Rattle noise from Ground Control Street Camber Plates - normal?

[Pyrat 2]

How much camber you looking to get? Dinan's plus factory adjustments will get you about -2. I had mine at -2 and dialed back to -1.5. There's nothing to rattle on the Dinan. It isn't adjustable but for me that's fine. Get a little, almost negligible, inside wear on the street at -1.5. Then at the track I get some outside wear. Net net it works fine.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by HeelToe

How much camber you looking to get? Dinan's plus factory adjustments will get you about -2. I had mine at -2 and dialed back to -1.5. There's nothing to rattle on the Dinan. It isn't adjustable but for me that's fine. Get a little, almost negligible, inside wear on the street at -1.5. Then at the track I get some outside wear. Net net it works fine.

I was set for -3.2 for the track, and managed tires pressure closely, but still got outside wear, and slight understeer.

Lapping season is done, and I dialed back the camber to about -1.5.

May consider an E92 M3 front sway bar swap next spring, wider front tires or square setup on dedicated wheels, in Spring 2014 ...

[Pyrat 2]

Wider front tires would help. I'm running 235/40F and 245/35 R on 18x8.5 et45. I tried the 245/35 on the front for grins and with a 3 mm spacer it'll be fine. When these tires are done I'll go 245/35 square with the 3mm spacers. I expect that with the -1.5 I'll be in great shape. Plus I'll be able to rotate F to R which is a bonus.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by HeelToe

Wider front tires would help. I'm running 235/40F and 245/35 R on 18x8.5 et45. I tried the 245/35 on the front for grins and with a 3 mm spacer it'll be fine. When these tires are done I'll go 245/35 square with the 3mm spacers. I expect that with the -1.5 I'll be in great shape. Plus I'll be able to rotate F to R which is a bonus.

Excellent set up. What tires + wheels are you using? Im on OEM style 261 staggered, with 225/40 and 255/35 Bridgestone RE-11. Wish I could keep them but 7.5inch in the front is too skinny to put on decent rubber.

[Pyrat 2]

Just noticed you have M3 control arms. This should get you a bit more negative camber than the Dinan's alone would provide. I'd think you could get -2.25 with this setup again without adjustment though.

Right now I'm running MPSuperSports. Pretty good although I agree that the RE11s are the tire of choice but they aren't available in 245/35. I'm running RE11s on my 330. Nice.

Wheels are Forgestar CF5s in Hyper Black 18x8.5 et 45. Pretty light compared to stock. I saved 5+ lbs per corner compared to stock.

[dcaron9999]

Any reason why you chose these over Apex - they seem to be in the same weight and price range ...

[Pyrat 2]

Looks, easier to clean, not a me too. Although I have been tempted by the EC7s.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

I was set for -3.2 for the track, and managed tires pressure closely, but still got outside wear, and slight understeer.

Lapping season is done, and I dialed back the camber to about -1.5.

May consider an E92 M3 front sway bar swap next spring, wider front tires or square setup on dedicated wheels, in Spring 2014 ...

You were getting -3.2 with GC street plates & no other mods? I have the same plates + M3 front control arms, and I'm supposedly maxed out at -2.5. The shop that installed the plates told me I was at -3, but they didn't provide an alignment sheet to prove it. So confused...

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

You were getting -3.2 with GC street plates & no other mods? I have the same plates + M3 front control arms, and I'm supposedly maxed out at -2.5. The shop that installed the plates told me I was at -3, but they didn't provide an alignment sheet to prove it. So confused...

Alignment shop removed the stock strut tower alignment pins, and I gained about -0.6, another -0.75 with the M3 arms, and about another -2.x with my plates.

Got the print out from the alignment shop that states -3.2, and top of the wheel was buried inside the wheel well. I toned it down to off season mode in my garage, and probably close to -1.5 to -1.8 now. Rear will stay at max -1.6 all year round.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by MadMan77

I have the GC Street camber plates paired with Ohlins Road and Track coilovers. The camber plates were quiet for a couple of weeks and I thought I was clear. Then a few weeks into having them installed the right started making noises over slow speed, unloaded bumps in the road. It went away shortly after that but eventually both sides started making the noise.

