Fender gap different in right and left sides?

[Periokid]

I was measuring the distance from the tires to the edge of the fenders to see what size wheel spacer/adapters to use and I noticed an odd thing.

The drivers side (left side) is recessed about 1/2 inch more the the right side. This is true for the front and rear.

Is this normal for a 1988 911? When you look at the car, the difference is very noticeable. What is going on?

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David

1988 911 Carrera Coupe
http://www.leonoff.net

[Zendalar]

I am in the same situation. My car "sits" a little right and you can tell it by looking at the rear spoiler. Although I think the problem lies in front of the car. Have to lower the front left side a bit...but on the other hand...I don't know we shall see what happens.

[Periokid]

Mine is not a height problem (but I did not check that)

Mine is like the whole chassis is pushed to the right of the wheels.

[adamnitti]

are you sure your car was never hit? hopefully, it's something more simple, since you say you see it in both the front and rear. some previous owners will go out of their way to hide ANYTHING when selling a car.

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Adam Nitti
ajnitti@mindspring.com
www.adamnitti.com
'85 911 Carrera Coupe
PCA member, Peachstate region

[This message has been edited by adamnitti (edited 07-09-2001).]

[Kurt B]

This is normal. Mine is too. Before I got smacked. There's less room for tire on the driver's side. As for why...not sure, but I haven't known a 911 yet that wasn't off by 1/8" to 1/4" or so one side or the other.

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Kurt B
1984 Carrera Cabriolet
911 Page
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

[Craig Stevens]

My right rear fender is closer to the tire than the left rear. I was told it was to allow for the weight of the driver. I don't know if that's true, but it kind of made sense.

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Ice Blue 80SC

[pbs911]

My understanding of this is that the same specificity put into the drive train was not followed in the construction of the body. Like a snowflake, every P-car is a little different when it comes to wheel clearance inside the fender wells. As for the ride height, have you had your car cornerbalanced. If so, that is what really matters - weight distribution over the four corners of the car.



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Paul
78SC Targa

[Periokid]

The car was not hit.

I have heard the story of every porsche being different. It is quite interesting to see this anomoly. i have never owned a car that was soo "off".

So I guess I cannot fill the wheel wells the same on both sides with new wheels.

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David

1988 911 Carrera Coupe
http://www.leonoff.net

[RarlyL8]

A lot of suptle settling and wear can happen in 13 years.

Optimally you would replace all the bushings in the suspension as well as the torsion bars and shocks, corner ballance the car, then adjust the ride hieght to your taste.

Obviously that may be very cost and time prohibitive. Option two is to replace or repair any item noticeably worn and then adjust your ride hieght.

It is not uncommon for a wheel to stick out further on one side than another. You don't notice this until you put on wide tires. I used different sized spacers on both my widebodies to even out the observed offset in the rear.

[Periokid]

Will using different spacers on each side effect the car's dynamics? It just seems to me that having a different wheel offset on the left and right sides can't be good.

Does it matter?

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David

1988 911 Carrera Coupe
http://www.leonoff.net

[RarlyL8]

The difference in the spacing I have in the rear is 1/4 inch. I haven't noticed any strange handling maladies, but my car is used only on the street. Using different size spacers in the front accentuates the turn ange on the wheel spaced out the furthest. What effect this will have at 1/2 inch difference I cannot say. I'd give it a try, it's reversible.

[BRAINIAC]

Do NOT use different size spacers let-to-right. Have your car checked on an alignment machine to see if the camber is the same from left to right. For example, if the left side has more negative camber, it will have more room between the fender at the top than the right side.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet