Alignment Specs / Coilover Adjustment Guide

[bimmer]

https://thebuildjournal.com/tech-gui...t-specs-guide/

Can anyone knowledgable in this space vouch for whether or not this is an accurate guide to utilize in adjusting alignment/coilovers? Trying to get my car setup for double duty (weekend cruising / 4-5 track days per year).

[mrgizmo04]

It's ballpark and kinda, and also depends on what YOU run for wheel spec and offset, tires, ride height you want (looks good to you), whether you have camber plates or not, etc. Rough example - if you are trying to shove 295 square on 18x9 et50 you will need to run some serious spacers in the front to make sure you clear the strut and don't rub the inside of the tire. If your wheels are et20 you will need to run more camber to make sure the outside of the tire fits under the fender without rubbing in a dive or compression. You might also have to adjust ride height up.

For height - guys normally don't run below 13 without either adverse affect on roll center or roll center corrections.

Their spring rates starting with "sporty" and upward are not following flat ride theory, if you are interested in that. There is a thread on this forum.

There are a LOT of variables that go into it.

In general for track you want to run a bit softer in rear than autocross (where you want the car to overrotate more). I'd also say you want to run max camber for autocross and maybe back off a bit for track (but a pyro gun will be your friend based on your driving style to make sure you get "equal" temp across the width of the tires after the sessions).

[bjz!]

Camber
-3.0° F
-2.0° R

0 or 1° toe in F
1° toe in R

Good overall use. You can test this setup.

[mcfreid]

Front:
Camber: -1.8 to -2
Total Toe: 0 (as close to 0 as possible per side)

Rear /w 160lbs in driver’s seat:
Camber: -2
Total Toe-In: 0.2 (0.1 per side)

Rear /w no weights:
Camber: -1.5
Total Toe-In: 0.3 (0.15 per side)

[Obioban]

Everything in the ride height section is bad advice. Measured center cap to fender, the front should always be ~.5" higher than the rear-- they're doing the opposite or no stagger. Beyond that, the "track" ride height their suggesting would be seriously detrimental to handling without significant suspension geometry correction.

The sporty street tire setup would result in a hyperactive DSC-- terrible for sporty street driving.

The spring rate section is... not very good either, imo.

And any sweeping shock settings should be disregarded. Vastly depends on your specific setup and taste.

Camber should be set by tire temps across the tread of the tire-- no specific numbers are good for all cars. Depends on weight, spring stiffness, sway stiffness, etc etc.

All told, I wouldn't use it at all. More detrimental than helpful IMO.

[YaroM3]

Will ajusting camber only trow off other alignment settings ? Having to get another alignment?
had my car alignment done. On paper the camber adjustment numbers are same but looking on the car driver side is tucked looks more cambered than passenger side. Any advice would be nice. Thanks!

[mrgizmo04]

Will ajusting camber only trow off other alignment settings ? Having to get another alignment?
had my car alignment done. On paper the camber adjustment numbers are same but looking on the car driver side is tucked looks more cambered than passenger side. Any advice would be nice. Thanks!

Did you get a printout of before/after from the alignment shop? Being parked on sloped ground can make things look a bit different, so a quality shop should have set it all properly. Were there spacers in the front they forgot to put on one side?

You run camber plates? Do your camber plates also adjust caster angle via a different set of securing bolts?

Normally just adjusting the camber can be done independently, but you are somewhat guessing at the degrees and what will "look good" to your eye will end up being like -4 or -5 degrees, or a bit too much .

[YaroM3]

Did you get a printout of before/after from the alignment shop? Being parked on sloped ground can make things look a bit different, so a quality shop should have set it all properly. Were there spacers in the front they forgot to put on one side?

You run camber plates? Do your camber plates also adjust caster angle via a different set of securing bolts?

Normally just adjusting the camber can be done independently, but you are somewhat guessing at the degrees and what will "look good" to your eye will end up being like -4 or -5 degrees, or a bit too much .

Yeah it's on bc coilovers , this is for the rear of the car tho. I do have ajustable lower control arms as well.
does ride hight play a factor when doing alignment?

[Tbonem3]

Increasing neg camber up front will cause toe out. In the rear, toe in.

[mrgizmo04]

Yeah it's on bc coilovers , this is for the rear of the car tho. I do have ajustable lower control arms as well.
does ride hight play a factor when doing alignment?

Yes ride height is a big factor. What does the print out from alignment shop say? Were they not able to get same values side to side because something is bent and maxed out?

[YaroM3]

Yes ride height is a big factor. What does the print out from alignment shop say? Were they not able to get same values side to side because something is bent and maxed out?

This is what the print out sheet says.

[Tbonem3]

That says your passenger side has slightly more camber, not the driver side. They didn't get the camber or toe the same left to right, though not a huge delta. I don't like the toe in in the rear, 2mm isn't too bad, but then the other side is 2.5mm. Should have done like 1.5-2mm both sides evenly. And more camber in the rear than the front.

[YaroM3]

That says your passenger side has slightly more camber, not the driver side. They didn't get the camber or toe the same left to right, though not a huge delta. I don't like the toe in in the rear, 2mm isn't too bad, but then the other side is 2.5mm. Should have done like 1.5-2mm both sides evenly. And more camber in the rear than the front.

Yeah, kind of anoyyong with these so call race shops that "know what they doing" cant do it 100 percent. They easily could of gotten everything perfect. I have all the items installed on car for full ajustment.

[Tbonem3]

Ya I hate when they claim "oh BMWs are tricky." No, I have camber plates, tie rods, trailing arms and adj LCAs; you can do it.

[YaroM3]

Ya I hate when they claim "oh BMWs are tricky." No, I have camber plates, tie rods, trailing arms and adj LCAs; you can do it.

Yeah exactly, that's what I'm saying. They charge a pretty penny as well. I'm going take it to another shop just for a check and have them print out spec sheet. Prob need to find someone with same alignment machine tho.