[fasteddie]

I just got my KW V2 coilovers installed last weekend. Took us many, many hours, but it was mostly to drive to the auto parts store. Thanks Renn-Sport! They are awesome in combination with UUC Sways! And no clunking right now!

There is hardly any body roll, but the roads have been a bit wet lately, so I didn't go all out on any turns. Can't wait for some dry days. Anyways, my question is do I need a camber adjustment plate or kit? Or will alignment be enough?

I am not "slamming" the car at all. There is about a 3/4" gap between tire and wall in front, and about 1/2" gap in the rear right now. Haven't adjusted the ride height, as I'm waiting for the coilovers to settle a bit more first. But I'm definitely going to be leaving at least 1/2" to 3/4" gap all around.

I've searched the board, but haven't found any answers regarding the camber. So any help is appreciated. I do know to get corner balancing and alignment in a few weeks or so. Been too wet to take any pix either.

 

[hummer]

I installed my PSS9 and took the car to Turner for final adjustment. Mine is also not slammed with approx. 1/2-3/4" fender/tire gap front and rear. Turner said it should be 3/4" higher in the rear measured at the rocker panel.

I also had alignment questions but could not get specs from anyone. Turner said stay with stock. I ended up talking to an alignment guy that knows his stuff. Camber front -1 degree, rear -2 degrees. Min factory toe in front and 1/32" toe in rear. Talked to an E36 suspension guy who said the basically the same thing. After lowering E36 with no camber adjustment you take what you get for front camber and double it in the rear.
Car is on rails, I swear!

 

[misshift]

Congrats on the purchase. I'll bump this up for ya.

 

[fasteddie]

hummer: thanks for the info. Wonder if coupes and sedans are different, tho. Because my car came stock with umm, 3.5" wheel gap in front, and like 2" in rear! But I guess that could be the non-sport springs. So that 3/4" higher is measured from the ground?

 

[RS6]

Can somone please tell me how to read this chart.... Newbie, don't know which number to follow when doing the alignment.

 

[MarvelPhx]

What you are looking at is the alignment specs from my project car. First of all, don't worry about caster. It is basically static from the factory based on the design of the suspension.

So, you have camber, toe, and thrust angle to look at.

Camber will be the biggest adjustment and as you can see, I chose to dial in a bit more negative camber in the front for cornering. BMW recommends -1.1 to -0.4 degrees of camber in the front, I went to -1.4. No plates or anything needed, simply lowering the car did most of the camber adjustment. There are slots where the tops of the front struts attach to the car, they can fine tune the camber alignment there. Do remember, this obviously increases tire wear, which it did. Watch the inside edge of your tires with this much camber, it will wear there first.

The rear camber involves turning a cam bolt on your control arm. Also easy to adjust. Again, the more negative camber, the more wear on the inside edge of your tires, especially if you are not on the track and turning all the time.

Toe is affected by camber on our cars. The more camber adjustment, the more the toe changes. So, as you can see, my left front tow was way out of BMW's spec of 0.6mm to 2.3mm. Toe is also easily adjusted by changing the length of the tie rods on your steering rack.

Thrust angle is how the rear tires are aligned to follow the front tires. The closer to zero the better. You shouldn't have a problem with this.

Composite values are a combination of the left and right sides working as a unit.

The OK ranges in that chart are BMW's recommended specs for a lowered (aka sport suspension) stock 3-series.

 

[fasteddie]

Thanks Marvel! I went to my alignment shop today, and he said rarely would one need a camber set for e46s. He also recommended alignment after coilvers are on for 1000 miles to settle. So I'll be going to him for corner balancing and alignment in a few weeks. Tru-Line in Seattle rocks!