Centre gravity and my 997 GT3 creak

Centre gravity and my 997 GT3 creak

Author
Discussion

ssute

Original Poster:

96 posts

233 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
My 997GT3 Gen 1 just turned 25000miles and the suspension started to creak when warmed up. The car is under warranty so went to my OPC who said it could be the lower control arms or steering arms . May be even top mounts. They were not sure. They suggested the steering arms first as that was the cheapest option. But either way it was not covered by the warranty and all GT3's make odd noises. I took it to another OPC and they didn't know what it was.
By luck I saw a thread on another forum where another owner Rohan had the same problem ,many thousands later and not fixed . He took it to centre gravity,who fixed it.
I contacted Chris at CG and he diagnosed the problem over the phone , although he would test drive to confirm. CG are a two and a half hr drive so Chris gave me details of a B&B .
I took the car to CG and after 10mins they had diagnosed the problem (DU bush in the bilstein dampers). Pete took these to Bilstein who rebuilt them while I waited. He then asked me what type of driving I did (number of track days , type of road use etc). He then set up the GEO accordingly.
The car is transformed I can't believe how good this car is and no creaking
I have no affiliation with the company but I would highly recommend them . THE BEST MONEY I HAVE EVER SPENT and it was under their estimate.
I stayed in the Chapel House B&B ,great food and very good prices. CG even picked me up and dropped me off, with plenty of tea while I watched them work.
Thanks again Chris, Pete, Holly and Jane

Piers84

36 posts

102 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
Great to hear such positive feedback. The gen 1 gt3 I am picking up tomorrow has a similar mileage, so thanks to you I now know where to head if anything similar happens.

ssute

Original Poster:

96 posts

233 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
Congrats on the GT3 you will love it. I would recommend you have the geo set it transforms the car and it is not expensive. Regards Chris

v8ksn

4,711 posts

183 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
Yep! Highly recommend centre gravity, they know their stuff that's for sure.

For anyone wondering what sound the OP is talking about .... https://youtu.be/ctK8S8yzxdU


red997

1,304 posts

208 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
care to share who the OPC's were?

I'd be going back to them with the evidence personally...

Totally agree on Chris' service - top man - the way he transformed my 996GT3CS was nothing short of incredible !

EGTE

996 posts

181 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
I am keen to do this myself, to make best use of my 'investment' suspension.

How do they charge; by the hour, by the job? Reasonable rates?

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
EGTE said:
I am keen to do this myself, to make best use of my 'investment' suspension.

How do they charge; by the hour, by the job? Reasonable rates?
It will be the best money you spend on the car, more bang for buck than money spent on components IMO. I have a TVR that actually handles thanks to Chris cloud9

Cheib

23,112 posts

174 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
Great to hear stories of someone with genuine expertise.

Woeful from the so called experts at OPC's.....

Fl0pp3r

859 posts

202 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
WinstonWolf said:
I have a TVR that actually handles thanks to Chris cloud9
Truly miraculous!! ;-)

ChrisW.

6,210 posts

254 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
There is a reason why people become suspension specialists and in fairness to the OPC, reasons why they may not be.

I personally have always found Tracktorque near Wetherby to be very good ---

And I would wholeheartedly agree. Fresh suspension and a good set-up to your style of driving is a revelation in the confidence stakes ...

A very useful post smile

MaxNg

205 posts

198 months

Monday 4th July 2016
quotequote all
I absolutely endorse the positive remarks about Centre Gravity.

I took my 993 there in 2013, on the way to Southbound Trimmers for a new soft top. (another excellent company) I though my car was "OK"; however, the adjustments made to the geometry transformed the car. They spotted that the "bump stops" were trashed, and gifted me a set that had been gifted to them.

A visit to these guys is money well-spent smile


ultimateporka

133 posts

145 months

Tuesday 5th July 2016
quotequote all
I can vouch for Chris at CG and had a similar situation on my eg6. Had a replacement control arm fitted and since then none of the regular alignment places could sort out the huge negative camber in the issue. Took it to Chris who identified the problem straight away (turned out to be trailing bush being a cm out causing it to limit the movement in the adjuster).

Had it geo'd with installation of adjustable front control arms and it drove like a dream.

Steve Rance

5,435 posts

230 months

Tuesday 5th July 2016
quotequote all
Any GT 911 will be very sensitive to geo adjustments - especially the GT3. They have many different set up options from very blunt/soft to very sharp. It is pretty much essential to employ the services of a specialist Chasis tuner to get the car set up to your liking if you are a GT3 owner. This is generally beyond the remit of a typical OPC and more suited to an experienced tuner such as centre of Gravity, JZM, Parr, Tech 9, Neinmeister etc.. Money very well spent In my opinion.

nigelonich

1,017 posts

219 months

Thursday 7th July 2016
quotequote all
CG helped me out a lot this year. My local geo 'superstars' told me my GT3 could have a bent chassis leg as they couldnt get it to drive straight. Perhaps an overreaction but rather than waste time with other experts I drove down to CG and in less than an hour it turned out they had cocked up the height adjustment on my front right wheel so there was 80kg more than on the front left. I cant thank CG enough and although yes it was expensive in comparison to your typical geo work they offer a service of which there is a long que to use. I would happily use them again where as the initial garage I wouldnt and agreed to compensate me for my trouble based on the feedback report from CG!