[rborane]

Im having a hard time finding a definitive answer, what do you tell the aligment shop/Dealer when you go get an alignment with M3 front control arms on a E90 335?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by rborane

Im having a hard time finding a definitive answer, what do you tell the aligment shop/Dealer when you go get an alignment with M3 front control arms on a E90 335?

Well you can only dial in camber in the back. You give them your rear camber desire and then just tell them to set the car to factory spec (toe and caster). They will print out the readings and you should have anywhere from (-1) to (-1.5) degrees up front (dependent on whether you are lowered or not).

-Mike

[rborane]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

Well you can only dial in camber in the back. You give them your rear camber desire and then just tell them to set the car to factory spec (toe and caster). They will print out the readings and you should have anywhere from (-1) to (-1.5) degrees up front (dependent on whether you are lowered or not).

-Mike

ok, I thought you tell them get as much negative camber in the front, and do everything else to 335 specs?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by rborane

ok, I thought you tell them get as much negative camber in the front, and do everything else to 335 specs?

Nah, for a street car (and race car for that matter) you really don't want to go past -1.8 to -2 degrees of camber in the rear. Up front it all depends on whether or not you have camber plates etc. If you just have the control arm kit there is nothing to dial in.

-Mike

[rborane]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

Nah, for a street car (and race car for that matter) you really don't want to go past -1.8 to -2 degrees of camber in the rear. Up front it all depends on whether or not you have camber plates etc. If you just have the control arm kit there is nothing to dial in.

-Mike

haha im so confused. I am getting the m3 control arm kit for the front, I keep reading everyone saying that you need an alignment to benefit from the control arms. Im not changing anything to the rear, only the front conrtol arms...

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by rborane

haha im so confused. I am getting the m3 control arm kit for the front, I keep reading everyone saying that you need an alignment to benefit from the control arms. Im not changing anything to the rear, only the front conrtol arms...

You need AN alignment after you get suspension work done. You can align it to factory specs or anything you want, you just need to do it after the installation. So when you align the car just ask for factory specs front and for the rear you can do whatever desired camber adjustment you want ( I suggest -1.8 or -2).

-Mike

[rborane]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

You need AN alignment after you get suspension work done. You can align it to factory specs or anything you want, you just need to do it after the installation. So when you align the car just ask for factory specs front and for the rear you can do whatever desired camber adjustment you want ( I suggest -1.8 or -2).

-Mike

ok, thank you, so I dont need to adjust the camber on the front? Arent the M3 control arms slightly longer then the factory 335 ones?

[cleex024]

Originally Posted by rborane

ok, thank you, so I dont need to adjust the camber on the front? Arent the M3 control arms slightly longer then the factory 335 ones?

what you need to do is just get an alignment and adjust toe up front...without camber plates, which im assuming you dont have, you cannot adjust camber in front...only toe.

just set everything to 335i factory specs and you will be fine.

[Everfly]

I an running full M3 front and back soon. Can i just tell them align to M3 spec with -2 camber in the back?

[CJ421]

Originally Posted by HP Autosport

You need AN alignment after you get suspension work done. You can align it to factory specs or anything you want, you just need to do it after the installation. So when you align the car just ask for factory specs front and for the rear you can do whatever desired camber adjustment you want ( I suggest -1.8 or -2).

-Mike

This is spot on.

I'd strongly recommend staying with the factory rear alignment specs, they are just fine. There is little benefit to tinkering back there (and very little tinkering is possible with the stock parts anyway, just enough room to get it back to factory spec). The only guys I see fooling around back there are those trying to fit wheels that are too big.

For the front, I'd again just leave it at factory specs. If you want some extra camber up there then just request "I want as much camber as you can give me up front" (I really wouldn't go to a dealer if you want a custom alignment, unless you personally know the tech, otherwise who knows what they'll do). Realistically you'll get a few tenths of a degree extra camber (MAYBE), every car is different.

Either way this whole thread is a case of overthinking. Just get the factory alignment done. As Mike says, the purpose of the alignment is to get the suspension measurements within acceptable ranges so it drives predictably.

[avocet]

I knocked my aligment pins out and got -1.5 front. Had the rear set to -1.6... Didn't want more because I wanted grip biased towards front.

0" front toe
1/16" combined rear toe.

[rborane]

Originally Posted by CJ421

This is spot on.

I'd strongly recommend staying with the factory rear alignment specs, they are just fine. There is little benefit to tinkering back there (and very little tinkering is possible with the stock parts anyway, just enough room to get it back to factory spec). The only guys I see fooling around back there are those trying to fit wheels that are too big.

For the front, I'd again just leave it at factory specs. If you want some extra camber up there then just request "I want as much camber as you can give me up front" (I really wouldn't go to a dealer if you want a custom alignment, unless you personally know the tech, otherwise who knows what they'll do). Realistically you'll get a few tenths of a degree extra camber (MAYBE), every car is different.

Either way this whole thread is a case of overthinking. Just get the factory alignment done. As Mike says, the purpose of the alignment is to get the suspension measurements within acceptable ranges so it drives predictably.

I agree with you completely, all I'm trying to understand is if I am getting the front M3 control arm kit, does the factory alignment specs still apply since they are M3 control arms..

[rborane]

Because I keep reading that to really benefit from the M3 control arms, camber needs to come in a little

[avocet]

front camber is not adjustable without knocking alignment pins out. the control arm is a different length, so it, by design, adds camber.

the alignment issue is toe in. when you change the control arm, it also changes your toe in(dramatically). you need to get this aligned.

setting you toe in to 335i specs is totally fine. so is setting to m3 specs. it comes down to preference.

I did my own research and set my toe numbers to match the rest of the mods I did to my suspension and what I wanted out of it.

[David1]

Originally Posted by rborane

Because I keep reading that to really benefit from the M3 control arms, camber needs to come in a little

Wrong! if you do this, you are defeating the purpose of the swap.

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by rborane

Because I keep reading that to really benefit from the M3 control arms, camber needs to come in a little

I think you are slightly missing the point lol. When you purchase and install the front control arms you are adding negative camber to the car. This is a FIXED negative camber of around -1 degrees. You can't fiddle with this camber setting because it is locked in as a set suspension component. As people said, you can knock out the pins but I really don't suggest doing that. Also, when you lower the car you instantly induce small amounts of negative camber in the front.

Hope this helped a little more. It can be tricky just gotta wrap your head around it.

-Mike

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by David1

Wrong! if you do this, you are defeating the purpose of the swap.

That and you can't adjust it 'in.' LOL.

-Mike