My 997 turbo unstable at speed! Can anyone help me please?
Discussion
Can anyone help me please? I have a 2007 997 turbo which I bought just over a year ago with an opc warranty. The problem i have with it is that it feels unstable at speed! The steering moves around and is sometimes difficult to steer in a straight line especially if the road is uneven. Its at cruising speed that you feel this! From a standing start it pulls straight and gets to double figures no problem and feels planted but it's when you get up there and cruise that it has this problem. It just does not feel right! I have had the alignment done twice now and the front tyres replaced along with suspension checks at the opc. The opc test drove it and said that it's fine with no faults, but I know it's not! I can drive my vw works van faster! The tyres are Bridgestones as per original n rated fitment. I am wondering if the suspension has a fault which is not visable on the diagnostic scanner. I have read on here about someone with the same problem but they did not post the final results. I have previous Porsche ownership which started a few years back with a 944 turbo which I drove every day for 180k miles without fault and then onto a 965 and 996, both of which I enjoyed driving, but this car is doing my head in and have now stopped driving it due to this issue.
Any advise (other than get rid of it) would be very much appreciated.
Any advise (other than get rid of it) would be very much appreciated.
Slow down
Only joking, I agree with Mike, suspension or wheel/tyre balance would be my first call. Go to a tyre shop and have them check the balance of all your wheels, even an issue at the front can appear to manifest a rear grip issue. Next is geo, corner weight and then as long as its straight it will most likely be suspension.
Only joking, I agree with Mike, suspension or wheel/tyre balance would be my first call. Go to a tyre shop and have them check the balance of all your wheels, even an issue at the front can appear to manifest a rear grip issue. Next is geo, corner weight and then as long as its straight it will most likely be suspension.sportsandclassic said:
Hi, we have had issues like you describe and the rear shock absorbers were at fault..
Try pressing the sport button to see if it goes away.
Mike
Hi Mike. Try pressing the sport button to see if it goes away.
Mike
In the sport or pasm mode it does feel marginally better but still not right. The front still seems to bob up and down a bit! I obviously understand that the rear will effect the front end feel. One thing I have noted since having this problem is that I have measured the ride height to the spec and their is a slight variation in the front right to left approx 8mm! I was told by opc that this was a normal margin. All the springs look good and so do the suspension mounts. I am thinking it could be suspension or the actual control unit. On the front and rear left lower suspension arms their is a levelling device. I don't suppose you know if this device is suspension levelling or just headlight levelling?
Many thanks for your reply. Best regards, Snoop.
mm450exc said:
Have Chris at Center Gravity check your car. He is the best!
Just had him put on H&R anti roll bars and RSS engine mounts. Now we are track ready!
Hi. Many thanks for your reply. Just had him put on H&R anti roll bars and RSS engine mounts. Now we are track ready!
I do know Chris is the main man for alignment but it's just finding the time to go up and get it done. I think my car would go round the track ok as long as its long sweeping bends and not any long straights. The strange thing is I'm not joking. It does feel absolutely planted on sweeping fast bends.
Best regards, Snoop.
GT3RS said:
Slow down
Only joking, I agree with Mike, suspension or wheel/tyre balance would be my first call. Go to a tyre shop and have them check the balance of all your wheels, even an issue at the front can appear to manifest a rear grip issue. Next is geo, corner weight and then as long as its straight it will most likely be suspension.
Hi. I just can't help myself I'm afraid! I bought this car for a reason, and i am a little disappointed if I'm honest. I love the power and the speed of this thing but this handling issue scares me.I know it is just something simple that is causing this problem and would like to sort it out. I have had all the wheel balanced and checked along with all the suspension visually inspected, but all looks to be ok. Only joking, I agree with Mike, suspension or wheel/tyre balance would be my first call. Go to a tyre shop and have them check the balance of all your wheels, even an issue at the front can appear to manifest a rear grip issue. Next is geo, corner weight and then as long as its straight it will most likely be suspension.Many thanks for your reply. Snoop.
snoopydog said:
Hi. I just can't help myself I'm afraid! I bought this car for a reason, and i am a little disappointed if I'm honest. I love the power and the speed of this thing but this handling issue scares me.I know it is just something simple that is causing this problem and would like to sort it out. I have had all the wheel balanced and checked along with all the suspension visually inspected, but all looks to be ok.
