mrbill_fl

the TDC mark also helps to find out when the alignment it way off... like during a race, w/ a door to door contact. not that, that happens in pca races....

but, mostly it looks cool..

Phokaioglaukos

Always helpful information here. For me the yellow band would be pure poser, so I'll skip it.

NetManiac

I'd always just assumed that these were the intended uses of the yellow band. Hadn't really thought it would be good for much else, since like Mark I don't really look at the steering wheel much while driving.

GUMBALL

Gee...I apologize.....I meant no personal insult to your or to your family............

................I was merely trying to add my perspective............

............and I HAVE done one or two alignments..........

........and some cars (like 944's and 928's) DO have a centering bolt hole in the steering rack housing...(that little plastic screw just outboard of the pinion)....

...and to sww914, who has "done hundreds" of alignments....I would have thought that you might have noticed that.......(??)

TD in DC

The hub for my removable wheel can only go on in the correct position. The band on the steering wheel is helpful because I always place the band straight up when I park the car so that it is easy to install the steering wheel when I get back in the car.

It was also useful when I snapped my control arm two weeks ago. When the arm first started to break, the only telltale sign was that the band on the steering wheel was pointing slighly off to the right, despite the fact that the car was not pulling and was handling extremely well. The additional angle of the wheel was subtle at first, and I am not sure I would have known that anything was amiss had I not noticed the band on the steering wheel.

I don't think it helps too much when trying to prevent a spin. If you are looking at your wheel, you most likely have bigger problems.

Bull

If you don't have a removable wheel, the band will be of limited use...it is helpful at times to know how the wheels are oriented when stopped. Most of the wheels I was interested in when buying my removable set-up already had the band on them (Mom, etc.), I guess anticipating a removable set-up.

Larry Herman

Geez, and I always thought that the nice thick yellow band was to prevent the wheel from getting all muffed up when you hang it up on the resting hook!

VaSteve

I always figured it was like the AM/PM setting on the car radio. If you can't tell the difference between 7 am and 7 pm, you shouldn't be behind the wheel

RedlineMan

Hundreds of alignments, eh?

Oh... but none on a Porsche? Methinks I'd ask your GOD why he never told you?

To be.. um... fair, I usually don't use it. When I am aligning a car that I have just put together with a new rack, rods, struts... etc., I'll do it. Nice to start off completely fresh and perfect.

924RACR

I added such a band to my Momo (Monte Carlo) when I installed it... but in blue, to match the car. Just a band of electrical tape wrapped around it... has stayed put for 7 years now.

I find it useful for all of the above. As a reference for installing the wheels, particularly for newbies in my car - I have a matching paint stripe on the column. I have a hex style release, can easily be installed 60 degrees off.

It's very useful for alignments; when the car is up on the rack I can easily see the alignment mark (though I go for the level on the top crossbar of the wheel to get it perfect.

And it was a very nice feature to have this last weekend, when I got tagged hard by a Rustang (Capri, actually, but same thing) and he gave me the gift of 1.5" toe out. It was 2 corners into the race, we were all still side-by-side on a tight track, and very congested - no time or room to think. But it took no effort to notice immediately that the steering wheel was off-center; if I hadn't realized that, I'd have probably missed a corner or two (I know the track so well my steering inputs are basically programmed) before adjusting. I was also able to quickly assess that this was the only damage to the car (aside from the obvious fender work), and keep driving hard to maintain 3rd place.

sww914

I'm calling him now.

sww914

BTW, sorry I came off as such a di*k, It was a bad day, I turned into a pompous know it all somehow, but I'm trying to avoid that in the future. Half of the alignments I've done were on Porsches, I obviously don't know it all.

GUMBALL

.....none of us do, that's why we're here....

RedlineMan

Well....

I'm impressed. Wish I was that good at Mea Culpa

sww914

When you often do something dumb, you get lots of practice.