Base Geo Setup

Good morning I have a 2002 Targa with new suspension - standard set up with Bilstein B4 dampers. I live in North East Scotland and there are no recognised Porsche specialists up here apart from the OPC (although there is an excellent independent in aberdeen who I have used in the past). I need to get the car set up having had all the work done to it now and wondered if I should jsut get it set to standard or if there are any tweaks I should consider for 99% road use on country lanes and 1% track days (I am a complete novice so wont be breaking any records). Thanks for any tips / advice. At the moment it seems to handle ok and tyre wear appears even but I do have lots of understeer - which could be the 911 experience! Regards Chris

Get down your local kwik-fit (ensure they have a Hunter Hawkeye) and set to standard. If you're happy with the drive then leave at that, if not, come back on here and seek advice on where to go.

Sounds you are after a bespoke or customised setting. It is a bit of trek, but I recommend Center Gravity in Atherstone Warwickshire. Check out their website and send them an email enquiry as t what they suggest. They dialled out all the understeer on my factory setting before it went to them. Tyre wear is remarkably good also and that was in 2015. Chris and Pete are experts because chassis work and suspension/steering is all they do. Your car will undergo a thorough check as it is pointless doing geometry work if their is excess play anywhere in the drive train, suspension and steering. Will cost more than Kwik Fit - but you have a choice.

If your suspension work has brought the car back to 'stock' I'd do as Alex suggests and get it set up by any tyre specialist that has the Hawkeye type of equipment. If the set up has resulted in a modified set-up I'd find a Porsche specialist (maybe that firm in Aberdeen) capable of doing the GEO the old fashioned way. Either way you won't regret it. Your post reminds me of the first time I had mine done. See -> http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=77667&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=geo :thumb:

Thank you all, sounds like just going stock is the way forward - I am not really looking for anything too bespoke, just if there is anything that is better suited to a beginner like myself. Will get set to stock and go from there!

I have a 2002 coupe and this is what Center Gravity set mine up with after I asked Chris for minimal understeer...

Mine had been done by Kwik Fit a year before I took it to CG. Kwik Fit gave the before and after readings showing how it was now at factory tolerances. A year later, CG showed the Kwik Fit settings to be flawed - just from a test drive and subsequently proven on the Hunter jig. Mine was setup to reduce the vicious understeer and correct the settings between front and rear axles (turbo 4 wd) that KF got entirely incorrect. 5 years on, the car handles perfect. No annual check or anything like that. An experience at CG for sure. They do onow their stuff - and I have my car as factory standard but handles much better than how it left the factory. But it costs more than Kwik Fit for sure.

So you didnt cross-reference the settings with Porsche's settings (that are easily accessable online)? The Hunter machine is preprogrammed with the Porsche settings in. The only way it can be wrong settings is if the operator selects the wrong model car.

Quite possibly what happened but print out was for 996 Turbo.

Thats Hunters error then, not kwik fits as Hunter program the data in.

I'm thinking about doing the same on my 2004 car. Can I ask specifically which parts you changed when you say 'new suspension"? Was it just the dampers you changed? There are lots of threads on here talking about the various suspension parts, but I'm confused about which ones you change to get a basic 'refresh". Cheers Dave

Im in Aberdeen myself, who is the local indy you recommend? Would be handy to know

Can't help with places in the frozen north as I'm in Glasgow. There are a number of reputable places around here if you can make the journey. Automek in East Kilbride and Kenneth Brown in Hillington to name a few. They're not Porsche specialists but they specialise in performance cars. I don't doubt Centre Gravity are the true experts for Porsche set up but it's a serious trek from Scotland. Probably 2 days out with a stop over in a hotel and about 20hrs of driving.

Yeah. But he has people come down from Scotland, across the water from Ireland by ferry via Dublin to Holyhead and one person I know drives up from French Riveira (I guess that must must be Nice on the Med Coast). We cant all be mad to choose CoG when Kwik Fit are £50 and indys charge around £250 + VAT for 45 minutes on a ramp not checking the suspension, steering and drive train (and braking system). But we all have a choice and decide what we believe is best and/or affordable. CoG are not sponsors on this site (as far as I know) so be cognizant of that fact. They dont need it is probably the reason.

I'm sure I've read on here on more than one occasion that Centre Gravity have recommended going to Kwik-Fit if you just want standard settings or want their (centre Gravity) settings checked at a later date.