alignment on E30 track car...

[Dark Helmet]

current alignment on the E30 is "zero-toe" and I'm not so sure I want it that way for the driving school.

I don't recall the camber numbers, but its pretty reasonable. my inclination is toward ~.125" toe-in, what say you all?

[AlarmedBread]

That should be fine. I've had mine set at zero w/o issues.

IIRC it was with 9caster and about 2camber front&rear with small amount of toe out in the rear

[ADRNLN_ti]

I've had good luck sticking with getting caster and toe as close to stock as possible. If you have adjustable camber be sure to (pay extra) and have the toe set for the "average" of what you will run min/max for camber as camber changes toe.

S

[Dark Helmet]

no adjustable camber...

it just seems a bit floaty at 0... its possible its gone a smidge OUT... I'll have to get it checked here soon

[GotCone?]

I prefer zero toe all around personally.

unless the car is making a lot of power... or one can't obtain the necessary camber to make it handle properly.

[Dark Helmet]

coolio, danke.

[AlarmedBread]

toe is what ruins your tires, my fronts are very evenly worn, my rears with had a tad less camber are very worn on the inside edge. Increase caster to get rid of that floaty feeling. Min acceptable on an e30 is 8degrees generally.

Camber plates that are on my car will be FS before the week is out (finally got all the right parts in!)

[BMWParkingOnly]

~.125" toe-in

On what length (how will you measure it)? Front or Rear?

I, like Sheridan, have had good luck running toe numbers close to OE. I actually set front and rear toe to the 'out' side of the factory spec, but both are still toe-in. This means I run more toe-in on the rear than I do on the front. The front is close to 'zero'.
I do this in my own garage with some string and a set of 4 jack stands. It takes longer, but I can do it as often as I like for free and I take good notes.
Do you have adjustable toe in the rear? I purchased eccentric bushings for my 318ti and I think you'll need soemthing similar or the rear is non-adjustable. Those were a royal PITA to align at home though. But the e36 is super easy.
I can't recommend zero toe on the rear of the e30 especially. Your suspension changes toe with suspension compression quite a bit and that can get scary at high speeds. Auto-x, perhaps to your advantage. But on the track, I'd suggest some toe-in at the rear so that under power (rear squat) the thrust angle from the rear wheels is stable.

[AlarmedBread]

The toe curve is a little more interesting as it is not simply a straight line in the range of small rear wheel travel. The vertical axis shows total rear wheel toe in inches. This is what would be of interest if one were lowering an E30 and wanted to know how the alignment had changed. I have used inches instead of degrees since this is what most people are familiar with. Note that when you talk about toe in inches then it matters where you measure it. In this case the measurement is referenced to the rim lip on a 17" wheel.

What we learn from the curve is that if you lower your E30 chassis by about 3.0 inches, you will gain about 1/16" of total toe-in on the rear wheels. This is not a "huge" amount, especially considering that few of us will lower our cars that much. But it is nice to know what's happening back there. If you are considering the toe change on just a single rear wheel then divide the total toe numbers on the vertical axis in half. That's all there is to it!

The basic trend is that the rear gains camber as it compresses.

I'm sure we've all seen this, but good reading anyway.

http://e30m3performance.com/tech_art...tech/index.htm

[Dark Helmet]

toe is what ruins your tires, my fronts are very evenly worn, my rears with had a tad less camber are very worn on the inside edge. Increase caster to get rid of that floaty feeling. Min acceptable on an e30 is 8degrees generally.

Camber plates that are on my car will be FS before the week is out (finally got all the right parts in!)

gimme.

for srs, email me $$ details.


for the rest of you... on the fronts... there really isn't anything to adjust at the rear IIRC. mostly just looking for a smidge better on-center feel.

[GotCone?]

perhaps toe settings isn't enough to acquire what you are wanting.

[Dark Helmet]

possible... but worth a try in my mind... I said "smidge", remember!