I thought i would give a quick write up regarding the wheel alignment check I had done on Saturday.
I have had a couple of bad experiences with my previous two s2000s one of which came back with visibly,
yes visibly different alignment across the rears the other came back with damaged rims. I now have
a pasm equipped 987s that I am quite anal about like most of us are on these forums.
Anyway since picking up the car from new I always thought that it felt different to the two test cars I had
driven and a big part of this was cured when I switched from contis to michelins. I decided that with
new tyres on I should have the alignment checked and Chris Franklyn from the Porsche members club
offered his services.
To say I was impressed with Chris is an understatement. Upon arrival Chris took all 4 wheels tyre
tempreatures, inside edge, middle and outside edge, this gives him a clue as to how the tyres are
being used and any clues to possible alignment issues. Tyre pressures where taken along with tempreatures
and logged. Then it was onto a custom built trailer with hydrallic lift making the whole opeartion mobile
(you can see the potential for reaching the motorsport market instantly and that is one area Chris is
already active in). The whole rig is callobarted and measured by laser alignment equipmet to ensure
the car sits on the platform totally level and Chris proves this by showing me the equipment read out.
Once the car is in the air Chris checked all the tyres for feathering, again another indicator of how
the tyre is being used. Chris has invested heavilly in Beissbarth geometry measuring equipment that is
the preffered kit used by Porsche, unfortunatley most opcs outsource alignment equipent due to the
investment level needed. The Beissbarth equipemt consists of four pods that attach to each wheel,
these talk to each other and then talk to Chris's laptop giving graphical data printouts showing
factory settings compared to actual, Chris spent alot of time with me talking me through all the print
outs. My car was out of aligment on the fronts by a small amount and after Chris explaining that any
alterations made to the car at this point would mean a visit to OPC to get the PASM recallobrated I
decided not to alter anything, he pointed out that the rears were infact out of line in
such a way that they would actually benefit the handling. Chris emailed me all of the reports along
with some photographs of the car which was a very nice touch. The whole experience was great, Chris
was extremly professional and made me check all my rims for damage. Chris is based in Measham and is
well known on the Porsche members forum. But if anyone would like his contact details please Pm me. I
cannot recomend Chris enough, he imparts a substantial amount of knowledge and I came away with alot
more meat on the bones that I arrived with. He was telling me that he can save existing settings and
experiment with other settings, this is particularly useful when delving into aftermarket set ups
where there are no documented prefferred settings.

 

Mole, how much does Chris charge for this service? and is he totally mobile?

 

Chris charged me

 

Mole- good write up!

Post his contact details or PM them to me and I will get an S day together!

Pie when are you thinking of having it done?

FieldL and Lurking Lawyer any interest in an S day?

Any one else in NW interested?

 

Well depending on how well the boys at power engineering setup the geo after my poly bush install, which should be with in the next two weeks

 

Mikey You have PM

 

Colin, you got any contact details for him? website/email/phone etc?

Thanks!

 

Aquila I have emailed you details. If anyone wants to see pics please pm me your email address and I will attach them and you can post on here. Unfortunatley I am no longer a member so I cannot do it.

 

Thanks

 

Yes I'd be up for that if he was coming local'ish.