What's wrong with my rear end?

[shinrai]

Hi All!
I'm back in North America for a month to visit some friends and to drive my 911 (actually I'm here to drive my 911

I had some 7" and 9" wheels w/ 205/55 and 245/45 tires mounted because I hear that's the thing to do and I loved the look on some cars posted here. Anyhow when I first saw my car I hated the look with the new wider wheels (it originally had 6s and 7s). One reason was that the car is too high. I measured 25 5/8" on the front so I think when I lower it this weekend to 24 1/2 I'll like the look a lot more.

However something just looked strange.

Upon further investigation the track on the back end of the car is way off! One wheels sticks out way more than the other. The left side looks to be over an inch out too far. The rear wheels are the same and there are no spacers. Is this something that can be adjusted with an alignment or does it need major surgery?
The car drives dead straight and doesn't "dog-leg".

Here's some pics....

[Oh Haha]

Hard to tell but it looks like the camber is not the same.

Can you post a shot of the the rear from about 10-15 feet away, showing both tires and rear flares, about bumper level?

[DUK]

This is not uncommon. But yours seems a little excessive. Might want to check out the suspension, bushings, bearings, etc.

[Walter_Middie]

Did you get the correct wheels mounted on the tires? I had a set that was miss-matched. Wrong wheel size on the wrong tire (6" and 7" mixed up).

[Cattler]

I had the same issue after installing wheel adapters. See this thread for the discussion and photos: Should I use spacers with these wheels?. My rear end looks nearly identical to yours.

I was told and agree that this is normal--car drives well and many others have posted similar questions and received similar answers about this.

David

[83-911SC cab]

You may want to take a measurement from the inside wheel well (flat vertical section) to the wheel lip on both sides. On my 83 SC there is about a 1/2 inch difference in my measurements. I heard somewhere (on here I think) that when the panels were originally fitted they could have these types of discrepancies because of being installed by hand..

Do not know what years are actually affected..

Gregg

[911s55]

1st, is your floor level, front to rear and side to side?

2nd, is the car corner balanced with your weight in the drivers seat and was the car photographed with the approporite weight added?

3rd, these cars can be offset as far as body work goes, one side could appear and might be different from the other, my '71 will rub with 7's on the right rear but nowhere else

Your right side negative camber does look less than the left.

[Geronimo '74]

Even with identical camber settings and identical tires, you will notice that on wheel sticks out further than the other.
This normal, not uncommon. My car has this too, so do many others.
Don't ask me why though. I've asked this also long time ago and it is one of those questions nobody has a clear answer for.
If someone knows, please enlighten me, us.

[rnln]

because our car is the infamous hand made vehicle

[DRACO A5OG]

Funny, I have the same issue.

Even after an alignment it still appeared just like yours.

Cheap and dirty fix recommended by Steve Alarcon of Johnsons Alignment:

I added a 1/4" spacer and longer lug bolts, looks much better now

[TibetanT]

Hey There, Shinrai!

Question, where are you measuring to get these numbers?

Are you measuring from the (level) ground to the top of the rocker bumper strip? Seems pretty high to me, but I am no expert.

What size wheels, 16" 17"??

I have Fuchs, with 7Jx16" up front and 8Jx16" on the rear and my measurements, for stock settings, come in at approximately 10.75 inches front and 11.50 inches rear. I am measuring from the ground to the top of the rocker/bumper strips on the body of the car.

Like I said, I am no expert but thought I would throw out these measurements for helping.

[ALXinNZ]

+1 for the correct wheels in the right place ie one of the 9's might be on front. I had a similar issue once but with 6's and 5.5's also check wheel offset measurements as wheels often get muddled up with several different owners. You could also look at the way the tyre is sitting on rim this is an easy indication of fitment and incorrect matching of rims.
Although i accept there is alot of adjustment available in the rear to correct the look I am surprised it is this far out even if hand made!!

Regards and good luck

[Joe Bob]

My wife tells me it's my pants.....

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by ALXinNZ

+1 for the correct wheels in the right place ie one of the 9's might be on front.
Regards and good luck

Your 9" Fuchs are not on the front, trust me, they wouldn't fit, not on a narrowbody.

It has nothing to do with the cars being hand made. Porsche QC would not allow this to pass if it was an irregularity. Many Carrera's (if not all) have this.
I still don't know why, and I still haven't read a plausible reason.

[shinrai]

Thanks to all for the replies. I've read through other posts and Geronimo is right. It seems like many have this issue. It's not noticeable with the 6s and 7s on but as soon as you go 9s on the rear (9x16 btw) it's very noticeable. If it bothers me in the future I'll add spacers on the right side.

I originally hated the 7s and 9s but they're growing on me and other people seem to love 'em. The car looks much "meaner"

[SCWDP911]

I have it on my 7's in the rear. Same side as yours... Odd though, as I have never noticed until now... Great! Thanks!