hey all,

i was at the track a couple weeks ago, and noticed last night that i'm rubbing really bad on my drivers rear tire. it's never had an issue until recently. it appears to be that i've lost most of the camber i had on the back left wheel. i have plenty of clearance on the pass side, but the drivers side is rubbing. the arm appears to be straight, but then again, even slightly bent ones look straight. and the car still tracks straight, if that has anything to do with it.


at the last track day, i spun on track, it was a right hand turn, uphill to the apex, and downhill after the apex. the rear got light and i looped it. stayed on track, once i got it straightened out i let the momentum carry me off track so i could get out of the way of cars.

could that spin have anything to do with the loss of camber? i'm affraid i bent the arm, but am not sure. or could i have gotten lucky and just forced the eccentric bolt out of whack? i'm going to check all the parts this weekend, but would like to see what you all had to say.


i'm posting this here for a reason, the e36 forum sucks for technical help, and is only decent when you guys show up for a little. if i wanted to learn how to install clear corners or an exhaust, i'd post in the e36 forum. but for this, i feel you guys have the most knowledge.


and if in fact my arm is bent, what do you recommend in ways of aftermarket rcca's? are the GC ones any good?

thanks,
Brent

I've bent stock ones twice. Once because of a tow truck, once when the rear wheel went against curbing. It really doesn't take much to get those things out of wack. I'm about to have the AA one's put it. I think every brand costs around the same ($250 or so), so it may just be personal preference.

Most all of the arms do the same thing. I'm not a huge fan of the single-shear mount on the GC's, but I've never heard of anyone breaking them. If you don't want to go with sperical bearings (i.e. for a street driven car), you might look into the BMP's. They are a bit heavy, but they use urethane bushings, which should require less maintainence.

I recently installed the GC adjustable LCAs. I haven't tried others, but I like them and they're legal in Prepared. I don't understand this "single shear" thing, but the GC units are certainly much stronger than the OEM wishbones.

One thing for you to consider. With any of these aftermarket LCAs, if you do hit something sideways, they aren't gunna bend like the wishbones. You're more likely to break something expensive like a wheel or trailing arm.

Jay

A friend of mine bent one with some extremely aggressive AutoXing on r-compounds. :devillook It is very possible that the shock load from your spin bent the arm. Just a guess.

Another option would be the weld-on bits like Turner sells. You can probably get a shop to weld a couple strips of metal on for not too much. Sure it's not as fancy, but it ought to be cheaper than the crazy prices people want for the aftermarket things.

-Bret

I don't understand this "single shear" thing, but the GC units are certainly much stronger than the OEM wishbones.

Has to do with the way the GC arms seem to mount to the rear hub (based on the picture on the website). All of the other aftermarket LCCA's I've seen mount in double sheer with a machined wishbone. Double shear mounts are stronger and are generally preferable on race cars (or any car for that matter). It just strikes me as slighty strange to reverse engineer and use a less preferable mounting method than the factory arms.

Here's a pretty simple explanation of fastener stresses:
http://carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0111_fast_2_kh_z.jpg

hmmmmm very interesting!

http://www.ground-control-store.com/images/fullsize/e46controlarm_fs.jpg i guess this is the arm that bryan is talking about.



here is the GC arm that i am familiar with. i've seen these in person at bimmerfest last year, looks just like any other e36 rcca.

http://www.mperformance.com/store/catalog/GCRCCA.jpg

Bryan-

The pic on their website is of the LCA for the 95, which is different from 96+. Mine is the same as the pic in the post after yours. Based on your explanation, it's a double shear.

Now I get it....light goes on.

Jay

Has to do with the way the GC arms seem to mount to the rear hub (based on the picture on the website). All of the other aftermarket LCCA's I've seen mount in double sheer with a machined wishbone. Double shear mounts are stronger and are generally preferable on race cars (or any car for that matter). It just strikes me as slighty strange to reverse engineer and use a less preferable mounting method than the factory arms.

Here's a pretty simple explanation of fastener stresses:
http://carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0111_fast_2_kh_z.jpg

Actually, mine is exactly like the pic on GC's site except that the outer end is the U-shaped piece that is shown in the lower pic in BMW M Power's post.

Jay

Interesting...so what car does the single-shear arm go on?

Interesting...so what car does the single-shear arm go on?

Dale told me it was for a 95 M3. I think he said something about a different outer bushing. Or, maybe it was if you wanted to use the different bushing. I can't remember. I've got a teflon brain.....nothing sticks.

Jay

Got ya. Stange, I've never noticed a difference between the 95 and 96+, but I've also never looked really hard. I do know that the double shear fits just fine on 95's.

Its the same part number across the board for all E36's and E46's actually. I have the double shear AA one's on my 95.