[Archibald Donnington]

I have the KW V2 setup, and if you have coilovers, you NEED to get your car aligned and corner balanced. Seriously. What a car. When I first got my coilovers, she was riding good, but not as nimble or tight as the factory setup. I drove her for 2 weeks (the wait for west end alignment) until the balancing. Now she is a PERFECTLY tuned machine with a perfect setup.
The michy PS2's don't hurt either.
aaron

[Acuracy]

How much does corner balancing usually go for? I was thinking about doing it but a few people told me if i dont track my car often then i wont notice it, how true is that?

Travis

[Archibald Donnington]

You have no idea brotha. What a difference. Going from a OEM 50/50, front/rear, and 50/50 side/side to whatever the f*ck they are set at after your coilovers are installed. Think about it bro. This is one of the main reason's I bought a BMW, for the PERFECT weight distribution. I promise you will not be dissappointed.
i paid:
corner balancing: $150
alignment: $100
aaron

[Neema]

: ( some day i'll get KW's too....and then i can get mine corner balanced as well. Did you sit in the car when they did the balancing? I hear thats a good thing to do so that you can adjust it for when the driver is in the car, makes sense right?

[Acuracy]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

You have no idea brotha. What a difference. Going from a OEM 50/50, front/rear, and 50/50 side/side to whatever the f*ck they are set at after your coilovers are installed. Think about it bro. This is one of the main reason's I bought a BMW, for the PERFECT weight distribution. I promise you will not be dissappointed.
i paid:
corner balancing: $150
alignment: $100
aaron

Thanks Aaron, im gonna call my shop next week and set something up, at least i know it wont hurt. Thanks

Travis

[ohsnap]

I definately am going with the corner balance once I get my KW's put on. Every reputable shop I have spoken to all stated to get this done with full coilovers. Was always the really cheap (labor) shops that said I could pass. Plus I want to make sure the tire wear is as even as possible.

[335iheLLraiseR]

Originally Posted by Boost_Nation

: ( some day i'll get KW's too....and then i can get mine corner balanced as well. Did you sit in the car when they did the balancing? I hear thats a good thing to do so that you can adjust it for when the driver is in the car, makes sense right?

they usually add a bag with say "200lbs" for an average human being, but if they use you, its more accurate in my opinion

[Archibald Donnington]

Originally Posted by Boost_Nation

: ( some day i'll get KW's too....and then i can get mine corner balanced as well. Did you sit in the car when they did the balancing? I hear thats a good thing to do so that you can adjust it for when the driver is in the car, makes sense right?

Yeah, it makes sense, but Darren @ "west end" already compensated for my weight w/o me in the drivers seat. He's been doing this for years and does very reputable work. When he was finished, he showed me a sheet of the weight distribution for each corner and how my weight is distributed to the sides and front/back. Very very cool indeed.

Originally Posted by Acuracy

Thanks Aaron, im gonna call my shop next week and set something up, at least i know it wont hurt. Thanks

Travis

Your welcome Travis. It most defiantly will not hurt. Just make sure you post your results back to this thread or the likes so I can hear how happy you are with your corner balanced setup.

Originally Posted by westwest888

How often do we need to get corner balancing and alignment done? Is once a year overkill?

Corner Balancing should only be done once. As long as you don't change your ride-height settings. Alignment is another story, and depending on your driving style, every 30K miles or so.
aaron

[Ray]

I'm glad to hear of your satisfaction.

BTW, how full was your gasoline tank while the weights were balanced? What was the weight distribution of each corner and cross weight before and after the balance?

[Archibald Donnington]

Originally Posted by Ray

I'm glad to hear of your satisfaction.

BTW, how full was your gasoline tank while the weights were balanced? What was the weight distribution of each corner and cross weight before and after the balance?

The tank was 1/3 and the before measurements were way off due to just setting the c/o's for looks, so I'm not sure. The cross and corner weights were all +/- 15lbs with me in the driver's seat. I lost the actual paper that had them, but that's as close as I remember.
aaron

[acupunch]

its the 1st time I heard about the term 'corner balance'. only know that wheel alignment its necessary when changing to coilover setup.

so I suppose after all this alignment and balancing, the tire wear should be similar to OEM setup?

I would be doing my lowering soon, hope the bros here can shred some lights. tires over here its pain in the ass.

[Archibald Donnington]

The alignment is what will get your tire wear in check. The corner balancing is for the weight distribution, and I'm sure will bring your tire wear to OEM spec.
aaron

[down4it]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

The alignment is what will get your tire wear in check. The corner balancing is for the weight distribution, and I'm sure will bring your tire wear to OEM spec.
aaron

Who does corner balancing in SoCal?

