[Wag-on]

Hi guys,

2008 e91 328 RWD Sport. Did a complete suspension refresh with M3 upper and lower Control arms, Eibach pro-kit springs which lower 1" in front and 0.8" in rear, and Koni Special Active dampers.

I brought it to Firestone for alignment after - they did the front but refused to do the rear. Brought it to another shop - refused. Finally brought it to the BMW dealer near my house, they refused as well. I can't get anyone to do an alignment. I'm in northern NJ. Any help is appreciated.

[Antetokounmpo]

did they give a reason...?

[Wag-on]

Firestone did the front, then found out it was lowered and stopped. Both of the shops referred me to BMW, said they cant do the back because basically they plug the year make and model into the computer and it tells them what to set the suspension at. With it lowered they can't adjust for that in the computer. BMW said they don't do work on modified suspensions. Stock only.

[MightyMouseTech]

What the actual fuck?

[kamaaina1]

You may need to take to a shop that specializes in customized suspension...
Maybe this shop?

https://www.autobahnnj.com/Services/...-Lowering-Kits

[gunnerxq]

What a joke. How far north are you? This shop is good but it might be too far from you.
http://www.bimmerclinic.com/

Only reason I was denied by bmw was because I didn't have stock wheels that had the pin holes.

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by Wag-on

they cant do the back because basically they plug the year make and model into the computer and it tells them what to set the suspension at.

What kinda weak ass excuse is this? if it makes you feel better, I wouldn't trust a shop that says this to touch my car in the first place

You can try taking your car to a performance shop if anything. Some of them do alignments and will for sure be able to properly align your car without needing a stupid answer key and applying blanket settings to a make/model

[Wag-on]

Thanks guys, recommendations for shops help. I was pretty frustrated, glad to hear I'm not the crazy one.

[nyteryda3]

just yelp alignment and you'll see shops in your area that can handle lowered cars. i wouldn't trust firestone anyways, hope you didn't pay them a dime for whatever they did to the front.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Wag-on

Hi guys,

2008 e91 328 RWD Sport. Did a complete suspension refresh with M3 upper and lower Control arms, Eibach pro-kit springs which lower 1" in front and 0.8" in rear, and Koni Special Active dampers.

I brought it to Firestone for alignment after - they did the front but refused to do the rear. Brought it to another shop - refused. Finally brought it to the BMW dealer near my house, they refused as well. I can't get anyone to do an alignment. I'm in northern NJ. Any help is appreciated.

SJF Performance, they are right by you. Tell him I sent you.

[Silnismo]

Mavis in Edison will align it no problem, most of the lowered cars in the area go there since their alignment machine can clear it no problem.

They did mine and my car is pretty low on coils.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Wag-on

I brought it to Firestone for alignment after - they did the front but refused to do the rear. Brought it to another shop - refused. Finally brought it to the BMW dealer near my house, they refused as well. I can't get anyone to do an alignment. I'm in northern NJ. Any help is appreciated.

Interested in DIY alignment? Most're scared of mine -> camber plates

Working on a shadetree procedure - only tech is a Longacre caster/camber digital gauge:

[bbnks2]

I say this all the time and people get all bent out of shape about it. Read the fine print at any big box store. They don't do performance alignments on modified cars. Period. They want you to come in and spend $189 on simple 2-wheel toe-and-go alignments. That's how they make money. The fine print is there though so you have no leg to stand on that they won't touch it regardless of how dumb of a policy it is. Throwing the tech a $20 can sometimes help...

Take it to a performance shop.

[Soravia]

Just got mine done at two Firestone stores. There are three, all three refuse "BMW, Merc, etc," for "special equipment and weights". Talked my way into two. One shop did a shot job and couldn't do a proper toe, TWICE. Probably jacked up machine calibration.
The other did the job right first time. Gave me the -1.5 camber in the rear like I asked for.
They all use the same machine. It's about the monkey with the wrench.

[Emilime75]

I have trouble finding a place that can get my slammed SC400 on the rack...turned out I hit the jackpot with Discount Tire. They're the only ones around I could find that have their alignment racks sunk into the concrete floor so they're flush and don't need ramps. Plus the guy who does the alignments at my local DT is old school. He did a killer job and aligned to the specs I asked for and it was cheap. Anyway, might want to give Discount Tire a shot if you have any local to you.