Many thanks for your reply. Snoop.
Be sure the tires are all identical. Be sure if they are directional they are mounted the correct direction. Be sure you accurately check the tire pressure and these are spot on what they should be. Now is not the time to get all experimental.Many thanks for your reply. Snoop.
IIRC the other poster who (recently) complained about his car's handling found it was due to alignment.
In another case some few years back another owner reported something similar and had the car in for an alignment more than once and still the car was not right. He finally took the car to another shop and it found the alignment was out. After correcting the alignment the car was ok. Apparently the first place (I seem to recall it was an OPC too...) had just been blowing the guy off telling him an alignment was done (and possibly even charging him for it) when it was not done or done right.
I've had my 996 Turbo up to 168mph and have cruised a lower but still high speed for some distance and the car is very planted and gives me every confidence in the world the car is designed and quite capable of running safely and stably at whatever speed it can obtain.
I see no reason the 997 Turbo can't do the same.
sportsandclassic said:
The car has got no level system only headlight level off those sensors.
Get the shock absorbers checked by driving over a sleeping policeman/ speed bump and see if it bobs up and down like a yoyo. Put the PASM on and re test.
Mike
Hi Mike. Get the shock absorbers checked by driving over a sleeping policeman/ speed bump and see if it bobs up and down like a yoyo. Put the PASM on and re test.
Mike
Thank you for the info on the levelling devices.
It does not bob up and down like a yoyo over low speed bumps. It just bounces up and returns as it should! In pasm it's the same but just a lot firmer. It does bounce more at speed though! I was thinking of putting some bags of cement or something heavy in the front boot and see if that makes a difference. One thing I am not sure about is how important is it to have the steering wheel set in the straight ahead position after alignment was adjusted? I just read it some where that it needs to be reset after geo is done. The steering wheel is straight but not sure if this was important after the alignment was done.
Many thanks for reply, it is very much appreciated. Regards, Snoop.
Rockster said:
Be sure the tires are all identical. Be sure if they are directional they are mounted the correct direction. Be sure you accurately check the tire pressure and these are spot on what they should be. Now is not the time to get all experimental.
IIRC the other poster who (recently) complained about his car's handling found it was due to alignment.
In another case some few years back another owner reported something similar and had the car in for an alignment more than once and still the car was not right. He finally took the car to another shop and it found the alignment was out. After correcting the alignment the car was ok. Apparently the first place (I seem to recall it was an OPC too...) had just been blowing the guy off telling him an alignment was done (and possibly even charging him for it) when it was not done or done right.
I've had my 996 Turbo up to 168mph and have cruised a lower but still high speed for some distance and the car is very planted and gives me every confidence in the world the car is designed and quite capable of running safely and stably at whatever speed it can obtain.
I see no reason the 997 Turbo can't do the same.
Hi and thank you for your reply. All the tyres match and going in the right direction. The pressures I have played around with a bit and does help a little but not a lot. The alignment was done by a specialist and I stood and watched the adjustments being made within the given parameters and these matched the ones given to me by the opc. I have read other reports of the same issue but i can not find the one you refer to. I read in one post that it turned out to be a fault with the front diff! I'm not sure about that one. My 996 turbo was a great car too untill it aquaplaned on some surface water on a dual carriageway and threw me up the embankment ,and over 6 times and finished up tangled up in the central reservation steel cables! Luckily for me it was a Porsche I reckon and I walked away unhurt. IIRC the other poster who (recently) complained about his car's handling found it was due to alignment.
