Alignment and adjusting camber

[pablom2c]

Hi,

I went for an alignment and the rear left tire is out of the camber range, according to them maybe because of a pothole.

Our cars (135i 2008 E82) don't have adjustment for camber so what is there to do?

The shop is offering me to fix it by "pulling" it in range with some machine. Is this a normal procedure or will they bend the chassis or the suspension mounting points? Should I accept this procedure? I'm not entirely convinced.

Camber results are:

FL: -1 FR: -0.41

RL: -1.8 RR: -2.6


Thanks.

[olds350]

There is an alignment pin at the top of the strut that can be punched out and give you just a tiny bit of camber adjustment. Had difficultly getting mine aligned and the tech knocked out both pins and now the car is where it needs to be...

Edit: Damn, didn't realize is was that dirty under the hood. Stupid pollen...

[tracer bullet]

Are you sure it's the left rear you're talking about? What you've listed for RL isn't far off. Right rear is more negative than the norm however.

And there's a post about getting more from the front, which is a good idea, but also not what you seem to be asking about.

[Tommm]

Originally Posted by olds350

There is an alignment pin at the top of the strut that can be punched out and give you just a tiny bit of camber adjustment. Had difficultly getting mine aligned and the tech knocked out both pins and now the car is where it needs to be...

Edit: Damn, didn't realize is was that dirty under the hood. Stupid pollen...

Not always punched out. They couldnt punch them out on mine. Whe I put the M3 arms on I saw they were screwed in. YMMV

[Gangplank]

The rear is adjustable... not the front. The rear camber has an eccentric adjuster located on the subframe where the lower control arm mounts.

Sounds like you need to find a different alignment shop.

[pablom2c]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

The rear is adjustable... not the front. The rear camber has an eccentric adjuster located on the subframe where the lower control arm mounts.

Sounds like you need to find a different alignment shop.

Hey thanks, could it be the that the rear left camber adjustment is at the limit and they can't get it within spec?

[dtla1]

From the alignment results you posted, it seems everything is still out of whack. I would take it to a different shop.

If they can't get it into spec because something is broken then it would be the arm where your shock and spring actually mount to. That's the part that has the eccentric bolt to adjust camber.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by dieguitov

Hey thanks, could it be the that the rear left camber adjustment is at the limit and they can't get it within spec?

What spec are you trying to reach? I'll mention again that I believe you are already in spec on that wheel, at least form a factory / daily driver standpoint. Are you having tire wear issues from tracking or something where you want to go beyond spec?

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by dieguitov

Hi,

I went for an alignment and the rear left tire is out of the camber range, according to them maybe because of a pothole.

Our cars (135i 2008 E82) don't have adjustment for camber so what is there to do?

The shop is offering me to fix it by "pulling" it in range with some machine. Is this a normal procedure or will they bend the chassis or the suspension mounting points? Should I accept this procedure? I'm not entirely convinced.

Camber results are:

FL: -1 FR: -0.41

RL: -1.8 RR: -2.6


Thanks.

Originally Posted by dieguitov

Hey thanks, could it be the that the rear left camber adjustment is at the limit and they can't get it within spec?

Looking at the specs your Left F & R are good. It's the Right F & R that are out of whack. Take it to a different shop.

What's specs are you trying for? Just the standard e82 spec or that with max camber in front?

Your sig says you have M3 LCAs is that on front or rear?

Personally for my daily driver I'm using standard e82 alignment spec with maxed front camber camber (and M3 front control arms upper & lower). Rear is stock with similar camber to front.

[MightyMouseTech]

Rear camber is absolutely adjustable. Do these guys know anything about doing a BMW alignment?

[pablom2c]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

What spec are you trying to reach? I'll mention again that I believe you are already in spec on that wheel, at least form a factory / daily driver standpoint. Are you having tire wear issues from tracking or something where you want to go beyond spec?

I'm just trying to reach OEM spec, with a little more camber up front if possible.

Your sig says you have M3 LCAs is that on front or rear?

I have the front M3 LCAs.


Can someone share the actual oem alignment specs? Maybe their alignment machine has the wrong data for the 135i?

[dtla1]

Stock Specs range:

Front Camber: +0.2* to -0.8*
Front Toe: 0.02* to 0.22* with total toe between 0.03 and 0.43

Rear Camber: -1.1* to -1.9*
Rear Toe: 0.05* to 0.25* with total toe between 0.10 and 0.50

As you can see, quite the leeway for the stock alignment range. You should generally always try to match your specs side to side by the way.

[pablom2c]

Thank you for your help with the stock specs, I will return and compare to what their machine says.