Can’t figure out why my car is pulling hard to the left- need help!!

[Leafsrule531]

Okay so i can’t figure out for the life of me why my car is pulling to the left. I had initially thought it was just an alignment so i took it to a shop and did the alignment. I’ve attached a picture of the specs and i asked the tech why there were some numbers that were still off the spec. He told me this is the best he could do and apparently i need adjustable camber plates to get this more in line. Is this true? Would the current alignment cause my car to pull hard ot the left?

Currently i can’t drive straight at all. I need to hold the steering wheel in the a slight right position for it to drive straight and as soon as i let go it pulls to the left hard. I also notice that this happens when i push the brakes it pulls to the left pretty hard. I have done the following to fix this but no luck yet as well as some additional details about my car:

1. 4 brand new tires mounted and balanced
2. Alignment
3. I have KW V2 coilovers but dont see anything wrong with them really and can’t imagine this would cause the pull? maybe im wrong?
4. Control arm bushings have less than 10k miles on them


i just really want my car to drive straight and cant figure out why anymore. Any help or input would be appreciated!

Just an FYI the car was hit on the rear left side but the accident was minor and the body shop told me I had no frame damage or anything of sort.

[01SG]

For starters, a stock M3 can only get to about -1.5 camber in the front with the alignment pins pulled. Are you that low that it reaches -2.0, and is that even possible? And then why would it only get to .9 on the other side?

Whatever the reason, you don't need camber plates. There is something else at issue here if they can't get the camber the same. Probably not a great shop either.

I imagine it has something to do with the coilovers, unless maybe the control arms are completely busted, which is highly unlikely. It probably has something to do with the coilovers. It's almost as if the right side is lowered way down and the left is at stock height.

[juju396]

I know you've stated the fcabs are semi-new, but how old are your front control arms? If they are original, then inspect your front control arms inner & outer ball joints (mine deteriorated after 10 yrs/ 100k mi), as well as other front suspension components (tie rods, end links, anything rubber). If the fcabs are older (even though they have only 10k miles) you should inspect / replace them.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/blog/how-to-replace-the-control-arms-bushings-ball-joints-tie-rods-end-links-on-a-bmw-e46-m3

https://bimmers.com/blog/e46-control-arm-troubleshooting-guide-causes-and-fixes/

[bmwfnatic]

Camber differences side to side will 100% cause a pull.
You should investigate why your right side won't go above -1.8 camber, something is not right there, possibly a prior collision, or a bent strut or kingpin.

If the cause of the right side camber cannot be found, consider matching the left side up to be closer with the right side, as 01SG said, you should be able to at least get -1.5 out of it, that way it matches up better and will probably drive better.

[George Hill]

As noted above, a car will pull the the side that has more positive camber and caster will cause a pull to the side more negative. The problem with your car is likely mechanical so I would start trying to figure out why you can't get the camber into spec.

[Slideways]

Do you have a higher res picture? Is it -0.1 L and -1.9 R front camber? Max difference between sides can only be 0.5.

Check that the factory top mounts have the correct orientation and the ride height is similar between left and right sides.

[I M Legend]

Did this start recently after you did some type of mod to the suspension?

It sounds more like a stuck caliper. After a drive with some moderate to hard braking, do you feel more heat coming from one of the rotors on the left side?