[S4to335]

corner balancing is overkill if you dont plan to do autocross or going on driving events at road courses. It can run $100 - 400 depending on where you go. I have done it myself on a prior car with Intercomp 4 wheel scales..and trust me folks...this can be real difficult. Essentially it can only be done with cars that have coilovers...and what happens is that the installer is adjusting the ride height of each corner to try to get the diagonals weights to match...(LF plus RR = RF plus LR) We are talking about the weight. You should do this with a body in the drivers seat..or the equivalent weight in the driver seat. Everytime you adjust one corner..it changes the other three..so you can imagine how hard this could be.

I think someone like me needs it...(I use to corner balance my Spec Miata race car) for my 335i...since I track alot...please dont go out and pay for a corner balancing on a car that will never hit a track..its just wasted money..IMHO.

Steve-out.

[S4to335]

Alignment is definitely required when coilovers are installed. I would also suggest to wait a few days after the suspension install before doing the alignment...BTW, I use to do suspension installs on the side..probably helped do 30+ suspension installs over the past 7 years.

[OC Guy]

Darin from West End Alignment in Gardena did my corner balancing as well.

[Archibald Donnington]

Originally Posted by S4to335

corner balancing is overkill if you dont plan to do autocross or going on driving events at road courses. It can run $100 - 400 depending on where you go. I have done it myself on a prior car with Intercomp 4 wheel scales..and trust me folks...this can be real difficult. Essentially it can only be done with cars that have coilovers...and what happens is that the installer is adjusting the ride height of each corner to try to get the diagonals weights to match...(LF plus RR = RF plus LR) We are talking about the weight. You should do this with a body in the drivers seat..or the equivalent weight in the driver seat. Everytime you adjust one corner..it changes the other three..so you can imagine how hard this could be.

I think someone like me needs it...(I use to corner balance my Spec Miata race car) for my 335i...since I track alot...please dont go out and pay for a corner balancing on a car that will never hit a track..its just wasted money..IMHO.

Steve-out.

That's cool man. But what most people don't realize, is what they bought this car for in the first place. The FEEL. If you care enough to drop $1.5K or so on a c/o suspension, then you would most likely care for your car to feel like you did. If your c/o's were installed with too much rake, then you have a car with too much understeer, and it feels way front heavy. Nobody who drops such serious dough on their suspension/wheels would like that, guaranteed. Of course corner balancing helps in autoX, undoubtedly, but for us enthusiasts in SoCal who have Darren ($250 corner balancing) at our disposal, it's WELL worth it.
aaron

[OC Guy]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

That's cool man. But what most people don't realize, is what they bought this car for in the first place. The FEEL. If you care enough to drop $1.5K or so on a c/o suspension, then you would most likely care for your car to feel like you did. If your c/o's were installed with too much rake, then you have a car with too much understeer, and it feels way front heavy. Nobody who drops such serious dough on their suspension/wheels would like that, guaranteed. Of course corner balancing helps in autoX, undoubtedly, but for us enthusiasts in SoCal who have Darren ($250 corner balancing) at our disposal, it's WELL worth it.
aaron

I agree. I want to add, your $250 corner balancing included an alignment as well.

[S4to335]

Originally Posted by Archibald Donnington

That's cool man. But what most people don't realize, is what they bought this car for in the first place. The FEEL. If you care enough to drop $1.5K or so on a c/o suspension, then you would most likely care for your car to feel like you did. If your c/o's were installed with too much rake, then you have a car with too much understeer, and it feels way front heavy. Nobody who drops such serious dough on their suspension/wheels would like that, guaranteed. Of course corner balancing helps in autoX, undoubtedly, but for us enthusiasts in SoCal who have Darren ($250 corner balancing) at our disposal, it's WELL worth it.
aaron

Hey man, more power to you. If you got the cash..go for it..$250 to alignment and corner balancing is a good price. I know a shop up here in NorCal, Custom Alignment, what would have charged over $400 for that job. I have a lot of time invested in modding many cars..all I was trying to tell the newbies is to not consider corner balancing a requirement. The loosest nut is the guy behind the wheel. High Performance Driving schools are where I suggest most people spend their money..to learn how to drive better.

Enjoy your car.

[Chowbow]

That's why I skipped on coilovers in the first place! Saved myself $700 for HPDEs and even after several events I still feel that I cannot drive the car to it's full potential and my skill level needs to go up a couple notches first.

[Archibald Donnington]

Haha OC335, nah brotha. We both paid the same.
Alignment = $100
Corner Balancing = $250
Total = $350
And S4to335, props to perspective. Before even thinking about modding, one should consider the main unknown varaible, the driver.
aaron

[Dascamel]

Car > Me