Macan dragging a wheel?
Discussion
My wife bought a new Macan earlier this year. Very nice 2.0L with all the fancy bits including 21in alloys, but there is an unpleasant kind of dragging clonk when slowly moving on full lock (forward and reverse). It feels like one wheel is just jumping a bit as it turns and it is unnerving. As the driver you feel it's not right and it is probably damaging something. The main dealer says this is normal and common to most Porsche models, but I find it hard to believe a car that was best part of £60k does this. Neither of us have ever had a car do this in 35 years of motoring and have never spent so much on a purchase either. Can anyone shed light on it? Is it really true Porsches do this? I thought it was because the wheels are oversized, but the dealer says it's nothing to do with it.
If the noise is coming from front wheel then it is likely to be something called the Ackerman effect and which refer# to the different arcs that each front wheel has to follow when on full lock It is in fact the tyre tread “jumping” across the road surface. I have a Macan and 718 Boxster and both do it - though it is more pronounced on the 718 with its wider wheels. It is also worse in cold weather. Nothing to worry about !
I’ve got a Macan and a couple of other Porsche’s...they all do it in cold weather and none of them do it in warm weather...it’s the tyres in cold weather which is why you are experiencing it now and not before. My Macan and Cayenne stop doing it when I put them on the winter wheels and tyres which they will be next week. It’s not the Ackerman effect....at least I don’t believe so based on my experience of both Porsche 4x4’s and sports cars.
Cabsi said:
The construction of the tyres also influences the amount of 'skip'. I have a 981 and changed from Pirelli to Goodyear and its a lot less noticeable now.
Yup. I think/suspect Porsche specify a compound in their N rated tyres which is aimed at grip/performance in the dry/summer ratehr than cold weather performance. Obviously Germany and most of Europe use winter tyres so wouldn't be a problem for them....the UK is probably somewhat of an outlier for the temperatures we get and most people not using winter tyres. They're much better in the wet than summer tyres...not just about snow. I've a couple of posts on this here myself - my Macan was bloody dreadful when the temperatures drop. Ruined the car a lot as it would graunch and skip in turning at junctions and behave like it had some kind of mechanical fault or diffs were welded The car is perfectly aligned and set up by the top specialist too...better than factory tolerances.
So I could cope no longer and changed the fronts a week ago and its been a revelation. I put the Porsche approved Latitude 3 N2 tyres on and the Ackerman has gone - 3 degrees today... Hopefully it will remain gone as they tyres wear too.
So the notion that 'Porsche approved' is just marketing or kickbacks has been kicked into the long grass by me with an apology! Try these latest Michelin Latitude 3 that are N2 approved...
So I could cope no longer and changed the fronts a week ago and its been a revelation. I put the Porsche approved Latitude 3 N2 tyres on and the Ackerman has gone - 3 degrees today... Hopefully it will remain gone as they tyres wear too.
So the notion that 'Porsche approved' is just marketing or kickbacks has been kicked into the long grass by me with an apology! Try these latest Michelin Latitude 3 that are N2 approved...
Cabsi said:
The construction of the tyres also influences the amount of 'skip'. I have a 981 and changed from Pirelli to Goodyear and its a lot less noticeable now.
I did the same, and when it wasn't too cold the grabbing disappeared. Now it's colder it's returned again, though less than the P-Zero. Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff