bought 02 996- bad vibrations...

I am a new proud owner of a 02 996 c2.... love the car but has a few problems.... Will bring the car in on monday to Porsche dealership, but until then maybe you all can relax my nerves.... At around 62mph the car starts to vibrated bad up to 78... then is fine @ 80 but starts again @ < 85..... There is a constant vibration throught most of the band, but every 3 sec or so it gets worse and better, worse and better..... Is it possible it just needs a wheel balance.... i didnt buy from a dealership, so there was no standard recon work.... tires @ at about 50-60% PLEASE ADVISE!!! THANKS GUYS

Sounds like wheel balance. I would get that checked first. Aaron

i hope that is it.... anything else that could make a car do that w/ only 34k ??

Either a wheel balance or wheel alignment.

Wheel balance first . Then alignment if no fix.

1) Balance wheels. 2) Check rims and make sure one is not bent from a pothole or something. 3) Try new tires.

thanks guys... will try balance first.... wheels are nicked up a little... but no bents that i can see..... i was even thinkin flat spots on tires from cold sitting but it doesn go away... will give an update after balance...

I bet balancing the wheels will cure the shakes. Since the vibration varries with speed, etc. If the tires were flat spoted you'd be able to tell right away...it's a pretty distinct THUMP THUMP If re-balancing the wheels doesn't do the trick, see if you can borrow someone's set of wheels/tires. Where are you located?

1. Balance 2. Alignment 3. Tires In that order until problem resolved. My money is on balance though.

When I picked up my 2002 C2 in August, I had to drive up to where I live from L.A. about a 75 mile trip. The car shook so bad on the rotten freeways we have here in California, that I was about ready to call a flat bed to haul it the rest of the way home. The problem was a combination of slightly out of balance front wheels, and the rears were pretty much shot. After balancing the fronts and rears as well as replacing the rears, everything is back to normal. Get a balance and take a close look at the condition of your present tires. If you think they are 50-60% worn out, then I would suspect some of the problem is also with the tires that have probably been out of balance for sometime? Tom L 2002 C2

make sure the place balancing the wheels has a Hunter machine - I had my wheels balanced twice with no improvement (same issue as you) third time lucky with a hunter machine

UPDATE: PROBLEM 1/2 SOLVED After getting the tires balanced the tech said my rims were in need of major replacement - he said the previous owner must have just hit come big potholes.... the rears were really bad and the fronts were marginal... However he did decide the tires were out of balance a lot as well and balanced the tires..... I can tell a difference with the balance, but the vibration is def still there!!!! Eli K- I live in Leesburg area bought car from Intersport in Tysons.... Thanks guys

get the rims fixed - should be about $100 each

If you have a few seasons on the tires it could be just the tires, mine used to do that and I had the align done etc, but my dunlops developed some seperation inside the tire whiched caused the problem. The outside looked ok so don't be fooled.

Hey Eli~ He's my roomate, you should come check the place out sometime. How's everything been going? ~Eric

Only use a shop that has the Hunter GSP 9700 balancing machine. Have them do a Radial Force Variance and index the tire to the rim. Look on the website for your nearest dealer. This will solve your problem and then give the bill to the lot you bought the car from. Did you test drive the car and have a PPI done before you bought it? http://www.gsp9700.com/

Of course a tire mechanic decided to do the balancing. Why not gettle a little cream with his coffee even though it will only offer a modest resolution until your rims are repaired?