[Wingnutts]

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...e93-bmwmcaktfr

As I'm getting ready for spring, I'm looking into this upgrade kit. I had a run of bad luck last fall with some pot holes and my lower front control arms are leaking oil as they are blown out. My shocks and struts were updated last Spring with oem parts so this would be pretty much the last items for a full refresh outside of sway bar/bushings. My two questions are as follows.

1. Does anyone have any experience with this kit?

2. When it goes in for an alignment after installation, do I just have dial it in as if it was a m3 e92 due to the m3 arms?

TIA.


Title edited...

[Emilime75]

Plenty of people run those parts and the majority of them say it's worth it. In case you didn't know, the TRW parts are the exact same as buying OE M3 from the dealer.

M3 alignment specs should work.

And BTW, titling your thread differently in the future would be a bit more useful. FCPEuro is a business that stocks/sells millions of replacement parts for BMW and other marks. These M3 parts aren't exclusive to them.

[Wingnutts]

Originally Posted by Emilime75

Plenty of people run those parts and the majority of them say it's worth it. In case you didn't know, the TRW parts are the exact same as buying OE M3 from the dealer.

M3 alignment specs should work.

And BTW, titling your thread differently in the future would be a bit more useful. FCPEuro is a business that stocks/sells millions of replacement parts for BMW and other marks. These M3 parts aren't exclusive to them.

Yah, I thought I had more information in the title, but that's what I get for trying to rush...

[Silnismo]

I have the front kit and love it. I would recommend replacing your inner and outer tie rods if your car has some miles on it.

Mine were rusted shut and had to be replaced in order to properly align.

[Emilime75]

Seized outer tie rods are rather common, so I'd agree with replacing them at the same time.

[Wolf 335]

Definitely stiffer and you feel the bumps in the road a lot more.

[Wingnutts]

Originally Posted by Silnismo

I have the front kit and love it. I would recommend replacing your inner and outer tie rods if your car has some miles on it.

Mine were rusted shut and had to be replaced in order to properly align.

Originally Posted by Emilime75

Seized outer tie rods are rather common, so I'd agree with replacing them at the same time.

Good point! My new tires are getting mounted and I just ordered wheel studs so I'll be under the car this weekend and check them out.

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Definitely stiffer and you feel the bumps in the road a lot more.

With 19" 313 rims, I'm kind of used to the bumbs... With the speed and cornering, there has to be some concession. I actually like being that connected though. When I'm feeling soft, I drive my wife's X5.

[mweisdorfer]

Wow.... that's the cheapest I've ever seen that kit.

[mweisdorfer]

You don't dial it in as if it were an e92 M3. You don't have all the other M3 arms nor an M3 steering rack.

You should tell them about the natural .75 camber the arms will provide so, they don't over/under compensate for this.

[Wingnutts]

Request for anyone that may have it, but does anyone with this suspension arm upgrade kit on a 335 happen to have a print out with all of the values after an alignment was completed?

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Wingnutts

Request for anyone that may have it, but does anyone with this suspension arm upgrade kit on a 335 happen to have a print out with all of the values after an alignment was completed?

The only thing that changes is front camber... You might have 1* of camber up front. Maybe more if you're lowered. That's it.

Front camber is not adjustable. It will be whatever it is and alignment tech isn't going to touch it.

There is not much different at all about an M3 and a 335i alignment... except the camber won't show red since M3 comes with camber in stock form.

Toe spec between both cars is pretty much the same range... M3 calls for .02-.15* toe-in up front. 335i calls for .05-.20* toe-in (more stability for a street oriented car). Same thing out back... M3 calls for
.04-.13* toe-in out back... 335i calls for .1-.2*. These are just ranges...

[Wingnutts]

This right here is exactly what I'm hoping to avoid...

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1689827

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Front camber is not adjustable. It will be whatever it is and alignment tech isn't going to touch it.

I don't know why people keep saying this. The strut tower bolts are slotted, and they give you about a half of a degree of camber adjustability. All you have to do is pull the locating pin on the strut mount. OEM strut mounts have a hex in the pin and if you're careful, you can just lefty-loosey it out of there.

[mave198]

If you got shit roads I would caution against the front M3 bits. You WILL feel everything on the road and NVM will increase.

I would just do the M3 rear bits since stock these cars have some nasty rear wheel hop and having that happen while going fast on a bend is scary to say the least.....

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by rothwem

I don't know why people keep saying this. The strut tower bolts are slotted, and they give you about a half of a degree of camber adjustability. All you have to do is pull the locating pin on the strut mount. OEM strut mounts have a hex in the pin and if you're careful, you can just lefty-loosey it out of there.

Yes, the long answer is that front camber is technically adjustable. But that is not included as part of an alignment. It requires banging out the alignment pin on the strut mount. Not to mention all the additional steps of jacking up the car and removing the top hat bolts. NO shop is doing this work during an alignment.

Short answer, Camber is not adjustable. Nor should there be any reason to adjust camber side-to-side after working on your car. Only reason front camber will ever vary significantly from side to side is if you have components that need replacing because the are bent/bad. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

[iqraceworks]

Originally Posted by Wingnutts

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...e93-bmwmcaktfr

As I'm getting ready for spring, I'm looking into this upgrade kit. I had a run of bad luck last fall with some pot holes and my lower front control arms are leaking oil as they are blown out. My shocks and struts were updated last Spring with oem parts so this would be pretty much the last items for a full refresh outside of sway bar/bushings. My two questions are as follows.

