[koenigtiger]

I have noticed that some cars steer alot harder than others, I have a friend who has an 87 Carrera that steers hard, we have checked the following:Tire Pressure,Steering Rack Play,Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends(Turbo Style),Struts, Strut Bearings, Steering Shaft Joints,The dive(rake) of the car (3/4"),Alignment, Corner Balancing,Wheel Bearing Play(new bearings).The only other thing I can think of is maybe the rack has an internal problem, but I have driven other 911's with a similar feeling of hard steering at low speed.The car has stock tire and rim sizes sixes and sevens,205/16 225/16. Does anybody have some other ideas? Thanks, Chris

[Trak Ratt]

Pretty sure it’s the tires/wheel size. Our ’84 has 205 60x on 6x 15s & it steers a lot easier than our ’87 w/it’s 205 55 on 6x16s. Smother ride but not anywhere near as good handling.

[Charlie Stylianos]

Jack up the front of the car, hold the tire at the 9-3 o-clock position and you should be able to easily turn the wheel lock to lock. I know 'easily' is a subjective, but it definitely should not be a struggle. FYI.....you should also be able to take off both wheels, hold the brake disc at 3-9 and repeat this procedure w/o struggle. If it turns/feels smooth w/o hangups, etc, check your tire pressure, sizes. If it is hard to turn, it could be the steering rack (remove and grease) tierod ends or ball joints.

Does your friend have a smaller diameter steering wheel? Where the other cars you drove running higher tire pressures? Just some things to think about.

[koenigtiger]

Thank you gentlemen for your replies,this is a fairly new problem according to him approx. 6 months old. So, I think the tire/rim theory is out.The steering wheel is stock for an 87' Carrera, and the tie rod ends are new turbo style.This is also a California car so it doesn't see any real harsh weather.The tire pressure is 32 psi in the front and 36 psi in the rear.Maybe the next step is to disconnect the tie rods from the struts and see how each side feels while moving the rotors side to side as suggested.That should rule out the ball joints.What do you think? Thanks, Chris

[APKhaos]

Lift the front end [jack pad under one of the torsion bar end plates].
Test for sticktion in the steering by moving the road wheels from side to side. They should move full and free - an initial tug to get them going, then they should move fully to the opposite lock with very little effort.

Let us know how this test goes.

[William Miller]

Another idea.
If it turns easily while up in the air and not on the ground.
Alignment may have something to do with it. Toe or caster.
When I bought my car I was required to replace the tie rod ends. They were on my list anyway because the car was wandering all over the place.
Tires were wearing fast on the inside.

I replaced the ends and did my best eyeballing the alignment. When driving to the tire store for new front tires and alignment, the steering wheel turned effortlessly and it was much more responsive.
Once aligned the it was back to where it should be. Tracking straight and a little effort to turn the wheel. My guess was that when I replaced the tie rod ends thay were toe'd out slightly.

Some of you racer's should be able to confirm this as you change these settings on purpose.

Just a thought. Maybe it was just a pothole?

[koenigtiger]

I tested the car on a hoist moving the wheels side to side while holding the tire in a 3 and 9 0'clock position and it moved freely. The car is not lowered and retains a stock height. Thanks, Chris