M3 front control arms and alignment

[josemh23]

Hi, I have a question ? Recently installed front control arms I loved the feeling after the install because I felt I could get any curve at any speed and the car felt firmly in the ground. After a couple of weeks the car start pulling toward one side and steering wheel if you put it centrally the car pulls toward one side. So I figure it's a matter of alignment . Took it to alignment shop, the car drives pretty align but the feeling of " being planted to the ground" is gone ! I don't know about alignment parameters and I told the alignment shop about the upgrade..

[Pig Farmer]

Did you get an allignment right after installing the M3 control arms (i.e. before the most recent allignment)? I suspect the most recent allignment dialed out all the negative camber and increased the toe-in to help with straight line stability. Go back and have them max out the negative camber and ask for minimal toe-in (1/16" total toe in). The car may track ruts in the road a bit more, but the turn in and grip will greatly improve.

[_Ryan_]

Here are my standard settings for a street driven RWD car of this size.

Front:
Max neg-camber (-1.7 from memory)
Slight toe out (2mm total) for better turn in although more twitchy OR slight toe in for stability but not as eager to turn in
Castor- these cars are static

Rear:
2-4mm toe in from memory
max neg camber (1.2-1.5 from memory)

Also, ensure everything is tight, get rear subframe bushes (or inserts), check tyre pressures.

We can provide more info if you can post your alignment settings.

[John_01]

For street driving I think zero toe in gives good steering feel on the 135i. I would ask for minimal toe, close to 0 or around 1/16" of toe-in. A slight toe-out is ok, but too much toe-out will start to feel quite weird and twitchy.

[josemh23]

I did have an alignment after install, felt good except steering was not straight . Got it realign and loss the grip to the road feeling. I don't have alignment specs