Corner balance or not?

[Hodgey]

I have just finished having the suspension pan replaced on my 87 Pcar and it feels a lot more responsive and almost a little lighter in the front than I recall (it has been a while since I drove it since it was in the body shop for passenger front fender and door replacement too)
I did have a 4 wheel alignment carried out as well as two new front tyres and balancing, which in itself I am kicking myself for for not having it done ages ago, and I still have to install the spare tyre and all the other bag and mashings that live under the hood which will add some weight.

She is really responsive now and the steering wheel is considerably easier to turn at parking speeds compared to what it was previously.

Could it be the balance is off having had the suspension refitted and an alignment done, or is it that it now feels exactly as it should being aligned properly?

Can't wait to go driving tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!


Neil

[BK911]

They probably changed your castor. Did they give you a readout of your final settings?

Lots of opinions on corner balance.

[Hodgey]

Originally Posted by BK911

They probably changed your castor. Did they give you a readout of your final settings?

Lots of opinions on corner balance.

BK....the body shop owner said he was going to get them for me....we talked about the results and he said the castor angle wasn't changed, and mentioned that the alignmnent numbers were right on the negative camber tolerance, which I cannot for the life of me remember.

I still love driving the snot out of my beautiful baby...

[brads911sc]

A good alignment is 200-300, a good cb is another 300-400. about 600-700 total. it does make a difference if any of the settings are disturbed... lots of opinions... but having the suspension dialed in makes the difference between a world class driver and a totally unsafe car...

so i would ask.. why not?

[Wilhelm]

Originally Posted by brads911sc

A good alignment is 200-300, a good cb is another 300-400. about 600-700 total. it does make a difference if any of the settings are disturbed... lots of opinions... but having the suspension dialed in makes the difference between a world class driver and a totally unsafe car...

so i would ask.. why not?

You dont need a corner balance to avoid having a "totally unsafe car". I would bet 95% or more of the 911 s on the road havent had a corner balance done. If it feels good after a 4 wheel alignment , you are OK. Save your money.

[Jeff Alton]

There is no correlation between $$$ and good corner balancing. Good work is good work, period...... Could be quick, could be long, depends on the car.......

Wilhelm is right, 95% OR MORE of the 911's out there have not had a corner balance and of the 5% that have, a fair number have had a crappy one performed.... I have seen print outs where people paid big bucks only to have a car that is screwed up..... Hence why we decided to buy scales....

If you track or auto cross the car and are going to be threshold braking, trail braking etc, a good corner balance is worth the money. But if you get your car corner balanced for your weight, then throw a 150lb or more passenger in the seat next to you, the balance is likely similar to a car that has not had a balance with only you in it........

That said, I still recommend getting it done, at a qualified shop. Get it set up for the dynamic that you are going to use it. If you are a track junky, get it set up with only you in the drivers seat and equal the fronts as much as possible for braking. If you always have an instructor in the passenger seat, get it set up for that. If you drive by yourself on the street, get it set up for that etc........

Cheers

[Wilhelm]

I agree with Jeff about the "track car" thing. In that case, a corner balance would be money well spent...if done by someone who knows what they are doing, for sure. Otherwise on the street, I doubt you would notice any difference if you don't have it corner balanced. A good 4 wheel alignment will be fine. As long as it is done by a shop that is very experienced with 911 s.

[911pcars]

Try this seat-of-the-pants driving test:

Pick an empty stretch of road; a wide one preferred with no obstructions that could result in a bad hair day (e.g. telephone/power poles, drainage ditch, bridge abutments, fences, sidewalks, billboards, mailboxes, nearby waterways, wandering moose/cattle, other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.).

1) Drive at a moderate speed, e.g. 30 mph, then perform a hands-off brake to a full stop. If the car tracks straight, proceed to step 2.

2) Repeat the above at 40, then 50 mph and above until you are confident the car will repeat this pattern. Be ready to re-grip the steering wheel in case the unexpected occurs (flat tire, road divot, road kill encounter, etc.).

You will need a corner balance if any one of the following symptoms appear:
- one or more brakes not on same axle lock up
- car drifts or dives to one side
- you lose car control

Avoid large trucks too:


Sherwood

[Hodgey]

Hey fells,
Thanks for all the good advice.....I have done the 40-50 mph speed 'hard braking' test and the old girl is as straight as an arrow; that sounds to me like I'm in good shape.....off to go and have fun.

Thanks again

Neil

[johnsjmc]

I have used the "tripod" method to corner balance with good results. Lift the car in the center with a floor jack at the back and measure the wheel well distance on the front. Then lift at the front in the middle and do the same measure at the rear. The side to side distances should be the same if the corner weights are close.