FTS

I am having alignment problems with my Cayman S. About 3 weeks ago, I took the car to my race shop to get it aligned. We got the camber and toe settings as we wanted on the car; however, as I picked up the car from the shop and drove off, within few miles, I noticed that the alignment was off, feeling as if it was going sideways and the rear toe being quite off.

About a week later, I schedule another time slot with the shop to correct the issue. They found that somehow, rear toe, as suspected, was way off. One side +0.1x and other -0.1x. So, one side had toe in and the other had toe out, hence the side ways feeling. Picked up the car towards the end of the day, I drove off, and the same thing.

Couple of days later, last Friday, I took the car in, stayed there and made sure the process was followed properly. I have to state that my race shop has some of the best techs in the area and they truly now what their doing. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure everything was done by the book (I have done more than few dozen alignments myself on various cars). When we put the car on the alignment machine, we observed that this third time we had rear toe out/in situation like the previos times. We did the alignment, re-verified by going back and forth between the front and the rear camber/toe adjustments, making sure everything were as symetric as they can by to the 1/100th of a degree and that all bolts were properly torque and so forth. Confident of the process, I drove off..... I can't believe it, THE SAME THING!

So, today, owner of the shop called the manufacturer of the alignment machine and the techs came in, I went down with car and we started to whole process again a 4th time. Between 9:30 am and 6 pm, the car got aligned probably 12-14 times, each time narrowing down the possible issues. And between each alignment, we drove the car on the road for couple miles for the suspension to settle down. Alas, no luck, rear and front toe changes from alignment to alignment, we are not getting consistent numbers at all, and the car is still side ways, much more subtle though at this time.

The only things we have been able to rule out were that the machine is calibrated properly and there are no problems with the software. We aligned and verified a different car on the same machine and the numbers stayed the same to the 1/100th of degree.

So, now I am and they are at a loss; we do not know what the problem might be. If anyone experienced something similar, I would really would like to hear about it, or any information you guys can share would be great.

Some facts:

I really appreciate some help, I am at a loss what to even try at this time.

Thank you in advance,

FT

Premier Motorsp

Your facts point to a problem with the alignment machine or alignment process. It sounds like the machine is lying about or is confused about the thrust angle.

Try a different shop/machine. That will give you the answer.

Chris Cervelli
Premier Motorsports

Bill L Seifert

I would take the car to a Porsche Dealer. Being in Maryland, there has to be a good Porsche dealer somewhere in that state.

Bill Seifert

1983 944 Race Car Also have a Boxster

Greg Fishman

You can't go wrong with good old fashioned string set up either.

FTS

Thank you very much for the responses. That is actually my next step, I will take it to my dealer probably on Monday. I need to convince them to check the alignment twice though. I'll post what they find out.

Thank you again,

FT

Larry Herman

One thing about checking it with smart strings, it may not be as perfectly precise as a computerized machine, but it also can't be as wacked out either.

sww914

What are your eyes telling you? Often, you can see afew 100th's of a degree of toe difference if you sight down the sides of the tires. Make sure that the front wheels are facing perfectly straight, and sight down the sides of the car, lining your eyes up with the outside edge of the sidewalls of the rear tires across the center of the hub, looking towards the front of the car, and see which way the rear wheels are pointing. If, after the alignment, they're both facing the same way, and after a drive they're pointing somewhere else, the problem is the car. If they're pointing 2 different places after the alignment, the problem is the machine. Your eyes can be as accurate as the machine, if you can put your head in the right spot, and see the right thing.

mitch236

I wonder if they are setting the alignment while the bolts are loose and then not rechecking it after they tighten everything down. This is a very common proceedure at "chain" tire stores as it is much faster. I doubt your shop does it this way but the only alignment that matters is what you get after everything is tightened down.

Z-man

What toe settings are you hoping to achieve? And what caster settings? I don't know about Cayman camber settings, but it seems to me your rear camber is high compared to your front camber. I have a 944S2 and run -2-ish camber at all four corners with good results, but I also have a non-stock suspension.

I suspect that you are going for a more agressive alignment since you posted this on the DE/Track forum. Are the settings you wish for still within the tolerances of your stock suspension?

I am no expert, but perhaps -2.1 camber in the rear of the car is near or at the limits of what the stock suspension can handle, and that may be causing your rear toe issues. (with my previous stock suspension, -1.5 of camber was about the max that the experts would recommend)

-Z-man.

DGaunt

The alignment computer is only as good as the data put into it (GIGO). I am thinking that one or both of the rear heads are faulty, sending false data to the computer. Insanity is repating the same thing over andover and expecting a different result. Well, I don't know if it's insanity, but it will drive you crazy.

I think you are on the right trackby trying a different machine.

Good luck.

Bull

Could be the machine. But if the car is aligning properly as both reported by the machine and a visual check, then when driven it goes wacky, and the machine says it is wacky when you go back to it, I would suspect the car.

NJ-GT

Check the toe eccentric bolts. When too much torque is applied to them, the eccentric bolts won't hold the toe arm on the subframe anymore.

Pretty common with the GT3 due to the stiff suspension, but it's the same design in all the 986/996/987/997.

mrbill_fl

I also think its the car by now.

the machine is confiriming a bad alignment, after a few miles.

can you replace the bolts? (bolt stretch, like on a clutch or head)

bgiere

Check with ErnieJ...he is racing a Cayman with Mantis Sport...he has a few posts on the Cayman S forum....seems like they have a pretty thorough understanding of how to set a Cayman up.

BC

Are they lifting the car during this alignment? Just a WAG - because with the 928 you can't lift it before you align it. If you do, your alignment will "settle" into a horrible one.