Too Much Camber (What do I do)

[carguy200550]

I have 1995 m3 that is on ddm tuning springs and blistein shocks. I just got under the car today and noticed some pretty extreme wear on the inside of the driver side tire. After taking a better look it appears the driver side has twice as much camber as the passenger. There are no aftermarket camber adjusters on the car, so I have really two questions. Why and what can I do about it?

[joenationwide]

Id get an alignment and have your front toe set properly.

[kevinwilly]

Is this the front or the rear?

[carguy200550]

sorry. It is the front

I agree that I need to line up the toe properly, but what is cause of the difference in camber. I really feel that this is the cause since the toe looks similar on both sides and only one tire is worn.

[CodyLTR]

Front or rear?

[kevinwilly]

There's not really any way to adjust camber on the front, as far as I know.... at least not without installing plates. So my bet is that you have some component that is worn, or your strut hats are installed in the wrong orientation.

Having an alignment done might shed some more light on the issue. I don't know how it is around you, but here, firestone offers a lifetime alignment for any vehicle for 150 bucks. Money well spent. I can go in there whenever I am having issues, get feedback, replace parts, and get it aligned without having to pay again.

Jack it up and check for play in the ball joints and stuff. Something's got to be off if it's visibly bad.

[Itsablurr]

sorry. It is the front

I agree that I need to line up the toe properly, but what is cause of the difference in camber. I really feel that this is the cause since the toe looks similar on both sides and only one tire is worn.

"Looks" doesn't really cut it to eyeball symmetrical toe, camber, etc side to side. You'd be surprised at how far off one side can be from the other in a baseline alignment report when everything 'looks' well set by the naked eye.

You need to inspect your bushings and hard parts. How many miles do you have on the existing hardware? Accidents or hard hits? Look for worn out or bent/damaged pieces. One you go through that, get a real alignment done.

[turbosporttsi]

Grab yourself a very inexpensive camber shim kit from BimmerWorld. Take them to the place that does your alignment and add the smallest shim and re-check camber. If not enough, replace with thicker shim, etc. Rinse, repeat. :)

[LuxoM3]

+1 Check your alignment with a GOOD shop.

FWIW - the M3 doesn't like *cheap* alignment shops. And what's more, it's VERY sensitive to TOE. Camber to the naked eye can vary an easy -/+ .25 without much loss of handling. Unless you are racing, you wouldn't even notice.

However, even .1 of toe being off can be felt and the more makes it even more dramatic - e.g. bad handling, wandering lanes on the freeway, tire wear, PULLING at high speeds, etc.

For the BMW to have inner tie wear from camber is pretty rare. You got to have like camber at -4 or higher to start wearing the tires. A lot of guys are running -2 to -3 on their cars and still not showing tire wear.

BUT, if your toe is off, well your tires will wear like water in death valley in the summer.

Get an alignment - I think you'll have the basis for a more informed answer.

[fsmtnbiker]

If you're getting more inside edge wear on one front tire, it is because your rear toe is set improperly.

[RRSperry]

In front, it's a bent strut, or control arm or frame damage that causes uneven camber.

Get thee to a trusted alignment shop...