Front wheel vibration- changed tyres, tuning forks, coffin arms, rebalanced 3 times at different garages - still remaining.

[andygo]

Ever since i bought my 987.2 s it has suffered a wheel vibration, felt through the steering wheel, mainly at a lttle over 75mph.

I had 2 new coffin arms fitted under warranty and I also put 2 new tuning forks on at the same time as having the wheels rebalanced.. Vibration was pretty much the same.

As the cat had spent some time standing, and hating the Pirelli tyres, I put ne Michelin tyres on. Naturally they were rebalanced, but still had the vibration. Had them rebalnced at the tyre fitters, they were still the same. Went to another tyre place to check them again, they were spot on with no evidence of the 19" rims being out of true. It recently passed its MOT with no advisories. Car has done only 21,000 miles.

I'm a bit stumped, any ideas on a solution?

[roofer84]

Could be a slightly warped disc.

[andygo]

Hmm, I don't think so, brakes are spot on, even when really ancoring up hard. I fitted a GT3 M/cyl so would tend to notice any pulsing of the brakes more so than standard. I have had warped discs on other cars and would notice the symptoms I think.

Keep on throwing idea up though, appreciated!

[Menoporsche]

Find a nearby member with 19in rims and swap the front wheels over?  It would rule out or confirm tyres or rims.  Where are you based?

Edited April 26, 2021 by Menoporsche

[andygo]

I don't think its the tyres, the vibration is the same as when i had the previous Pirellis on, the new tyres are 300 mile old Michelin PS4s's. Had a careful look on the wheel balancing machine for out of true rims, but who knows?

[map]

Are all the "mating faces" on the wheel free of paint or other finishes?

By "mating faces" I mean the face that fits agains the hub, the centre bore and the seats that the bolts sit in.

[T11Mike]

Just had the same thing on a used merc from inchcape both front wheels were buckled.

[Menoporsche]

1 hour ago, andygo said:

I don't think its the tyres

Doesn't matter what you think, it's what you can prove/disprove/rule out by experiment  

[Lennym1984]

I'd have it balanced on a roadforce balancer as my starting point

[PFX]

Second Menoporsche's suggestion; that way you can rule out tyres, wheels and balancing. If you are anywhere near Witney then PM me; I have a set of 19" lobsters with like-new Michelin PS4's (500 miles) in the garage, and a low clearance jack.... 🙂

[Gdaybruce]

Swapping wheels is the totally logical way to narrow down the cause. By trial and error you might be able to pin it down to one specific wheel. 
My guess is that the cause is likely to be a very slightly bent wheel, even though you can’t see it on the balancing machine. 

[charlieboy2608]

Funny the OP should mention a vibration-I've just read on this forum in the Cotswold Porsche section a great write up regarding wheel wobble.

I suggest the OP has a look-its at the bottom of the first page and its very thorough 🙂

[Topbox]

Had this same issue on my 986 at the same speed. Had the wheel balance checked, then a full geo. at a respected Porsche specialist. No fix, then put new tyres on and tried different wheels, still the same. A out a year later went to another garage who found a front wheel slightly out of balance and odd geo settings. They rebalanced the wheels, did the geo and all was good.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Topbox
cfa

[entdgc]

About 75MPH is a typical speed to highlight an out of balance or other wheel issue as it hits a resonant frequency.

[Lennym1984]

12 hours ago, PFX said:

Second Menoporsche's suggestion; that way you can rule out tyres, wheels and balancing. If you are anywhere near Witney then PM me; I have a set of 19" lobsters with like-new Michelin PS4's (500 miles) in the garage, and a low clearance jack.... 🙂

I'm in long Hanborough (grey cayman). I'll keep an eye out for you

[PFX]

11 minutes ago, Lennym1984 said:

I'm in long Hanborough (grey cayman). I'll keep an eye out for you

I've probably seen you just before the George and Dragon last weekend, if that was you? I was in the ML though (walking dogs in the woods 🙂) will pm you if I get time to go out in the Box this weekend...

