Wandering steering on 986

[Kevvie]

Hi all. Just looking for some guidance. I've only ever driven one Boxster so have nothing to compare to. I find that on highways that have grooves in the road from lots of traffic, my car feels unstable when changing lanes, wandering all over the place. When I bought the car it had had some suspension work and a wheel alignment. There also quite noticeable looseness/clunks from underneath when traveling on a bumpy road surface.

Is this normal?

Tyres are P Zero on the front and Minerva on the back. Pressures are correct but I'm wondering how sensitive the car is to different tyre types. The ones on the front are getting worn so I'd also be seeking recommendations about what to replace them with given the cost of P Zeros...

[D2000]

Could also be if the tyres are too old

[Apogee]

One thing people often do is skimp on tyres. Never do this. Buy the best tyres you can afford. No use having a great car compromised by cheap tyres. 

[Midnight 911]

I had this wandering on uneven surfaces in my 997 when I bought it with P Zeros. Alignment didn’t help. 

I moved to Michelin’s and haven’t had any problem since. Pilot Sport 2 and now Pilot Sport 4S. The PS4S is the best all round road tyre I’ve ever had. Much quieter also if that is important to you. 

Not a very good idea to mix tyre types also. 

Sounds like you need to get those clunks checked out in any case. 

[firstone]

Unevenly worn front tyres will cause the car to follow the contours of the road. Tramlining. 

Have the suspension checked for the clunking. Not all alignment people know or care to do it properly.

I have michelin ps2 and are awesome. 

[tazzieman]

Lots of cars tramline when the road is bad .The road out of Hobart is a shocker (too many trucks).
My 944 was terrible on the 8" tyres on the car when I bought it , went to factory spec and all was good. Our new MB GLC tramlines like crazy, you have to have your wits about you.
The old 911 with the light front end also wants to wander like a toddler.
I blame the roads, mostly!

[Niko]

Agree with all the above comments...

Don't know what year your 986 is or how many K's on the clock, but it would be getting a bit old in the tooth.  

Wear and tear to be expected.

I found that Boxsters tend to wear the rears out twice as much as the fronts.   That would possibly explain the different brands.

How long have you had the car?    Has it always behaved like that?    Did you do the tyre changes?

Boxsters are normally pretty good things, in the steering and suspension department, well mine was anyway.

Get the clunks looked at asap, as wear and tear on suspension parts are not going to be helping your tyre wear and alignment.

Bite the bullet get a set of 4 matching good tyres (Brand).

Although a lot of people now say mixing front and rear brands is no big deal, I'm old school on that, and would only ever have the same brand and model on my car.     Each to their own on that.

Bite the bullet even harder and get something sensational like the Michelin PS4S's as mentioned above.

Run the tyre pressures as per the door sticker for normal street stuff.   

When you are getting the new tyres fitted, get the front and rear alignment done, and get the cambers on the rear checked out.

You're in Melbourne, and quite a few people on the forum including myself use DONELLANS in Victoria Street, just down from PCM.

Suppliers and fitting of Michelin.  (PCM also use them)

They will also check the wear patterns on the old tyres and may be able to make some adjustments to minimise that for your new ones.

COSTCO also sell Michelin so if your a member there it may pay to get a price from them.

But you will have to organise fitting/balancing/alignments  yourself I think.

You have potentially a great car, and you will have to spend a bit to keep it running like it should.

1.   Get the underneath looked at re your clunks.    Sort that out first.

2.   Give your coxster a birthday and put 4 nice new good quality tyres on.

3.    Front and rear alignments.

3.   Get in it and enjoy driving it, without all the dramas you have spoken about above. 

 

My tuppence worth, but good luck with it.... let us know how you go... 

[3legs]

Also do you have the standard size rims and tyres on? If not this can also cause the effects you describe (been there done that, never again 😀).

[Kevvie]

Thanks for all the advice. I am a Costco member so will check that out. After doing a bit more reading I suspect the clunks are the drop links so I'll swap them out then look at the tyres.

It's a 2001, 156k KMs, had the bump stops replaced and a wheel alignment done as part of the RWC when I bought it ~3 months ago. On a flat roads and freeways it's fine, but the tramlining is unnerving on some of the highways.

[Niko]

44 minutes ago, Kevvie said:

Thanks for all the advice. I am a Costco member so will check that out. After doing a bit more reading I suspect the clunks are the drop links so I'll swap them out then look at the tyres.

