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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Rear wheel position

Posted by: cub40 Jul 20 2009, 09:04 AM

Hi Guys, what does it mean if the rear wheels are not parallel with the sides of the car or each other? The bottom of the tire sticks farther out than the top ( like the bottom of a triangle ) as viewed from the back of the car. I don't think this is normal. Thanks in advance.

Posted by: carr914 Jul 20 2009, 09:08 AM

Means you need some new rear springs and an alignment

T.C.

Posted by: carr914 Jul 20 2009, 09:09 AM

Oh, and I forgot

Posted by: Spoke Jul 20 2009, 09:20 AM

Yep, an alignment may be in order. Is it one or both rear wheels? If it is just the passenger side, it is possible that there is some issue with the hell hole.

My 71 914 had this issue. The passenger side inner suspension console was replaced when the hell hole was fixed and the passenger rear tire was really cambered out like you describe.

Got a pic of the wheels that we can look at?

Posted by: turnaround89 Jul 20 2009, 10:24 AM

My rear wheels do the same thing but its very minimal, you can notice it, but you really have to look. My vw bug is the same way, but it is supposed to do that, i actually thought my 914 was the supposed to be like that

Posted by: Cupomeat Jul 20 2009, 10:49 AM

Yes, the 914 is supposed to have some negative camber in the rears and therefore will have the top of the rear slightly in.

The real concern is when it is really significant camber, as it might be without pictures or specifications...

Then again, good luck getting someone to do the alignment in some places. You;ll find the "We don't work on 914s" to be too common in Porsche shops, mostly due to fear and ignorance.

Hope that helps.

Posted by: SirAndy Jul 20 2009, 10:53 AM

It's called negative camber and it's usually a good thing to have. Gives you more grip in the corners.

However, make sure both wheels are equal. If only one wheel is at an angle (usually the passenger side) it means something isn't right with your suspension.

There was a thread here just a few days ago about a broken/rusted suspension ear. Which will result in a large amount of negative camber on just one side.

Andy

PS: If you look at my avatar picture, you can see the rear wheel has some negative camber. Any more than that and you may have a problem ...

Posted by: blitZ Jul 20 2009, 12:48 PM

My thoughts also. If nothing is broken, then the PO probably had an aggressive alignment. If you don't AX, then you may want something less aggressive to limit tire wear.