WTF, 3 different alignment specs for an E46? Any alignment gurus out there?

[thefitter]

Anyone know why I would find 3 different alignment spec sheets? I have 1 from the dealer, 1 from an independent BMW shop and one from a Goodyear tire shop that does other automotive repairs. All 3 are using Hunter alignment racks and all three are different. I have found reference online to the specs from the indie shop and the Goodyear shop but not what I got from the dealer. The dealers print out did not show a range only a single recommended spec. Oh and… from what I can tell it’s NOT due to wheel size.

I have no idea what I should set this car up too. It’s really dumped and I have adjustable rear camber arms but not front camber/caster plates. I want the handling to be aggressive but I do not want to eat up the new PSIIs I just put on.

A tech at the dealer said that since the suspension is so far from stock that stock specs do not apply and that I need to find a “suspension guru” that really knows how to properly align a dumped car.

[nickdrivesm3]

Anyone know why I would find 3 different alignment spec sheets? I have 1 from the dealer, 1 from an independent BMW shop and one from a Goodyear tire shop that does other automotive repairs. All 3 are using Hunter alignment racks and all three are different. I have found reference online to the specs from the indie shop and the Goodyear shop but not what I got from the dealer. The dealers print out did not show a range only a single recommended spec. Oh and… from what I can tell it’s NOT due to wheel size.

I have no idea what I should set this car up too. It’s really dumped and I have adjustable rear camber arms but not front camber/caster plates. I want the handling to be aggressive but I do not want to eat up the new PSIIs I just put on.

A tech at the dealer said that since the suspension is so far from stock that stock specs do not apply and that I need to find a “suspension guru” that really knows how to properly align a dumped car.

There is no way every machine will read the same. The fact that you're dumped, compromises OEM specs. Because you're dumped the only thing you can do it adjust camber and toe to a safe settingso you wont wear out the tires.

I would do about -2.0 rear camber and -0.5 toe. Can't adjust front camber so just have them set the toe slightly inwards.

[Toxic0n]

Actually, you can adjust the front camber slightly by taking out the "pin" that holds the that strut hat in place.

[thefitter]

There is no way every machine will read the same. The fact that you're dumped, compromises OEM specs. Because you're dumped the only thing you can do it adjust camber and toe to a safe settingso you wont wear out the tires.

I would do about -2.0 rear camber and -0.5 toe. Can't adjust front camber so just have them set the toe slightly inwards.

I'm sorry I guess I was not very clear. What I meant was that I got print outs from the alignment machines showing what the specs should be. And they had different data in their programming for the same vehicle.

For instance the left front camber:

BMW Dealer Spec Range -0.6 0.0

BMW Indie Spec Range -0.7 0.0

Goodyear Spec Range -1.1 -0.4

(I converted these so they use the same format.)

Now looking at this my first instinct was that Goodyear was way wrong because the other two were so close, but then I found this:

http://www.my330i.com/alignment.php

Which shows the exact data as Goodyear.

[shointake]

remember the SPECS from my330i.com are for a LOWERED e46 330i with 18's bro bro

make sure the specs the other 2 u have are for the RIGHT SIZE rim that u OWN..

being lowered and having different size rims will come into Play.. tires and everything come into play.. they just give u a different standard of how it should be STOCK.. rocking stock wheels.. and such

id go with bmw spec's.. if u have oem 17 inch rims.. or even 18's..

But if ur rocking 19's like my330i.com go with his specs and the good year ones..!

[Critter7r]

Also keep in mind that there ARE 3 sets of specs (not to be confused with 'Sexy Specs' - those are eyeglasses ) for the E46: regular, Sport and Xi.

[jnk323]

If your car is lowered then the shop can probably only get it close to whatever spec you request. -2 degrees of rear camber is good for 16 inch rims, but you will need more + the bigger the wheel, remember that the further you get from 0 the faster you will wear tires. depending on how low your car is you may need adjustment plates to tune the front to complement the rear. If you get the rear to grip the road you will have push on the front tires. I recomend you go to a local reputable speed shop and ask the appropriate questions and remember dont take the first advise you get, everybody wants your money but not everybody is knowledgable about your car and aspirations. Lastly soft tires will wear quickly and radial tires will get a wear memory so get fixed up before to long.

If I had more time I could write up the dos and donts but if you search the internet you will find all the answers you need.

[Critter7r]

OK, so here's what I found for E46 rear suspension for 9/01 and later... just to confuse everybody more... (by the way, is that -.6 degrees in post#4??)

Anyhow..
E46 Standard suspension rear camber - negative 1 degree 30' +/- 15' (-1.5 +/- .25) or a range of-1.25 ... -1.75
E46 Sport suspension rear camber - negative 2 degrees 04' +/- 15' (-2.06 +/- .25) or range of -1.81 ... -2.31
E46 Rough Road Pkg rear camber - negative 46' +/- 15' (-.76 +/- .25) or range of -.51 ... -1.01
E46 M3 - negative 1 degree 45' +/- 15' (-1.75 +/- .25) or range of -1.5 ... -2

I don't think that the rough road package is for the Xi, I think there's an actual 'rough road' package in Europe and the Xi's here in the U.S. use the standard suspension setup. And how weird is it that the M3 has LESS negative camber than the Sport Suspension setup?

[jpr]

read here - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=416660

[jnk323]

with the wider rear tire and larger rims you want less camber away from 0 to prevent excessive tire wear. With a big rim the sidewall flexes less and needs less negative camber to keep the tire flat on the road while cornering. Also with the wider the tire the same can be said except the only change is that there is more contact patch creating less pounds per square inch of road contact, with more negative camber you can actually lift the inside edge of the outsid tire and begin to lose traction causing oversteer. This information is not god and is only comprised of my thoughts, The schooling I recieved and the opinion I have made from years of experience. If anybody has factual information proving me wrong please post it.