e36 wants LESS camber/needs stance help!

[Vstone2262]

Holy fucking toe out.

Looks like toe in ????

[MMMPR3S]

Do some research on how different suspension set ups work (whether macpherson strut or double-wishbone or whatever) and you are going to save yourself A LOT of trouble

You MUST get aligned at the height you drive at (people on bags only have one height where their alignment is ideal)

1. alignment consists of toe, caster, camber
2. toe eats tires not camber
3. all cars have adjustable factory toe, most dont have factory adjustable camber or caster
4. sometimes if you are too low you have to go to a place that has their alignment racks set low. one of my cars was aligned with only 1/4" between the rocker and the ground so almost anything can be aligned. if you dont want to scrape getting on the alignment rack you can align yourself using a few simple tools

^^^ This

[DinanDave]

any updates?

[myreversewave]

^ Great info, thats what I was thinking, that you need to get an alignment at the height you drive at. Im thinking I might just take my front bumper off and then try to go back to a few places since I dont have a clue as to how to go about doing an alignment myself.

[Spork40k]

Do some research on how different suspension set ups work (whether macpherson strut or double-wishbone or whatever) and you are going to save yourself A LOT of trouble

You MUST get aligned at the height you drive at (people on bags only have one height where their alignment is ideal)

1. alignment consists of toe, caster, camber
2. toe eats tires not camber
3. all cars have adjustable factory toe, most dont have factory adjustable camber or caster
4. sometimes if you are too low you have to go to a place that has their alignment racks set low. one of my cars was aligned with only 1/4" between the rocker and the ground so almost anything can be aligned. if you dont want to scrape getting on the alignment rack you can align yourself using a few simple tools

Awesome information thanks!

[selah777]

Do some research on how different suspension set ups work (whether macpherson strut or double-wishbone or whatever) and you are going to save yourself A LOT of trouble

You MUST get aligned at the height you drive at (people on bags only have one height where their alignment is ideal)

1. alignment consists of toe, caster, camber
2. toe eats tires not camber
3. all cars have adjustable factory toe, most dont have factory adjustable camber or caster
4. sometimes if you are too low you have to go to a place that has their alignment racks set low. one of my cars was aligned with only 1/4" between the rocker and the ground so almost anything can be aligned. if you dont want to scrape getting on the alignment rack you can align yourself using a few simple tools

[Spork40k]

The price you pay for being an inspiration to us all skrapez! Sry to see your selling your e36 tho



Thanks man, yea I avoid any uneven surface on the road like the plague. I could be wrong on this but your alignment getting out of whack really fast could be due to worn out bushings not being able to hold your alignment but toe and camber are part of it so they shouldn't charge extra. But yea Just Tires for example wanted to charge me an additional $40 because it wasn't a typical Windstar they get and was a BMW AND it had been lowered, bs. Thinking I might have to crank the coils up just to get an alignment which sucks after spending hours in the garage getting every corner perfect

That helps a lot, one of my bushings has a crack in it but the bimmer guys that work on my car said it wasnt in need of replacement but when i do come across a bump its awful so i might just replace them anyways, but thats a pain in the ass when people see a BMW they shit a brick and then charge you extra for that brick.

[myreversewave]

toe sucks.. burned thru my tires in 2k miles lol

ur off to a good start!

The price you pay for being an inspiration to us all skrapez! Sry to see your selling your e36 tho

Looks so good in those updated pics. I have an E36 as well and i have coils and koni struts, everytime i get an alignment it it gets out of whack really fast and i avoid everything and i meen i park so i dont have to touch speed bumps and what not, any ideas on this? Also do they charge extra to adjust toe angle and camber when you get it aligned?

Thanks man, yea I avoid any uneven surface on the road like the plague. I could be wrong on this but your alignment getting out of whack really fast could be due to worn out bushings not being able to hold your alignment but toe and camber are part of it so they shouldn't charge extra. But yea Just Tires for example wanted to charge me an additional $40 because it wasn't a typical Windstar they get and was a BMW AND it had been lowered, bs. Thinking I might have to crank the coils up just to get an alignment which sucks after spending hours in the garage getting every corner perfect

[Spork40k]

Looks so good in those updated pics. I have an E36 as well and i have coils and koni struts, everytime i get an alignment it it gets out of whack really fast and i avoid everything and i meen i park so i dont have to touch speed bumps and what not, any ideas on this? Also do they charge extra to adjust toe angle and camber when you get it aligned?

[skrapez]

toe sucks.. burned thru my tires in 2k miles lol

ur off to a good start!

[myreversewave]

Well I have an update. Checked my rtabs and they dont look torn or anything surprisingly. Went and got my 245/40s on the 7.5s put on the 8.5s and new 205/40s on the 7.5s. Also lowered the front end 1/2 an inch or so, and combined with the smaller tires my car went even alittle bit lower. Then went around to a few shops trying to get an alignment and to no surprise to me, was too low to get on any alignment racks. So couple more questions for you guys. Do most of you raise your car for an alignment and then lower it when you get back home? And wouldnt that negate the alignment? Thanks guys for all the replies btw, a big reason why I spend most of my time on this forum, the diversity of cars and the genuine appreciation for all things low and flush and how helpful and supportive everyone is.

Updated pics for clicks










An Idea of how low I am ^


And this was laying in the middle of the road last night, not covering a hole or anything, just waiting for a low car to come along and break its bumper.


Pink JDM zipties from Wally World


Also when I was at Discount Tire, guy showed me these practically brand new Continental ContiProContacts in 245/40 so I snagged em up for $30each!

[Bruno730]

iam having the same exact problem .. i have gotten the car aligned from 2 places and both said they cant adjust camber on an e36 .. so i went out and bought new rtabs and man its hard to find a shop that has a tool to press them in .. anyways there a bolt on the bottem of the control arm by the end off the rear shock that controls the camber on these cars ... most believe by changing out these bolts your camber problem will be solved...

let me know if this helped ,,, iam going through tires like crazy lol and i haven't even gottem my coils yet

yes, bolt on the outboard end of the rear control arm is eccentric and adjusts camber. BUT i don't think it adjusts more than like 1.5-2 degrees.

[radiokilla]

Toe is out of wack, check trailing arm bushings they are probably shot

I keed, I keed. +1 to what everyone else said about your toe angle. Get that checked out ASAP.

[armorrig]

rear toe in around 0.2 total. Camber around -1.5 to -2 per side. Might also be a great idea to buy some adjustable rear camber arms, especially if you are really low.

Here's a better guide.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=995556

[Addy325is]

iam having the same exact problem .. i have gotten the car aligned from 2 places and both said they cant adjust camber on an e36 .. so i went out and bought new rtabs and man its hard to find a shop that has a tool to press them in .. anyways there a bolt on the bottem of the control arm by the end off the rear shock that controls the camber on these cars ... most believe by changing out these bolts your camber problem will be solved...

let me know if this helped ,,, iam going through tires like crazy lol and i haven't even gottem my coils yet