[jonheil]

Anyone have any experience (good or bad) with alignments? I need to find a good shop that can do it right(I refuse to bring it to the dealer again cause they couldn't do it right the first time).
I know BMW specifies a certain amount of weight needs to be placed in the two front seats and the trunk (sandbags) before alignment. Most shops don't know this. I'm in Ocala, FL if anyone know a shop that can do it here let me know.

 

[lllSupra]

Is it bad that I am running koni yellows and h&r race springs and I havn't gotten an alignment since the car was stock :eeps:

 

[charly23]

I have h&r race springs as well and today I had to balanced my tires and do alignment again. I went to this shop in miami where they are specialized in this stuff. And the reason why I went there is because its a huge shop and there's BMWs, Benzs, ferrari, audi etc.

Make sure you find a shop like that, where only by seeing it you can tell that they are professionals..its very important to do tha job the right way.

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[lllSupra]

I have h&r race springs as well and today I had to balanced my tires and do alignment again. I went to this shop in miami where they are specialized in this stuff. And the reason why I went there is because its a huge shop and there's BMWs, Benzs, ferrari, audi etc.

Make sure you find a shop like that, where only by seeing it you can tell that they are professionals..its very important to do tha job the right way.

Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using BimmerApp

What specific differences did you notice after the alignment?

I'm replacing my FCABs and RTABs before my alignment.

 

[invictus]

What specific differences did you notice after the alignment?

I'm replacing my FCABs and RTABs before my alignment.

tires stopped getting eaten up. specifically toe and camber was WAY the hell off for one of my fronts

 

[lllSupra]

tires stopped getting eaten up. specifically toe and camber was WAY the hell off for one of my fronts

yeah my car definitely doesn't perform like it should right now... Handling feels off and insecure, also my car likes to slide now on turns much easier..

 

[shanneba]

There is a wealth of information in these forums on alignments.

Ballasting may not be needed, it depends on the alignment rack being used.
The normal ballasting is to get the car to the correct ride height for the alignment settings to be correct.
The newer alignment racks have the ride height adjustments included in the BMW settings and do not require ballasting.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=416660
Post #14 has some more ballasting information.

 

[charly23]

Yea, before doing alignment my tires looked new from the outside but in the inside were completely eaten up because of the camber now they won't do that anymore, at least not as much as they were doing it. Plus the stearing wheel feels so much lighter in turns.

Anytime you change suspension kits or rims or tires make sure you get balance n alignment If needed

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[jonheil]

Yea, before doing alignment my tires looked new from the outside but in the inside were completely eaten up because of the camber now they won't do that anymore, at least not as much as they were doing it. Plus the stearing wheel feels so much lighter in turns.

Anytime you change suspension kits or rims or tires make sure you get balance n alignment If needed

Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using BimmerApp

Yeah ditto with my tires. I know factory specs call for a lot of negative camber but I think the dealer went a little extreme. I'm gotta take it to an indy tomorrow and tell him to make the camber more neutral. I'm not flying through road courses anymore. I just want even tire wear.

 

[grafiksguy]

There is a wealth of information in these forums on alignments.

Ballasting may not be needed, it depends on the alignment rack being used.
The normal ballasting is to get the car to the correct ride height for the alignment settings to be correct.
The newer alignment racks have the ride height adjustments included in the BMW settings and do not require ballasting.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=416660
Post #14 has some more ballasting information.

This is true. Older equipment requires that the car be weighted which simulates the weight of the driver. The newer stuff has software that compensates for an assumed weight. However keep in mind if you're running a non-stock suspension, all the BMW charts and assumptions get somewhat less useful. Check for posts by member JPR (if he's still around) who is something of a maven on this subject