Same exact setup, same exact scenario. My shop is now telling me that the GC design might not work so well with non-OEM size springs (recall that the Ohlins use a 65 mm ID spring), even though when I ordered the plates I specified my spring size. The car's going to the shop next week. They're going to tear down the suspension and try to figure it out, but they're leaning towards trying the Vorshlag plates. I'll update this thread with any results.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Same exact setup, same exact scenario. My shop is now telling me that the GC design might not work so well with non-OEM size springs (recall that the Ohlins use a 65 mm ID spring), even though when I ordered the plates I specified my spring size. The car's going to the shop next week. They're going to tear down the suspension and try to figure it out, but they're leaning towards trying the Vorshlag plates. I'll update this thread with any results.

Got my GC Street plates and M3 control arms installed at the same time.

I had my shop give the front end a second look over. They buttoned everything down a second time, and added a thick washer on top of strut (OEM springs and OEM dampers), claiming there was a design flaw with the GC plates. Noise was reduced but not eliminated.

I was in touch with Ground Control tech staff for a couple of weeks, they sent me a fresh set of rubber bushing for aftermarket springs, I sintalled them myself, with suspension loaded, and the rattle got worse. I removed them and put the original bushings that came with the GC street plates.

Still hear the rattles at low and medium street speeds. I still havent decided if I will dump the GC plates this year, and go to Dinan fixed plates and live with the limited camber and 1/2inch increase in height, or try the Vorshlags. Im thinking the Vorshlags will also have the rattling issue.

Would be great if you could update this thread with feedback from your shop and your experiences.

Thanks.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Still hear the rattles at low and medium street speeds. I still havent decided if I will dump the GC plates this year, and go to Dinan fixed plates and live with the limited camber and 1/2inch increase in height, or try the Vorshlags. Im thinking the Vorshlags will also have the rattling issue.

Would be great if you could update this thread with feedback from your shop and your experiences.

Thanks.

I'll have to measure when I put mine on but 1/2" sounds too high, I'm thinking 1/4" max. That was my experience with Rogue Engineering plates on my Z4. Plus the added height isn't bad if you plan to stick wider/taller rubbers.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Got my GC Street plates and M3 control arms installed at the same time.

I had my shop give the front end a second look over. They buttoned everything down a second time, and added a thick washer on top of strut (OEM springs and OEM dampers), claiming there was a design flaw with the GC plates. Noise was reduced but not eliminated.

I was in touch with Ground Control tech staff for a couple of weeks, they sent me a fresh set of rubber bushing for aftermarket springs, I sintalled them myself, with suspension loaded, and the rattle got worse. I removed them and put the original bushings that came with the GC street plates.

Still hear the rattles at low and medium street speeds. I still havent decided if I will dump the GC plates this year, and go to Dinan fixed plates and live with the limited camber and 1/2inch increase in height, or try the Vorshlags. Im thinking the Vorshlags will also have the rattling issue.

Would be great if you could update this thread with feedback from your shop and your experiences.

Thanks.

Just got back from the shop. Creaking noise ended up being the heim joints on Ground Control adjustable end links. Replaced with new stock units. Also, there was some sort of bracket on the front passenger strut that was rubbing something in the wheel well apparently, so that was bent out of the way in order to clear. The camber plates were apparently not contributing at all. So far, so good.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Just got back from the shop. Creaking noise ended up being the heim joints on Ground Control adjustable end links. Replaced with new stock units. Also, there was some sort of bracket on the front passenger strut that was rubbing something in the wheel well apparently, so that was bent out of the way in order to clear. The camber plates were apparently not contributing at all. So far, so good.

so your problem was not the camber plates but the adjustable end links ...
I just got an email from Jay @ Ground Control today. Supposedly, they designed some sort of spacer 3 days ago that they would like me to try with my camber plates. I will report back once I get and install the parts ...

