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Thread: New to e36's, need to make sure with you guru's.

  1. #1
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    New to e36's, need to make sure with you guru's.

    Hey guys, so I recently got into a e36m3 vert.

    -Stock
    -Hardtop
    -Broadway Statics
    -18" BBS RSii

    My question is for people with camber plates or the Broadway Statics to be more precise, is the camber plates not adjustable through the engine bay on the strut tower? I have to take them off and adjust them? I want to make sure I installed these correctly...




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  2. #2
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    Theyre not installed correctly. When installed right, all 4 adjustable nuts should be visible from the top


    Quote Originally Posted by SeanDub View Post
    Hocus pocus make it in focus

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by 98bimmer View Post
    Theyre not installed correctly. When installed right, all 4 adjustable nuts should be visible from the top
    Lol... Do I swap sides? That's the only solution I can think of. Since its in a triangle and the camber plates should be perpendicular to the car, idk how else i should install it.

    Can someone educate me? I feel so clueless. I had a e30 precious to this and installing those were a breeze...

  4. #4
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    I think that is installed correctly. Looks like it's an M3 fitment for more caster, but the downside is that the bolts to adjust camber are blocked.

  5. #5
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    It's a coin flip to both those guy's speculation, I would have said switch sides also, like bimmer said, but before working further on it, why don't you call Broadway and find out if that is the design? Wouldn't make sense to hide camber adjustment, unless it really isn't supposed to do much. What size wheels are you on with the current setup, that caster adjustment looks really forward, are you rubbing the wheel well on compression?

  6. #6
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    I have broadways and can get to all of my camber bolts, I'd try swapping sides.
    CBlock


  7. #7
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    So I called Broadway, they answered right away (awesome customer service!) but apparently the OBD2 e36 m3's have a strut tower that leans toward the rear to compensate for the longer control arms that we have.

    Makes sense lol... so does anyone have any hacks on getting to those camber bolts instead of taking them off?

  8. #8
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    You could drill the placement holes where the Allen key would need to turn the adjusters if you plan to adjust the wheel camber for auto x. You'd still have to at least lower the suspension struts. If you have a floor jack and a long key, you could move lower with jack and move it where you need to then remount. Don't you plan to align the car anyway? Let the shop deal with it and tell them the camber you want. But I'd recommend putting reinforcement plates just in case even if you don't drill it. Don't want those towers mushrooming on you.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Genkiboi8o8 View Post
    So I called Broadway, they answered right away (awesome customer service!) but apparently the OBD2 e36 m3's have a strut tower that leans toward the rear to compensate for the longer control arms that we have.
    I disagree with this. I have ISC coilovers and they work for all e36's. The only difference is where the end link for the sway bar is mounted. On non m's, its mounted on the control arm. On Ms, its mounted on the coilover. ISC was able to make a coilover fit for all e36s by simply putting a mount for the end link on the coilover if you have an M. If you don't simply mount it on the control arm. I've never heard of changes in strut tower locations....Maybe I missed something.

    http://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensio...s-Incl-M3.html

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmw328m52 View Post
    I disagree with this. I have ISC coilovers and they work for all e36's. The only difference is where the end link for the sway bar is mounted. On non m's, its mounted on the control arm. On Ms, its mounted on the coilover. ISC was able to make a coilover fit for all e36s by simply putting a mount for the end link on the coilover if you have an M. If you don't simply mount it on the control arm. I've never heard of changes in strut tower locations....Maybe I missed something.

    http://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensio...s-Incl-M3.html
    I believe they were referring to the strut bearing, the m bearing is indeed offset back toward the cockpit to increase caster. To see my setup see photo:

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmw328m52 View Post
    I disagree with this. I have ISC coilovers and they work for all e36's. The only difference is where the end link for the sway bar is mounted. On non m's, its mounted on the control arm. On Ms, its mounted on the coilover. ISC was able to make a coilover fit for all e36s by simply putting a mount for the end link on the coilover if you have an M. If you don't simply mount it on the control arm. I've never heard of changes in strut tower locations....Maybe I missed something.

    http://www.bimmerworld.com/Suspensio...s-Incl-M3.html
    You are incorrect, there is more to it than sway bar tabs. If you have an OBD2 M3, and the top hat is not offset towards the cabin and centered in the strut tower opening like OBD1 and non M, your wheel will be incorrectly spaced in the wheel arch and your shock angle is not how BMW intended it to be. I do not know what ISC does for OBD2 M3s but if it is not leaning toward the cabin or has a caster adjustable plate, it is incorrect. If there is just one top hat for all e36 92-99, that is incorrect by my standards. I doubt that is the case, Bimmerworld knows their stuff. Don't just take it from me, compare the OEM OBD1 and OBD2 M3 top hats and control arms, you will see exactly what I am talking about.


    To adjust the camber on a OBD2 M3, you have to drop the assembly out of the shock tower, adjust and reinstall. If you have non M or OBD1, you can do it right from the top of the strut tower.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jaze View Post
    You are incorrect, there is more to it than sway bar tabs. If you have an OBD2 M3, and the top hat is not offset towards the cabin and centered in the strut tower opening like OBD1 and non M, your wheel will be incorrectly spaced in the wheel arch and your shock angle is not how BMW intended it to be. I do not know what ISC does for OBD2 M3s but if it is not leaning toward the cabin or has a caster adjustable plate, it is incorrect. If there is just one top hat for all e36 92-99, that is incorrect by my standards. I doubt that is the case, Bimmerworld knows their stuff. Don't just take it from me, compare the OEM OBD1 and OBD2 M3 top hats and control arms, you will see exactly what I am talking about.


    To adjust the camber on a OBD2 M3, you have to drop the assembly out of the shock tower, adjust and reinstall. If you have non M or OBD1, you can do it right from the top of the strut tower.
    That makes sense. Looks like aftermarket coilover companies are not taking into account different suspension geometries. Just making a one size fits all.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmw328m52 View Post
    That makes sense. Looks like aftermarket coilover companies are not taking into account different suspension geometries. Just making a one size fits all.
    I'm pretty sure Bimmerworld does something for the OBD2 guys, their rep on here GGary or something like that is a very competent in terms of suspension. They have been sold out of them for a while now on their site, maybe they don't carry them anymore.

  14. #14
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    I know Gary very well and he convinced me to run them. I'll ask him about them and see what he says.
    Last edited by bmw328m52; 05-23-2016 at 06:06 PM.

  15. #15
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    Pillow ball is a lazy setup, requires less tooling and typically costs less than the "2 piece system" - camber plate, coilover. So, standardizing a coilover setup on pillow ball strut makes sense. Costs less for the daily driver. I would venture to guess the racing crowd here uses the 2 piece system.
    Last edited by Pyropete82; 05-28-2016 at 12:12 PM.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmw328m52 View Post
    That makes sense. Looks like aftermarket coilover companies are not taking into account different suspension geometries. Just making a one size fits all.
    The ST XTA does account for the differences, but you still can't adjust the M3 plate without dismounting (unless you're satisfied with torquing just 3 of the 4 set screws).
    M3:


    non-M:


    If you really plan on adjusting camber a lot, in theory you could get the non-M camber plate and swap in other suspension parts to get the geometry right. Probably not worth it. Other brands have camber plate designs that allow for easier adjustments on Ms.

    I also think ISC accounts for the difference but allows for top-end adjustment on both Ms and non-Ms.
    Last edited by kaivonp; 08-08-2016 at 07:58 PM.

  17. #17
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    I have both sets of camber plates, offset ones can't be adjusted without removing from the car. I switched to centered ones because of this, you sacrifice some caster, but I was okay with that.

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