Perfecting Porsche wheel alignment for road and track performance
A Porsche wheel alignment (often referred to as a ‘geo’ or ‘geometry’) is a brilliant way to increase the handling accuracy and driver feedback as your Porsche tackles either road or track use, whilst still maintaining factory warranty. Whether the goal be increased comfort for long road trips or maximised track performance for setting new personal bests on the Nürburgring, a suitable alignment is a crucial component for achieving these end results.
Our highly experienced technicians have the knowledge and personal track experience to know the real-world benefits that a great alignment setup can result in. As such we can dial in alignments specifically to any client’s needs. Certain tracks need specific setups, for example, the Nürburgring is a notoriously bumpy track with a lot of elevation changes, so it is beneficial to run an alignment that’s not lowered too aggressively, as sometimes can be seen on more ‘conventional’ sprint circuit setups. This setup would allow for more suspension travel, which is very much needed on these bumpier tracks.
Track-Focused Alignments
Track-focused alignments generally set your Porsche to ride lower, meaning a lower centre of gravity as well as minimising body roll for flatter cornering, a great benefit on the track. The front wheel alignment mainly consists of adjusting the camber and toe (angles) on the front wheels. Introducing more negative camber will increase tyre wear on the road as the whole of the tyre only contacts the road surface under heavy cornering. However, on track, which is the point of this setup, this makes a big difference to lateral grip through the corners and prevents the tyre from scrubbing to the point of wearing the edge of the tread and sometimes even the sidewall! The front toe will impact how “pointy” the front end is. It will also determine how stable and predictable it is at high speeds in the straight-ahead position.
On some more advanced track setups, the turn-in is enhanced at the cost of straight-line nervousness. The camber and toe is adjusted on the rear wheels too. However, as the rear wheels are not steering the car in the same way as the fronts (acknowledging rear steer on some models), the main aim here is stability, especially under braking and turning. Together, these improvements result in a more confident feeling Porsche on track, more predictable, and with less body roll. It is worth being aware that there are many ways of setting up for track work. The setups will be tailored to the client’s experience, driving style and handling preferences.
Road-focused Alignments
Road-focused alignments, such as our ‘fast road’ setup, are done with more negative camber than stock but are set up in such a way as to minimise any tramlining issues where the Porsche can follow the cambers, undulations and grooves of the road and sometimes feel jittery or nervous. This means you get all the benefits of the planted feeling and responsive cornering, whilst not giving up straight line comfort.
Porsches, specifically the 911’s require a unique approach due to the specific rear engine layout, meaning the vehicle’s weight distribution is unlike anything else on the market. The mid-engined layout of both the Cayman and Boxster models (GT4 and Spyder included) again require a specific approach to match the alignment to the overall balance and architecture of the platform.
Alignment Equipment and Specifications
All of the alignment setups we do at RPM Technik are measured using specialist Manthey or Beissbarth geometry equipment. The former has been developed and certified for use on the Manthey race cars. The alignments can be done to Manthey specifications, Porsche’s own factory specifications, or we offer a selection of our own setups that have been tested and dialled in by our highly experienced team of technicians and drivers, all of whom have years of experience on Porsches specifically. These setups can be uniquely tuned to a client’s preference and customised in order to satisfy every client’s personal driving style and preference.
For a more in-depth explanation and real world view check out our YouTube video explaining what an alignment/ geo is, what components are adjusted, the level of adjustment available in certain models/ setups and the real world effects of a road focused alignment.
If you are interested in a wheel alignment for your two-door Porsche, whether to make it more fine-tuned for the road or looking to hone its track-going potential, please get in contact with our workshop team via the link for more information.
INTERESTED IN AN ALIGNMENT FOR YOUR 2-DOOR PORSCHE?
Contact our team today for more information on what alignment would be most suitable for your Porsche and driving style!