[Ginger_Extract]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Same exact setup, same exact scenario. My shop is now telling me that the GC design might not work so well with non-OEM size springs (recall that the Ohlins use a 65 mm ID spring), even though when I ordered the plates I specified my spring size. The car's going to the shop next week. They're going to tear down the suspension and try to figure it out, but they're leaning towards trying the Vorshlag plates. I'll update this thread with any results.

Open invite, I know it's a bit of a drive, but I installed Vorshlag plates on my 1'er, and you're welcome to come check the car out, and it's characteristics. With Vorshlag's on stock springs/dampers, I hear more strut noise. I liken it to a "squish" sound made under compression/rebound. However, that's about all I have to report. At speed, especially at cruise, they're stock like in character.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract

Open invite, I know it's a bit of a drive, but I installed Vorshlag plates on my 1'er, and you're welcome to come check the car out, and it's characteristics. With Vorshlag's on stock springs/dampers, I hear more strut noise. I liken it to a "squish" sound made under compression/rebound. However, that's about all I have to report. At speed, especially at cruise, they're stock like in character.

Does the invite apply to me too? Just checked the itinerary on map quest:
I-40 W 2936.66 miles
47 hrs 18 mins / 48 hrs 54 mins based on current traffic ...

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract

Open invite, I know it's a bit of a drive, but I installed Vorshlag plates on my 1'er, and you're welcome to come check the car out, and it's characteristics. With Vorshlag's on stock springs/dampers, I hear more strut noise. I liken it to a "squish" sound made under compression/rebound. However, that's about all I have to report. At speed, especially at cruise, they're stock like in character.

Good stuff, echoes what I said about how Vorshlags are generally quiet.

[Ginger_Extract]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Does the invite apply to me too? Just checked the itinerary on map quest:
I-40 W 2936.66 miles
47 hrs 18 mins / 48 hrs 54 mins based on current traffic ...

Amigo, if you're willing to make that drive, I'd put you up at my place for the weekend. You'd deserve it at that point!

[135iam]

Thanks for all of those that have provided input in this thread! Its appriciated

I ran several cars on track days over a 6 yr period, after getting to the point of wanting to get into W2W racing or get out I chose to get out. After not owning a performance car for the last 2 years, I recently picked up a low mileage convertible 135i 6spd with the sport package. After driving it for 3000 miles last summer I realized this car needs quite a bit to clean up the handling.

My previous car, was a 2004 Honda S2000 which comes from the factory with 215/45/17 Front and 255/40/17 Rear tires. The popular modification for that car is to run stock rear wheels all the way around with 245 or 255 tires. I ran 255's all the way around and loved the non-staggarded setup and how easy the car was to rotate. The car was alot more track built than my 135 will ever be with (seats, harnesses, aftermarket rollbar, suspension mods, brake cooling ducts, race pads, etc) but that car is similar to my 135 with its 50/50 weight distribution and stock tire size.

Anyone run 135i rear wheels on the front?

So far I have a few parts sitting at home to improve my 135's handling. front and rear M3 (TRW) arms and whiteline rear subframe bushings. I am researching suspension/wheel options and have yet to purchase anything there yet.

I am looking for a neutral to oversteering balance for a car that will likely not be track driven, just a fun weekend car. Thoughts on a street suspension setup? Ideal aggressive street alignment? I am not concerned about running up to -2.5 camber as in my experience if the toe is neutral the tire wear is not that bad.

What HealToe has posted makes the 135i and S2000 sound very similar in making them a neutral car

[cpt97m3]

Originally Posted by 135iam

Anyone run 135i rear wheels on the front?

Yep. I've been running that way for about 4 years or so now. I run 255/35 PSS on all 4 wheels. It's a nice setup. I use a 10mm spacer up front, and this does require more camber up front, but that's nice to have anyway.