[Digidick]

Road Force Balance will highlight any wheel and tyre issues and might even solve it, worked for me.

[andygo]

13 hours ago, PFX said:

Second Menoporsche's suggestion; that way you can rule out tyres, wheels and balancing. If you are anywhere near Witney then PM me; I have a set of 19" lobsters with like-new Michelin PS4's (500 miles) in the garage, and a low clearance jack.... 🙂

Thats a very kind suggestion. I may take you up on that offer, It's one way to eliminate the issue. I'm in MK so not too far away.

There's a place in MK that repairs bent wheels, I'm going to see them today. I'll kieep the thread informed. Thanks very much for everyones helpful suggestions.

[PFX]

Good luck, hope they can help and if not, my offer stands.

Just to say, there's good and less good balancing services. I had my ML wheels balanced after installing new tyres a few days before going on a long trip through Europe (through Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, then back via Switzerland and France) just to find the front was awfully off balance just around 75 mhp; the kind which is not stopping you in your tracks but annoys the heck out of you. Decided to have all 4 re-balanced in Austria, e voila - no more steering vibrations for the remaining 1000 miles home, or the 2 years thereafter until I replaced all 4 tyres a few weeks ago....

(now, I know some will wonder why the tyres only lasted 2 years plus some; not my driving style, but Avon tyres on the ML are fabulous except the rather cr@p life expectancy; now with Michelin PS4 SUV which hopefully will far outlast the Avons). Note to self: Do buy Michelin shares 😁

[Topbox]

Good luck, clearly it could be a number is issues, but it's highly pleasing when it is sorted and brings another level of enjoyment to ownership 

[Lennym1984]

57 minutes ago, PFX said:

I've probably seen you just before the George and Dragon last weekend, if that was you? I was in the ML though (walking dogs in the woods 🙂) will pm you if I get time to go out in the Box this weekend...

Yeah that would probably have been me although I was also helping another guy with a grey cayman fit ac condensers this weekend and so you may equally have seen him! 

[Ninesomething]

Is there any noise?

[iborguk]

18 hours ago, andygo said:

Ever since i bought my 987.2 s it has suffered a wheel vibration, felt through the steering wheel, mainly at a lttle over 75mph.

I had 2 new coffin arms fitted under warranty and I also put 2 new tuning forks on at the same time as having the wheels rebalanced.. Vibration was pretty much the same.

As the cat had spent some time standing, and hating the Pirelli tyres, I put ne Michelin tyres on. Naturally they were rebalanced, but still had the vibration. Had them rebalnced at the tyre fitters, they were still the same. Went to another tyre place to check them again, they were spot on with no evidence of the 19" rims being out of true. It recently passed its MOT with no advisories. Car has done only 21,000 miles.

I'm a bit stumped, any ideas on a solution?

Don't know where you are based but folks speak highly of these guys for getting to the bottom of all sorts of wheel/geo issues. Maybe at least worth a phone call.

http://www.centregravity.co.uk

 

[moneypit]

It may be a buckled wheel, but in my experience, if it actually balances when having a tyre fitted to it, it won't cause a vibration. And usually, the tyre fitter will spot the runout and comment. I certainly wouldn't rule it out based on that though, good luck, I know what it's like chasing stuff like this. 

[andygo]

Little update.

Visited a company in MK just a couple of miles away called Rimtec. Seems quite a well presented place. Spoke with whom I presumed is the owner and have got the car booked in for tomorrow morning. They will get the car on the ramps and check out the wheels. Cost - tenner per wheel. If they need straightening out, thats £60 per wheel, but you dont pay the tenner checking charge.

Hopefully that will sort it one way or another as it's been irritating me since I collected the car in October and probably the cause of the early demise of a coffin arm balljoint at just 20,000 miles from new.