Car pulling to the right

[87coupe]

Hi all,

Well, my car has been pulling to the right ever since I got it a couple months back. I decided do some preliminary research on the front suspension on a 911, and have found a ton of great info. I think I have figured out what my problem is and wanted to run it by you guys to see if I am correct.

Here are two pictures, one of the left (drivers) side:


and the right (passenger) side:


As you can see the passenger side is quite a bit different from the drivers side. The pictures in Wayne's book, show this screw in almost the opposite end of adjustment. So what do you guys think? Is this the source of my problem, or is it that way to account for the weight of the driver? My alignment is already off so should I just adjust the drivers side to be closer to the passenger side? From the pictures it looks like their is at least 3 threads worth of discrepancy. Thanks in advance for any help / advice.

P.S. I have the full intention to take it to be aligned sometime in the near future.

[jtratza]

Mines pulling very slightly to the right also. I've had it aligned to no help so suspect the caliper is dragging. I also noticed recently that the right side is a little higher than the left. Probably coreect that when the engine rebuild is completed in a week or so.

[DW SD]

You've found your torsion bar adjusters. They adjust front suspension spring preload, which directly effects ride height. The torsion bars are splined on both ends. I suspect the bars are just installed in a different set of splines, so the adjuster is used to compensate. It is unlikely that that would be the source of your alignment issue. Theoretically, the preload won't change, either, so if it just began pulling that should rule out the TB adjusters.

I'd recommend finding a good, Porsche specific alignment / suspension shop and having them do a complete alignement. Pulling could be a result of MANY different suspension factors. do your tires wear evenly? That is a good way to identify if you have a problem, also.

Doug

[87coupe]

Originally posted by DW SD
You've found your torsion bar adjusters. They adjust front suspension spring preload, which directly effects ride height. The torsion bars are splined on both ends. I suspect the bars are just installed in a different set of splines, so the adjuster is used to compensate. It is unlikely that that would be the source of your alignment issue. Theoretically, the preload won't change, either, so if it just began pulling that should rule out the TB adjusters.

I'd recommend finding a good, Porsche specific alignment / suspension shop and having them do a complete alignement. Pulling could be a result of MANY different suspension factors. do your tires wear evenly? That is a good way to identify if you have a problem, also.

Doug

It's actually been pulling ever since I got it. The tires are wearing uneven, the driver side is wearing heavier on the inside, and the passenger side is wearing heavier on the outside. This is makes sense (at least in my newb head :P ) as I have to compensate at the wheel by turning it to the left a little. Thanks again for any help

[MARTIN AIDE]

You could br right on with your thinking,because mine was straight as an arrow when I first got it and then i changed the ride height and since then it pulls heavy to the right,did you post pics btw,Marty

[Franklin]

Keep O'Reilly, Hannity and Rush off the radio.

[87coupe]

Originally posted by Franklin
Keep O'Reilly, Hannity and Rush off the radio.

Huh

[imcarthur]

Lowering increases camber.

If either toe or camber are different side to side it would pull & tires would wear unevenly as you described.

Good one, Franklin.

Ian

[87coupe]

Ahh, now I get the joke, duuhhhh

[jtratza]

That's OK 87Coupe. You can always listen to Pacifica radio from Berkeley as an antidote.

[87coupe]

I just went out for a drive to find a nice level spot. I measured the front ground to fender height:

Drivers side is at 25.5
Passenger side is at 26

Now I'm confused, I would think this would cause the car to pull left? My logic there is it would pull to the lower side? I'm sure there is more to it than that, camber, etc. But I'm still learning. Please help me better understand

[87coupe]

Anyone? TIA

[Tyson Schmidt]

Ride height and corner balance are two diffferent things. Just because the left side is lower does not mean that it is carrying less load than the right side. (Although that is Ususally the case.)

Your pull could just be the tires. Especially if they have uneven wear. Or it could have an alignment issue, and of course the corner balance could be out of whack.

None of these can be diagnosed by eye, however. You should get it corner balanced and aligned, then replace the tires.

[87coupe]

You should get it corner balanced and aligned, then replace the tires.

So I should get the align/balance before getting tires? I would have thought to get the tires and then take it to be aligned? I take it from your response that it wouldn't matter? Is that correct? Thanks for your help