[EDM92]

Hey guys, I'm a suspension component NOOB and was hoping for some help. When my car was slammed on BC super low coilovers, it would never align correctly. My friend who does my alignments could never get both sides rear camber/toe even remotely close to each other. After I put the stock suspension back on, my friend could align the car with no issues.

1) Is it possible that my friend who does my alignments doesn't know how to align a slammed car? I don't think aligning a slammed car is different than a normal car but maybe it could be different, so I'm throwing that option out there.

2) It may be important to note that when I had the coilovers in the rear set at the same height, the car's height would be uneven. I had to make one coilover a different height than the other, for the height to match. Maybe this has something to do with it?

3) Is it possible that I need to replace some suspension components? If any, which components? Someone told me getting Megan camber arms would fix the problem in the rear, not sure though.

I'm looking into slamming my car again, and would like to avoid this issue the next time around. Thanks in advance for the help guys!

[Denny347]

Slammed? Wheels tucked? I've been told that really low cars need adjustable camber plates installed for proper alaignment. My tires are not tucked, fender sits just above the tire. I go for my alignment Monday at a place that specializes in BMW so we will see how close to stock spec they can get. I could not imagine going much lower than what I am at now...but these cars look great lowered.

[EDM92]

Originally Posted by Denny347

Slammed? Wheels tucked? I've been told that really low cars need adjustable camber plates installed for proper alaignment. My tires are not tucked, fender sits just above the tire. I go for my alignment Monday at a place that specializes in BMW so we will see how close to stock spec they can get. I could not imagine going much lower than what I am at now...but these cars look great lowered.

The BCs have camber plates. Here's a pic.

[Denny347]

Originally Posted by EDM92

The BCs have camber plates. Here's a pic.

Oh, that is NICE!!! With camber plates (barring any worn out suspension parts) you should be able to get it within spec, with a tech that knows what they are doing. Mine is not that low but I sometimes scrape in my own driveway (the bracket that holds the exhaust pipes up). I hope mine comes close to factory spec.

[EDM92]

Originally Posted by Denny347

Oh, that is NICE!!! With camber plates (barring any worn out suspension parts) you should be able to get it within spec, with a tech that knows what they are doing. Mine is not that low but I sometimes scrape in my own driveway (the bracket that holds the exhaust pipes up). I hope mine comes close to factory spec.

Thanks man! I'm not looking to get it to factory spec, need a bit more camber than that. I really just want the ability to get it even on both sides, which wasn't happening last time I was slammed, for whatever reason.

[Denny347]

Originally Posted by EDM92

Thanks man! I'm not looking to get it to factory spec, need a bit more camber than that. I really just want the ability to get it even on both sides, which wasn't happening last time I was slammed, for whatever reason.

95's have to be the best looking 19" wheels. They look better on a 3 series than they do on the 7 series they are meant for

[EDM92]

Bump for opinions

[CJ421]

Originally Posted by EDM92

1) Is it possible that my friend who does my alignments doesn't know how to align a slammed car? I don't think aligning a slammed car is different than a normal car but maybe it could be different, so I'm throwing that option out there.

2) It may be important to note that when I had the coilovers in the rear set at the same height, the car's height would be uneven. I had to make one coilover a different height than the other, for the height to match. Maybe this has something to do with it?

3) Is it possible that I need to replace some suspension components? If any, which components? Someone told me getting Megan camber arms would fix the problem in the rear, not sure though.

If your friend could align the car with the stock suspension, then I don't think he/she is at fault; that also means that there's nothing wrong with the stock parts. The adjustment range in the stock suspension is only enough when the car is at stock ride height. Lowering the car changes things, namely camber and toe - and the adjustment range may be insufficient to get it back within spec.

Each side of the car doesn't have to match the other side (and in my experience, usually doesn't); it just needs to be within spec. What was the exact problem when lowered - too much toe? And on which axle? An alignment sheet would be helpful.

P.S. it's normal to have some corners at different heights with these cars.

[EDM92]

Originally Posted by CJ421

The adjustment range in the stock suspension is only enough when the car is at stock ride height. Lowering the car changes things, namely camber and toe - and the stock adjustment range may be insufficient to get it back within spec.