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Interested in DIY alignment? Most're scared of mine -> camber plates

Yup...I'm amazed by how many people are more than confident to do brakes, subframe bushings, control arms, struts, etc. but are overwhelmed with fear at the thought of DIY alignment.

A spool of fishing line and set of 4 jackstands is not that scary people...get it together.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Soravia

Just got mine done at two Firestone stores. There are three, all three refuse "BMW, Merc, etc," for "special equipment and weights". Talked my way into two. One shop did a shot job and couldn't do a proper toe, TWICE. Probably jacked up machine calibration.
The other did the job right first time. Gave me the -1.5 camber in the rear like I asked for.
They all use the same machine. It's about the monkey with the wrench.

These cars are insanely easy to align. Techs are just lazy and don't want to actually do a multi-wheel alignment. Cars like Honda's don't have and adjustments in the rear so they charge you for a four-wheel alignment and just set your front toe in 2 seconds lol. That and the corporate policy not to touch BMW's because it calls for passenger simulation with weights... Technically every car should do this! It's all dumb. Reality is though they only want to get your car on the alignment rack so they can then up-sell you on 10 other services. Ever sit in the waiting area of a Firestone? The shit you hear them telling people to make money is insane lol.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Yup...I'm amazed by how many people are more than confident to do brakes, subframe bushings, control arms, struts, etc. but are overwhelmed with fear at the thought of DIY alignment.

A spool of fishing line and set of 4 jackstands is not that scary people...get it together.

I read or it was my understanding doing doing a alignment yourself you could only do 1 parameter and even then your alignement will never be as good as the ones with lasers and the proper machines?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

These cars are insanely easy to align. Techs are just lazy and don't want to actually do a multi-wheel alignment. Cars like Honda's don't have and adjustments in the rear so they charge you for a four-wheel alignment and just set your front toe in 2 seconds lol. That and the corporate policy not to touch BMW's because it calls for passenger simulation with weights... Technically every car should do this! It's all dumb. Reality is though they only want to get your car on the alignment rack so they can then up-sell you on 10 other services. Ever sit in the waiting area of a Firestone? The shit you hear them telling people to make money is insane lol.

All the lowered cars go to the local Honda dealer for the alignement here lol. They've always adjusted my car properly.

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I read or it was my understanding doing doing a alignment yourself you could only do 1 parameter and even then your alignement will never be as good as the ones with lasers and the proper machines?

You read wrong. Those "proper machines" you trust run by someome making minimum wage use camera-based systems; not lasers. Given that, good luck getting any kind of consistency out of any job they do...not to mention, who knows how poorly calibrated those wheel clamps get after being thrown around all day. You'd be better off just driving over those "quick alignment calculators" that some dealership service bays use these days.

You can certainly use lasers at home though, if thats your thing. Either way, you'll end up with more repeatable results and a bit more cash in your pocket.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

You read wrong. Those "proper machines" you trust run by someome making minimum wage use camera-based systems; not lasers. Given that, good luck getting any kind of consistency out of any job they do...not to mention, who knows how poorly calibrated those wheel clamps get after being thrown around all day. You'd be better off just driving over those "quick alignment calculators" that some dealership service bays use these days.

You can certainly use lasers at home though, if thats your thing. Either way, you'll end up with more repeatable results and a bit more cash in your pocket.

this.

unless you have an alignment shpo that you trust not to do a shit job you can probably do just as good at home.

never underestimate what someone that actually gives a shit about the car is capable of.

remember that nobody at any shop cares about your car as much as you do.

and when you find that one shop that actually seems to give a shit, toss them an extra $20 to show that you appreciate it.

It took me 4 alignment places to find one I was happy with.
and now he's my guy.
I told him as much, and that his attention to detail on the alignment earned him a thousand dollars worth of tire business next month too.

[Freddie92]

Originally Posted by kamaaina1

You may need to take to a shop that specializes in customized suspension...
Maybe this shop?

https://www.autobahnnj.com/Services/...-Lowering-Kits

Old post but kinda funny, I do their alignments at a Firestone. Never had a problem with a modified car/truck if i had the wheel well clearance for the alignment heads to fit. If the shop is too lazy to do it right, you don't want them touching your car anyway