I think I need to get a wheel alignment because after changing back to stock 18'' wheels and new tires, my steering wheel is no longer straight (off to the left) and the car tracks slightly to the right.
I've found a local shop that will do it, but they are worried about the car's electronics. I read through the service manual and the only thing I found worrying was:
"The steering angle sensor must be calibrated if the previous wheel alignment values (on rear and/or front axle)
were changed."
From what I could tell, you need
PIWIS
to re-calibrate the sensor. I know many of you have gotten alignments from shops not the
Porsche
dealership, have you had any issues with PSM after the alignment? Is this just an unnecessary step?
Thanks,
I've had mine alligned at the local NTB shop the last 3 times. I didn't know there was a problem. My PSM is fine.
As long as your alignment isn't far off, you won't need to recalibrate the sensor. The sensor is on the steering shaft, not on the linkage to the wheels.
The first step on a good alignment is to set the steering wheel straight and lock it in place. That way, when they set the toe on the front wheels, the wheels will "line up" with the steering wheel.
The only way the alignment should be able to cause a problem with the steering angle sensor is if either you removed and reinstalled the steering wheel and didn't get it back exactly the same way, or the sensor was calibrated when the alignment was way off.
Thanks
I will go ahead and get it done at a local shop. The only reason I'm worried is b\c the only issue with my alignment does seem to be the steering wheel being off to the left. The tracking to the right isn't really that bad and is probably b\c of the roads here are crowned that way.
I'm not really sure how the steering wheel got this way b\c my alignment was fine right before the tire change, but I have a feeling somebody the shop took it for a test drive and bumped something.
Your alignment may be okay -- if the car is tracking to the right because of the road crown, then you'll have to steer to the left to compensate. Different wheels and/or tires will track differently on the road ruts and crowns.
It might be worthwhile to try to find a stretch of road where either you can drive on the left side of a heavily crowned road (like a 2-lanes-per-side country highway with a grass median), or a road that is banked or sloped (with no crown). That way, if the car tracks the other way and the steering wheel must point to the right to compensate, then you'll know it's the wheels/tires and not your alignment.
aaaaaaarrrggggghhhhhh... it was radial pull
Well I got my issue fixed.... after several hours.
Took it into the shop to get aligned; I go there often so they gave me a pretty decent deal on a 4-wheel laser alignment, $110, and I gave them a printout from the service manual so they knew what they were doing. I gave them Beez's recommended specs, close to -1.0 camber in the front, but they said they max they could get was -0.6. They said they couldn't do anymore, no matter how much I insisted; so I gave in, took the car for a drive...the wheel was still off-center to the left, car tracking right.
I took it back, they checked again and gave me another print out, alignment was dead on, toe was balanced at -.4. They said it could be radial pull from one of the front tires, this was one of the concerns I had previously had as well. They said I could either get a full refund and go to another alignment shop, or they could readjust the toe to center the wheel but in case it was just a tire and I had that done, the next set of tires I put on I'd probably need another alignment, or they could try switching the front two tires and rebalance them at my cost. I told them to switch and rebalance the tires first, then recheck alignment specs and then take it for a drive before adjusting the toe to straighten the steering wheel.
Well... voila, they switched the tires, rebalanced them and the steering is straight and the car tracks straight. Total cost $125, total time 6 hours, but at least I feel a million times better about driving the car now that the steering wheel isn't an inch to the left.
Wow, that is great service and a great deal. Which shop?