In another case some few years back another owner reported something similar and had the car in for an alignment more than once and still the car was not right. He finally took the car to another shop and it found the alignment was out. After correcting the alignment the car was ok. Apparently the first place (I seem to recall it was an OPC too...) had just been blowing the guy off telling him an alignment was done (and possibly even charging him for it) when it was not done or done right.
I've had my 996 Turbo up to 168mph and have cruised a lower but still high speed for some distance and the car is very planted and gives me every confidence in the world the car is designed and quite capable of running safely and stably at whatever speed it can obtain.
I see no reason the 997 Turbo can't do the same.
All the best, Snoop.
Koln-RS said:
I've driven quite a lot of 911s and had the use of a 997 Turbo S recently.
Drove it in mixed conditions on mixed roads and, IMO, it was the empitome of stability and confidence. Couldn't fault it.
Hi. That's exactly how i thought it should be. It does handle well at low speed and on acceleration but it's just the straight line cruising stability! It's almost as if when the rear spoiler goes up the front goes light and on uneven road conditions it unsettles it further. Unfortunately I don't know anyone with same car I could drive to compare it with.Drove it in mixed conditions on mixed roads and, IMO, it was the empitome of stability and confidence. Couldn't fault it.
If i was Jenson button or Lewis Hamilton, I would be asking for more front downforce please!
s3nick said:
If you are around london I'm happy to help and see if I notice any difference as have owned a 997 turbo over 4 years now.
That's very kind of you Nick. Thank you. I am in fact in Sw1v London this weekend but unfortunately without the car. It's just not pleasurable to drive it up the motorway anymore. Perhaps I will give you a shout when I'm up next with the car. I really appreciate your kind offer.
What mileage has the 997 done? It is likely that the front control arms have play and rear bushes n the front wishbones.
You really want to find a garage that has a pneumatic suspension shake test - it will highlight any play in the suspension that a regular static visual inspection would normally miss.
You really want to find a garage that has a pneumatic suspension shake test - it will highlight any play in the suspension that a regular static visual inspection would normally miss.
Another thing worth mentioning is!
My car has been into the Opc twice now over this issue and they have checked and test drove it and have said that it's fine. I did tell them that it only feels this way over 70mph! I do understand that I can not expect a technician to drive it over the legal limit but how are you suppose to reconstruct its behaviour? What do these car manufactures do in these circumstances? I guess just like I have experienced with opc. Charge you an arm and a leg for it and tell you that it's fine!
Regards, Snoop.
My car has been into the Opc twice now over this issue and they have checked and test drove it and have said that it's fine. I did tell them that it only feels this way over 70mph! I do understand that I can not expect a technician to drive it over the legal limit but how are you suppose to reconstruct its behaviour? What do these car manufactures do in these circumstances? I guess just like I have experienced with opc. Charge you an arm and a leg for it and tell you that it's fine!
Regards, Snoop.
[quote=projectgt]What mileage has the 997 done? It is likely that the front control arms have play and rear bushes n the front wishbones.
You really want to find a garage that has a pneumatic suspension shake test - it will highlight any play in the suspension that a regular static visual inspection would normally miss.
Hi. The cars done 60k. It had its annual Mot done just before I stopped driving it and they use this pneumatic shake system. No advisories given! I suppose i could always go back to them for a closer look. Or I could start replacing parts to eliminate it. Trouble is, I have already chucked a load of money at it and is still the same. But I know the lower arms are not that expensive.
Many thanks for your reply. Best regards, Snoop.
You really want to find a garage that has a pneumatic suspension shake test - it will highlight any play in the suspension that a regular static visual inspection would normally miss.
Hi. The cars done 60k. It had its annual Mot done just before I stopped driving it and they use this pneumatic shake system. No advisories given! I suppose i could always go back to them for a closer look. Or I could start replacing parts to eliminate it. Trouble is, I have already chucked a load of money at it and is still the same. But I know the lower arms are not that expensive.
Many thanks for your reply. Best regards, Snoop.
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