| Porsche Tires & Wheels Discussion of Tires, Wheels, Suspension, etc. |
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05-24-2009, 10:13 PM
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communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
they weren't kidding when magazines talk about how communicative the steering wheel is - i feel everything and it's great. however, i noticed that if i don't have my hand on the steering wheel at speed (going straight, decently paved highway, ~60+MPH), i can see the steering wheel actually vibrate slightly. it doesn't feel like the wheel or tire out of balance kind of vibration though, but it vibrates enough where i'm wondering if it's normal?
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05-25-2009, 11:41 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
You answer your own question. The wheel comunicates. It does this through vibrations, jolts, shimmies and moves. The front wheel's geometry and low front-axle weight means there's very little to dampen the feedback coming through it. This is both why you sense more through it and why it vibrates. Unless you have a distinctly cyclic, intense vibration (which would indicate major suspension damage that wasn't repaired well) there's nothing wrong.
It may be worth checking wheel ballance, perhaps a weight has been torn off, but again, unless the vibration is -only- speed dependant and totally consistent, you're normal.
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05-26-2009, 10:49 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
I'd say you have a wheel balance issue. One of the reasons I think this is that you mention ~60MPH. For some reason, that's the speed that minor wheel balance issues show up.
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05-26-2009, 11:05 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
thanks guys! i'll take it in for a check on the wheel balances.
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05-29-2009, 10:51 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
Originally Posted by downshift
I'd say you have a wheel balance issue. One of the reasons I think this is that you mention ~60MPH. For some reason, that's the speed that minor wheel balance issues show up.
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just out of curiosity: if you were driving straight on a highway at 60+, and you semi-let go of the steering wheel (just lightly holding it), will the steering wheel vibrate somewhat?
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05-29-2009, 11:09 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
This happened to me when the car was new. Once I cleaned off all the cosmoline from inside the wheels it disappeared. I also re-torqued the wheel bolts during the cleaning. I have no idea if one or both helped but the problem went away. The wheels had a massive amount of cosmoline on them in a random pattern and the fact that my gravel roads had added more dirt to the gunk makes me think that the wheels became unbalanced. Anyway something to think about.
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05-29-2009, 11:18 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
Originally Posted by casualsurfer
just out of curiosity: if you were driving straight on a highway at 60+, and you semi-let go of the steering wheel (just lightly holding it), will the steering wheel vibrate somewhat?
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Nope, no vibration at all.
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05-29-2009, 11:29 AM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
Originally Posted by Santa Fe
This happened to me when the car was new. Once I cleaned off all the cosmoline from inside the wheels it disappeared. I also re-torqued the wheel bolts during the cleaning. I have no idea if one or both helped but the problem went away. The wheels had a massive amount of cosmoline on them in a random pattern and the fact that my gravel roads had added more dirt to the gunk makes me think that the wheels became unbalanced. Anyway something to think about.
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I will double check the torque on the wheel lugs and get the tires rebalanced then...
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05-29-2009, 05:08 PM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
the tires were out of balance and after the fix at a local Discount Tire Center (and $100 later) the car felt great - no more vibration on the steering wheel.
now that's done...the alignment seems to be off a bit... 
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05-30-2009, 05:39 PM
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Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
Last edited by casualsurfer; 05-30-2009 at 05:41 PM.
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05-30-2009, 05:43 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
HQ setting on the video helps a bit.
for some reason the video's vibration seems less severe than what i can see with my eyes.
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05-30-2009, 05:51 PM
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Re: communicative steering wheel or wheel balance issue?
http://www.planetporsche.net/cayman-...vibration.html
i've made some home videos to show (after the wheel balance). if that's normal then i'm going to move on. if that's not normal then i'll try to get alignment first and then check into the bent rim theory.
i don't suppose porsche warranty covers bent rim?
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05-30-2009, 06:03 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
I don't think anyone can tell anything from the video. I suggest you get a small sealed container half full of water. Tape it to the top of the steering wheel above the horn ring. This would show any vibrations verses road shocks.
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Last edited by green_Cs; 05-30-2009 at 06:04 PM.
Reason: not clear
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05-30-2009, 06:10 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
It is hard to tell from the video. Do you have 18s or 19s? Do you have PASM? I find that I get more road vibration from my 19s, but I can also feel the roads a lot better.
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PASM - Porsche Active Suspension Management
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This active damping system offers continuous adjustment of individual damping forces based on current road conditions and driving style.
The driver can choose from two setup modes, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’, using a separate ‘damper’ button on the center console. ‘Normal’ mode is designed for general road driving and circuits with uneven tarmac. ‘Sport’ mode is intended for smoother track surfaces, where the harder settings help eliminate pitch and roll.
In either mode, PASM continuously evaluates the current conditions while automatically selecting the corresponding damper rates from the respective set of mapped values.
