Recently swapped in //m front brakes whole kit and caboodle on the 328...went fine once the pads bedded in... Issue is i changed my tie rods at the same time and with the new spindle I need an alignment, so I got an alignment...turns out front right camber is 1.7, left is 0.8 and it can't be aligned properly and need to figure out where to start.
I changed the suspension recently as well with new springs and shocks but reused shock mounts...replacing the rsm's whenever the rain stops...which leads me to the fronts. Would the orientation of the top mount in the front affect camber? Through research I know //m top mounts can be swapped l/r for more camber... so I was thinking possibly if the tops are rotated the wrong way it could lead to the extra camber... if its not that then I'm thinking I was given spindles from different geometries '95 compared to '96-99 with the latter being more aggressive.
First would be to reference part numbers, second would be check top mount, shims to left side, ????????? Any ideas? Also I have an odd slimy that comes and goes as it pleases, I think that is simply a dying steering rack though.
Does anybody know how the measurement would change with 95 spindles or 96-99 spindles...I think more camber came with the later years
The strut mounts have an arrow pointing forward and the side indicated. That much difference in camber is not all that unusual. If the strut hats are mounted properly, and I am going to assume they are, you can buy a cheap camber kit from Bimmerworld to set the sides evenly. If you are running fat tires of front, shim kits reduce the distance from the knuckle to the strut, so keep this in mind.
When you do go to get the car aligned, see if they'll allow you to sit in the drivers seat while they are running the numbers. You may be surprised at the results.
Yes I spun the top mount because the drivers side was backwards but it made no difference...
I eyeballed the alignment yesterday and it drives much better now...I think the guys at the alignment shop were a bunch of jokers and tried to align to stock specs with a bunch of m3 parts on the suspension
Glad to hear that much camber difference isn't unusual...going to try shims in the driver side next though...
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