1. Does anyone have any experience with this kit?

2. When it goes in for an alignment after installation, do I just have dial it in as if it was a m3 e92 due to the m3 arms?

TIA.

The alligment will be the same, you will just have a little more camber...and that's not adjustable, so it is what it is. That kit is great!

[Emilime75]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Yes, the long answer is that front camber is technically adjustable. But that is not included as part of an alignment. It requires banging out the alignment pin on the strut mount. Not to mention all the additional steps of jacking up the car and removing the top hat bolts. NO shop is doing this work during an alignment.

Short answer, Camber is not adjustable. Nor should there be any reason to adjust camber side-to-side after working on your car. Only reason front camber will ever vary significantly from side to side is if you have components that need replacing because the are bent/bad. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

The pins are easy to remove and can be done prior to taking it in for the alignment.

No car is perfect and there is always a need for camber adjustment, especially after some age and miles.

The last alignment I got, the techs jacked the car up to relieve pressure from the cammed alignment bolts that come as factory on my 95 SC400. Is this necessary to properly align the car? Yes. Is this more work for the tech? Yes? Should it be part of the process? Obviously, yes. This was at a Discount Tire, mind you, not some specialty shop that charges shit tons of dollars.

Why is it so far fetched to expect camber adjustment during an alignment, if needed? Just talk to the tech doing it and ask them to.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Yes, the long answer is that front camber is technically adjustable. But that is not included as part of an alignment. It requires banging out the alignment pin on the strut mount. Not to mention all the additional steps of jacking up the car and removing the top hat bolts. NO shop is doing this work during an alignment.

Short answer, Camber is not adjustable. Nor should there be any reason to adjust camber side-to-side after working on your car. Only reason front camber will ever vary significantly from side to side is if you have components that need replacing because the are bent/bad. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

Have you ever done it before? You don't need to drop the strut, I never have and I've done it with 4 different cars. The worst experience I had was when I rounded the hex out on one side, I just used some vice grips and twisted the pin out. Its aluminum, so the vice grips bite into it really well.

I also had a set of aftermarket strut tops on the xDrive wagon I used to own, they had a formed dimple instead of a pin, I used a drill on them to remove the pin, it was probably faster than finessing the pin out with a 3mm allen wrench.

Pro-tip, pull the pins before you take it to the alignment shop, most techs are lazy and won't pull them for you. If they give you any BS about how the E90 camber isn't adjustable, point to the slotted holes and tell them how to do it.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by rothwem

Have you ever done it before? You don't need to drop the strut, I never have and I've done it with 4 different cars. The worst experience I had was when I rounded the hex out on one side, I just used some vice grips and twisted the pin out. Its aluminum, so the vice grips bite into it really well.

I also had a set of aftermarket strut tops on the xDrive wagon I used to own, they had a formed dimple instead of a pin, I used a drill on them to remove the pin, it was probably faster than finessing the pin out with a 3mm allen wrench.

Pro-tip, pull the pins before you take it to the alignment shop, most techs are lazy and won't pull them for you. If they give you any BS about how the E90 camber isn't adjustable, point to the slotted holes and tell them how to do it.

So now you went from it's a normal part of an alignment to "oh just drill out the pin yourself before you go get the alignment"

You know damn well that no shop is going to do this for you as part of a regular 4 wheel alignment. Ask nicely and slip the tech a few dollars and you might get lucky, sure.

and again if your camber is off so far that you need to use the slack in the strut mount to even things up then you've got a broader issue. OP's concern is with what will happen to his alignment after the arm install. The answer is nothing. Just need to fix toe. Camber is going to be whatever it is. It's that simple. If he now all the sudden has a huge difference in camber then something is wrong. and if the car now all the sudden feel massively different then something is wrong. All the M3 arms will do is cause a bit more NHV.

[iqraceworks]

Even with drilling out the pin so you can move the front struts around a little bit....there isn't much movement anyways. You might see what, less than .25 degree of camber adjustment? That's not even worth the hassle.

Just install the M3 arms....reset your toe, and drive it.

[Wingnutts]

Alright, this took a turn that I didn't think it would. I always enjoy the opportunity to learn something new and everyone's input has been appreciated. But if I can maybe slow this down a bit though.


I liked the idea of upgrading the arms to the m3 arms since I thought it would be as simple as swapping them and then just dropping it off at the alignment shop and telling them what specs to use. I used to have an e46 m3, so the idea of my 335i handling a little more like the m3 seemed like a great idea. The last thing I want to do is have to deal with any issues and return trips to the shop.


So let me try and present my original question in a different way. With what Bbnks2 posted "The only thing that changes is front camber... You might have 1* of camber up front. Maybe more if you're lowered. That's it.

Front camber is not adjustable. It will be whatever it is and alignment tech isn't going to touch it.

There is not much different at all about an M3 and a 335i alignment... except the camber won't show red since M3 comes with camber in stock form.

Toe spec between both cars is pretty much the same range... M3 calls for .02-.15* toe-in up front. 335i calls for .05-.20* toe-in (more stability for a street oriented car). Same thing out back... M3 calls for
.04-.13* toe-in out back... 335i calls for .1-.2*. These are just ranges...
This to me sounds like a simple bolt on procedure and standard 335i alignment but with the m3 toe in specs (which are almost the same as the 335i).

Is this the simple answer? As for the camber, from what I have read here and elsewhere, it doesn't seem too hard, but not really worth it.

Thoughts?

[iqraceworks]

Simple answer: Install the front M3 arms. Get the car alligned at a good shop. Drive it.

No need to overthink this.