If your friend could align the car with the stock suspension, then I don't think he/she is at fault; that also means that there's nothing wrong with the stock parts.

Each side of the car doesn't have to match the other side, it just needs to be within spec. What was the exact problem when lowered - too much camber? Too much toe? And on which axle? An alignment sheet would be helpful.

P.S. it's normal with these cars to have some corners at different heights.

Thanks for the response. All the issues were with the rear axle. Unfortunately I don't have a spec sheet. We weren't aiming to get each side to match perfectly, rather we just wanted them relatively close. I believe at the time I was aiming for somewhere between 2.5-3 degrees of camber, one side ended up at like 2.8* and the other at 2.0* or something like that. That's as close as it would go. It definitely didn't drive in a straight line, and the steering wheel would shake.

I'm thinking maybe camber arms will fix the problem. I asked a BMW tech friend of mine, he said he had a friend with a slammed BMW that wouldn't align correctly and the camber arms fixed the problem. Thoughts?

[CJ421]

Originally Posted by EDM92

Thanks for the response. All the issues were with the rear axle. Unfortunately I don't have a spec sheet. We weren't aiming to get each side to match perfectly, rather we just wanted them relatively close. I believe at the time I was aiming for somewhere between 2.5-3 degrees of camber, one side ended up at like 2.8* and the other at 2.0* or something like that. That's as close as it would go. It definitely didn't drive in a straight line, and the steering wheel would shake.

I'm thinking maybe camber arms will fix the problem. I asked a BMW tech friend of mine, he said he had a friend with a slammed BMW that wouldn't align correctly and the camber arms fixed the problem. Thoughts?

You're welcome.
Careful with the terminology - the rear camber arm is the large piece that the spring and strut sit in. What you're looking for are adjustable rear guide rods and rear wishbones. Megan makes them for our cars, I'm not sure which one does the camber adjustment - but that would allow you to fix the camber.

I'd [highly] recommend adjustable rear toe arms. Out-of-spec toe is the number one thing that wears tires and also screws up the car's ability to drive in a straight line. Stick to BMW specs for the rear toe and you'll be fine.
Also, I'd recommend at most -2.5 deg camber-wise for street driving; more than that and the car will have a tendency to tramline (not to mention increased tire wear).

[EDM92]

Originally Posted by CJ421

You're welcome.
Careful with the terminology - the rear camber arm is the large piece that the spring and strut sit in. What you're looking for are adjustable rear guide rods and rear wishbones. Megan makes them for our cars, I'm not sure which one does the camber adjustment - but that would allow you to fix the camber.

I'd [highly] recommend adjustable rear toe arms. Out-of-spec toe is the number one thing that wears tires and also screws up the car's ability to drive in a straight line. Stick to BMW specs for the rear toe and you'll be fine.
Also, I'd recommend at most -2.5 deg camber-wise for street driving; more than that and the car will have a tendency to tramline (not to mention increased tire wear).

Looks like I'll be needing to pick up a Megan camber+toe arm kit.

[longliven54]

+1 on megans toe arm

try and stay away from rouge engineering toe arms, seems to be hit n miss with product quality and longevity

[longliven54]

+1 on megans toe arm

try and stay away from rouge engineering toe arms, seems to be hit n miss with product quality and longevity

[uberschnell]

Originally Posted by EDM92

Looks like I'll be needing to pick up a Megan camber+toe arm kit.

You can't align the rear when it's too low with stock components. You need the adjustable rear camber and toe arms to get proper alignment. That's a known fact. Plus the arms make it super easy to dial in any setting you want. The feedback on Megan has been positive.

[EDM92]

Originally Posted by uberschnell

You can't align the rear when it's too low with stock components. You need the adjustable rear camber and toe arms to get proper alignment. That's a known fact. Plus the arms make it super easy to dial in any setting you want. The feedback on Megan has been positive.

I wish this known fact was more well known and people could have helped me when I had the problem a year ago! Now I know, and can help others. Thank you!

[VTECaddict]

I'm not as low as you but mine was able to align evenly to -2.8 rear camber a 0.00 rear toe on both sides with OEM adjustments. Also on BC coils.