A range of sensors are used to monitor the movement of the body under acceleration, braking and cornering maneuvers, as well as on poor road surfaces. The PASM control unit then evaluates this data and modifies the damping force on each individual wheel in accordance with the selected mode. The result is a significant reduction in body movement as well as a better grip on the road.
For example: if ‘Sport’ mode is selected, the suspension is automatically set to a harder damper rating. If the quality of the track surface falls below a certain threshold, the system immediately changes to a softer rating within the ‘Sport’ setup range. When the quality of the tarmac improves once more, PASM automatically returns to the original, harder rating.
Need more information about PASM? Click this link: FAQ for PASM |
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05-30-2009, 06:46 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
Originally Posted by smounic
It is hard to tell from the video. Do you have 18s or 19s? Do you have PASM? I find that I get more road vibration from my 19s, but I can also feel the roads a lot better.
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ah good point. i've got 19s, and maybe i should try 18s...
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05-30-2009, 06:53 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
sorry, i forgot to mention: the videos were taken when i drove on recently paved, flat, straight parts of the highway.
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05-30-2009, 07:21 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
Appears your "shake" occurs intermittently and not constantly, correct? Would think that if it were a balance problem it would be constant at a steady speed. Had a LF bent wheel. Caused the steering to **** back and forth at 60mph constantly. After road force balance it was improved but still there. Once repaired and balanced I have a perfectly still steering wheel at all speeds except with road irregularities. The 19's with PASM are very sensitive to any surface irregularity but only intermittently.
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PASM - Porsche Active Suspension Management
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This active damping system offers continuous adjustment of individual damping forces based on current road conditions and driving style.
The driver can choose from two setup modes, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’, using a separate ‘damper’ button on the center console. ‘Normal’ mode is designed for general road driving and circuits with uneven tarmac. ‘Sport’ mode is intended for smoother track surfaces, where the harder settings help eliminate pitch and roll.
In either mode, PASM continuously evaluates the current conditions while automatically selecting the corresponding damper rates from the respective set of mapped values.
A range of sensors are used to monitor the movement of the body under acceleration, braking and cornering maneuvers, as well as on poor road surfaces. The PASM control unit then evaluates this data and modifies the damping force on each individual wheel in accordance with the selected mode. The result is a significant reduction in body movement as well as a better grip on the road.
For example: if ‘Sport’ mode is selected, the suspension is automatically set to a harder damper rating. If the quality of the track surface falls below a certain threshold, the system immediately changes to a softer rating within the ‘Sport’ setup range. When the quality of the tarmac improves once more, PASM automatically returns to the original, harder rating.
Need more information about PASM? Click this link: FAQ for PASM |
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Last edited by rsfdoc; 05-30-2009 at 07:35 PM.
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05-30-2009, 07:51 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
Originally Posted by rsfdoc
Appears your "shake" occurs intermittently and not constantly, correct? Would think that if it were a balance problem it would be constant at a steady speed. Had a LF bent wheel. Caused the steering to **** back and forth at 60mph constantly. After road force balance it was improved but still there. Once repaired and balanced I have a perfectly still steering wheel at all speeds except with road irregularities. The 19's with PASM are very sensitive to any surface irregularity but only intermittently.
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Yes, sometimes there are no vibration at 70MPH, sometimes there are, and I'm talking about going over the same stretch of highway multiple times (the homeless guy on one of the exits must think I'm stupid or something) 
So I'm narrowing this down to 3 potentials:
- Alignment issue (the car does drift right just a tiny bit)
- Bent wheel
- Broken toe link per this thread: http://www.planetporsche.net/cayman-...vibration.html
I wanted to get it aligned anyway, and I'll ask the shop to check the wheels while they're at it. If that doesn't fix it, then I'll need to bring it into the stealership for the toe link...sigh...
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05-30-2009, 08:18 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
What you're feeling is not right- I have the 19" Sport Design wheels, which are the heaviest. I get lots of road harshness due to the short sidewall, but I don't EVER get the kind of intermittent vibe I see in the video.
Additionally, when I've had tires out of balance before, the vibration was not intermittent unless I'm accelerating through a given speed. And if I hold that speed, the vibe persists unchanged. It looks like yours come and goes at speeds in the 65 - 70 MPH range. This is close enough to a tire problem that I'd worry about a broken cord on some tire. If the shop will do it, ask the balance guy to hold that speed range with each tire on the machine for like 1-2 minutes to see if the vibe changes with time. IMHO, this would be a bad tire.
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05-30-2009, 08:20 PM
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Re: Paranoia takes over: video of the steering wheel vibration
Usually a road force balance will detect a bent rim (mine did). My bet is on alignment (if anything indeed is found). Good luck and keep us posted.
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