of the garage.  I called one of my favorite indie shops and when they quoted me $400-500 for the 4 wheel alignment I called another well thought of local shop and they basically said the same.  I have an appointment for tomorrow to have the car aligned.  Did not think it would set me back this much but they both reported the job to not really be technically difficult but laborious to get it right.

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[ds968]

$ 400 was about the going rate around here at reputable / highly rated shops many years ago when I had the last alignment done. IIRC, that’s also what I paid in Los Angeles over 12 years ago ( I was in shock at the cost then ) but at that time in addition to the usual alignment, they also did corner balancing , with the driver in the seat, blah, blah blah .. not really necessary IMO , but it adds a little more labor charge . Just as a frame of reference for a Maserati GTS ( which I have had aligned last year ) the dealer wants about $ 600 , but good indy shops will do just as good of a job if not better for $ 400 - $ 450 , at least here on the peninsula side of the Bay Area . I’m starting to think this may be the going rate for just about any car’ s all four alignment , whether it’s a Honda Accotd or a Ferrari .

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[az968]

Wow, $400? A local high end auto shop here does it for $120. Computerized system. I too use Flash's slightly more agressive settings, since I have a bunch of his suspension stuff on my car. The shop had no problem dialing in those setting. If the shop can't do that, then keep looking for a better shop. It's not that hard to adjust the back, the shop had all the tools it needed. There was one adjustment bolt that was tough to loosen up, but once that was done they had no problem. Let let me watch the process.
If you can't get the floor jack under the front, just drive the car up on wood blocks, better than using the supplied jack.

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[MCL968]

That seems high to me as well. I paid 140 last year and I also used Flash's middle settings.

 

One word of caution, the lower D1R brace has to be loosened to do the job right, and the person doing my alignment could not figure out how to loosen the left-hand threaded locking nut. If you have that brace, I suggest you loosen it first. That is far easier than trying to explain to someone unfamiliar with the concept how left-hand threads work and why they are there.

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[ds968]

Holy crap, it may be worth driving the car from Ca to Nv or Az just to get an alignment done

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[Spokayman]

The shop I took mine to last month charged $100. They are a small shop and I suppose one with more expensive overhead might charge 25-50% more, but that would still be only $150 max.

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[tejon007]

Again, it's not the shop or the cost...it's having the right tools and the skill to do it right.


In addition to my previous semi-rant about alignment shops, I've had them use a pipe wrench on the tie rods (which I think is just laziness), left the lock nuts loose, and break the the ignition lock cylinder (didn't know how to remove the ignition key from an '80s GM car)...


Like I said, I think I might be better off with a couple coffee cans and a couple tape measures (free from Harbor Freight). Another DIY project for Kaj???

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[ds968]

That's the alignment M.O. they used  for the Ford Model T   !    

 

And RAP, no smarta** remarks about my knowing that because I was there at the time..  :glare:     

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

Got new rear tires on today. Brakes all done on four wheels. Found a local place here in Novato that can do a four wheel alignment on the car for $150. They have all the right tools for the project.

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[az968]

That $ sounds more better. Just make sure they know Porsche 968. Do you have the WSM for alignments to take there.

?

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[MCL968]

Do you have the specs from flash?

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