Alignment help please

[Razor2010]

Hi everyone,

Please see the attached. I have just had alignment done to BMW spec and still not happy. Please see the attached diagram and additional comments below:

When I purchased car it drove perfectly straight. So steering wheel was perfectly centered and strove perfectly straight when steering wheel was held perfectly centered. Also, there was zero drift when driving or braking if I took my hands off the wheel on a perfectly flat road.

I hit a major pot hole and from that point my alignment has been off. If I take my hands off the steering wheel the car drifts / pulls left.

I had a full alignment done and can't get rid of the drift / pull. Also the steering wheel is not centered. This drift and steering wheel off centre drives me crazy, probably my OCD.

I think I can correct the steering wheel centering issue but the drift is another story. Obviously something must have been very slightly bent when I hit the pot hole. I replaced the control arms and nothing appears bent with the naked eye but I know a very tiny bend can cause alignment issues. I have no idea what part to replace next so my thoughts are to buy an adjustable camber & caster kit http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-3548-front-adjustable-cambercaster-plates-e36-e39-not-m5-e46-not-m3-e60-e9x-not-m3-z3-mz3-z4-kmac-stage-1-street.aspx to correct the drift?

Concerns: Kit is very expensive for what it actually is in my opinion (any other options out there that work well?). Am I correct in thinking that I can correct the drift by running slightly lower negative camber on the left side meaning the car will be slightly higher on the left side and keep it tracking straight when I take my hands off the steering wheel?

Please see my attached diagram and make suggestions. Thank you for your time.

[srb6537]

it's a bad alignment, happened to me once. have them do it again, and have them put the experienced guy on it!

[Razor2010]

it's a bad alignment, happened to me once. have them do it again, and have them put the experienced guy on it!


That was the main guy that did it.

Anyway, I got under the car and adjusted the toe on both sides as per my initial post (took a couple small tweaks and test drives) and now steering wheel is perfectly centred when car is going perfectly straight. The left drift is still there but I will only be able to correct that when I install the adjustable camber / caster brackets. I can actually visually see that the camber is different on both sides which is obviously causing the pull / drift.....caster could be off too. As soon as the adjustable brackets are installed I will have it all aligned again with lasers etc.

Cheers.

[sullypants1]

Probably would have been easier to just center the wheel on the steering shaft. I think a tie-rod would bend before a control arm. Have some else align it again. I always stand in the bay when they do mine, looking at everything; I always get a good alignment.

[Zodiacbw]

If the steering wheel isn't centered when they're done, it wasn't done right. Can you post the before and after alignment numbers? If you need those plates to make the alignment right, something is bent and should be replaced.

0.15 per side is a good bit of toe in, I would want about half that. I'm not a fan of the factory alignment.

[Euroslide]

Rotate the tires from left to right see if the drift goes to the opposite side. Could be a tire pull. If so rotate the wheels front to back if not a staggered setup.

[JM35]

I had the same issue with my 335i, the shop that did the alignment was telling me that the left wheel was actually positioned further towards the front of the car than the right wheels and that's why it was pulling. Also told me they couldn't fix it.

I took it to the normal place I take it and they fixed it up and didn't mention any issues with the fix.

[beeasy]

Rotate the tires from left to right see if the drift goes to the opposite side. Could be a tire pull. If so rotate the wheels front to back if not a staggered setup.

+1. Make sure tire pressures are ok too

Also what are your actual alignment specs

[JM35]

Here's a good write-up on how to diagnose tire pull: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=12

[DonVAB]

As an FYI, here is why you need to go to a reputable Indy when having maintenance done. This was the result of my alignment that was done this morning...

503581

[BavTuner]

Need to see the alignment report.

A .5 - 1 deg difference in camber will cause a drift or pull.

A 1 deg difference in caster will cause a drift or pull to the most positive side.

Anything other than a 0 deg thrust angle at the rear indicates a misdirection caused from improper toe.

If the steering wheel wasn't straight when they began the alignment it you will have a crooked wheel even with correct alignment angles.

And FYI a BMW must be weighted down when performing the alignment otherwise it's not right.

[MatthewH]

A 1 deg difference in caster will cause a drift or pull to the most positive side.

I have a 1.7° caster difference in front right now. No pulling.