It's a 2001, 156k KMs, had the bump stops replaced and a wheel alignment done as part of the RWC when I bought it ~3 months ago. On a flat roads and freeways it's fine, but the tramlining is unnerving on some of the highways.

Good start then Kevvie, good luck with it.

[Niko]

https://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-and-boxster-problems-and-complaints/236203-plea-help-zombie-problem.html?utm_source=threadloom&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ed1195&utm_content=iss7#post2101293

Just came across this thread re a 987.1 Cayman who had steering problems, as you describe with the tram track description.  I know it's a long shot but the answer to this problem is very interesting on this Cayman.

it appears to have been the placement of the front number plate upsetting the aerodynamics of the car.

Anyway worth a read as to what this bloke did to try and get rid of the problem and then what a simple solution it turned out to be.

[firstone]

On 30/12/2018 at 09:14, Kevvie said:

Thanks for all the advice. I am a Costco member so will check that out. After doing a bit more reading I suspect the clunks are the drop links so I'll swap them out then look at the tyres.

It's a 2001, 156k KMs, had the bump stops replaced and a wheel alignment done as part of the RWC when I bought it ~3 months ago. On a flat roads and freeways it's fine, but the tramlining is unnerving on some of the highways.

That would do it. 

[Higgo]

On 29/12/2018 at 09:23, Niko said:

Agree with all the above comments...

Don't know what year your 986 is or how many K's on the clock, but it would be getting a bit old in the tooth.  

Wear and tear to be expected.

I found that Boxsters tend to wear the rears out twice as much as the fronts.   That would possibly explain the different brands.

How long have you had the car?    Has it always behaved like that?    Did you do the tyre changes?

Boxsters are normally pretty good things, in the steering and suspension department, well mine was anyway.

Get the clunks looked at asap, as wear and tear on suspension parts are not going to be helping your tyre wear and alignment.

Bite the bullet get a set of 4 matching good tyres (Brand).

Although a lot of people now say mixing front and rear brands is no big deal, I'm old school on that, and would only ever have the same brand and model on my car.     Each to their own on that.

Bite the bullet even harder and get something sensational like the Michelin PS4S's as mentioned above.

Run the tyre pressures as per the door sticker for normal street stuff.   

When you are getting the new tyres fitted, get the front and rear alignment done, and get the cambers on the rear checked out.

You're in Melbourne, and quite a few people on the forum including myself use DONELLANS in Victoria Street, just down from PCM.

Suppliers and fitting of Michelin.  (PCM also use them)

They will also check the wear patterns on the old tyres and may be able to make some adjustments to minimise that for your new ones.

COSTCO also sell Michelin so if your a member there it may pay to get a price from them.

But you will have to organise fitting/balancing/alignments  yourself I think.

You have potentially a great car, and you will have to spend a bit to keep it running like it should.

1.   Get the underneath looked at re your clunks.    Sort that out first.

2.   Give your coxster a birthday and put 4 nice new good quality tyres on.

3.    Front and rear alignments.

3.   Get in it and enjoy driving it, without all the dramas you have spoken about above. 

 

My tuppence worth, but good luck with it.... let us know how you go... 

What a fantastic response @Niko - good on you mate 👍

[Kevvie]

Been looking at tyres, seems that Michelin Pilot Sport 4 is not available in the right size in Australia (255/40 R17). I can get PS2's but they are more expensive and would be about $350 more than if I got a full set of P Zero Rosso tyres. Has anyone been able to get PS4's on a 986?

[Troubleshooter]

Can try conti's , they work well on these cars and a touch cheaper than michi's. 

[TwoHeadsTas]

We put a couple of these Falkens on the back of our 987, and would put on front when needed too:

https://www.falken.com.au/product/azenis-fk510/

Ride and handle well, road noise good, well priced.  My tyre dealer (I know the owners personally) have said they're putting a lot of them on higher end cars.  Might be worth looking at these as well as Conti's (we had Conti's on before the Falkens)

[grantmr]

Drop links and control arms, mine's a '00 and the suspension is getting a bit rattley, that's what's needed in mine.

Does it wander in windy conditions or seem to have two stages to cornering, where you turn in then the weight shifts, instead of it all happening at once? That's worn steering.

[Merv]

Grants advice is good too.  Check the suspension bushings.