[DaFish]

Originally Posted by johnung

Happened to speak to a BMW tech recently who said that the biggest issue that he sees is when guys do aftermarket springs/dampers and don't get the alignment done afterwards. He listed a whole host of potential symptoms that crop up that he ultimately traces back to alignment issues. Called my local dealer who quoted $250 for an alignment. Probably why people avoid the alignment if the car initially appears to be driving okay after damper/spring swap.

Agreed, you do all that work and cost, and the last mile that will make a huge difference is missed. Makes no sense.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by DaFish

I agree, if we can get camber and caster sorted without the plates for street driving, AND get a bit better steering feel - we win big. These are not a huge investment either - I don't think (still pricing).

From K-MAC support:

1) CAMBER BUSH

#193616-8H replaces the front lower arm inner bush(extraction tubes supplied)

Provides up to 2 degrees Pos. or Neg. Adjustment.

The K-MAC patented design for the 1st time allows precise single wrench adjustment accurately on car under load (direct on alignment rack)

DaFish: In my diagram, I’m assuming it is the #13 arm for Camber, and this bush is replacing #19 - correct? Yes #19 is correct.

2) CASTER BUSH

The #193916-5J replaces the foreword facing thrust arm bush providing extra positive Caster adjustment.

This bush is also Mono ball / 2 axis design for significant improvement to brake and steering response.

As above the lower arm bushes will give you the Camber you require. (I asked for -1.5 min...)

DaFish: For caster, in the diagram it is #9 arm and this bush is #10 - correct?

Yes #10 is correct.

I asked for a price, for them to send me an invoice through paypal, so I'll wait and see what this costs for the parts, and to press in the bushes. I already asked my mechanic about that too - I'll get an answer soon.

I'll ask the question as to whether these will "bounce" loose.

Stay tuned.

Any update on the K-MACs? If they really do give you +/- 2deg adjustment (4deg total) I'll happily swap my Superpro bushings out for these.

[FaRKle!]

So I contacted K-Mac and they said the camber bushing really does give you +/- 2deg of adjustment (4deg range).

They also said if I can get them measurements of my xDrive caster bushing that they can manufacture a compatible one in one week. I'm going to try and get those measurements this weekend.

[Tribalpinoy911]

I got an alignment at my dealer for $123

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Any update on the K-MACs? If they really do give you +/- 2deg adjustment (4deg total) I'll happily swap my Superpro bushings out for these.

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

So I contacted K-Mac and they said the camber bushing really does give you +/- 2deg of adjustment (4deg range).

They also said if I can get them measurements of my xDrive caster bushing that they can manufacture a compatible one in one week. I'm going to try and get those measurements this weekend.

Did you move forward with this?

Comments or Results?

[kern417]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Did you move forward with this?

Comments or Results?

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1578498

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by kern417

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1578498

So you haven't moved forward with this, based on comments there?

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by kern417

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1578498

Kern's linked my thread for the camber bushings.

For the tension strut/caster bushings I've only mentioned some initial things here and there on the 2-series forums, and am still feeling them out. Here's my initial impressions:

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

The camber bushing doesn't significantly improve steering feel, but the caster bushing significantly adds to the feel and responsiveness. You can feel the road more through the wheel and it also feels like you're more connected with the car. The latency between turning the wheel and the car responding also feels reduced. The downside is that NVH is also increased due to the more solid bushing vs the rubber and fluid-filled OE bushing. The noise increase is mostly low frequency, no clunking or ticking noises.

Increasing the negative camber on xDrive cars also increases the caster. When I maxed out my camber with the K-Mac bushings, my caster went to 8.55deg and 7.95deg. at 8.55deg I was slightly rubbing at full steering lock. After I installed the tension strut caster bushings I set both sides to 8deg.

Since the above post I've taken the vehicle on twisty back roads and some trail/dirt/gravel roads. The NVH on non-paved roads wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I would say the area where NVH has degraded the most are bumps (such as the steel plates they put over the road during construction or expansion joints) at lower speed. At higher speed these bumps aren't much worse than with the OE bushings. The type of noise increase you get is mostly a low pressure boom, which blends into the background better than a higher frequency clunk/thunk type noise.

One thing I noticed the week after my off-roading was I started to get some creaking when braking and accelerating from a stop. This past weekend I put the car up on my quickjack and found that was due to the bolts that hold the tension strut bushing to the subframe weren't properly tightened (100 Nm, 74 ft-lbs). They each had about a quarter turn to go before being fully tightened. I'm not sure whether this was due to the alignment shop not fully tightening them, or the vibration of the harder bushing making them loosen up. I'm going to be hitting the dirt trails again this weekend and will see if the noise returns.

Thus far I'd say if you're prepping your car for HPDEs or just weekend sportiness the tension strut caster bushings can give you what you're looking for, for better steering response, feel, and caster adjustment. If you want your car to be a comfy cruiser, I'd probably skip them due to the added NVH. I'm on the fence whether I'll keep these or not (I might try the powerflex "street" non-adjustable tension strut bushings for more road comfort).

[johnung]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Kern's linked my thread for the camber bushings.

For the tension strut/caster bushings I've only mentioned some initial things here and there on the 2-series forums, and am still feeling them out. Here's my initial impressions:

Since the above post I've taken the vehicle on twisty back roads and some trail/dirt/gravel roads. The NVH on non-paved roads wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I would say the area where NVH has degraded the most are bumps (such as the steel plates they put over the road during construction or expansion joints) at lower speed. At higher speed these bumps aren't much worse than with the OE bushings. The type of noise increase you get is mostly a low pressure boom, which blends into the background better than a higher frequency clunk/thunk type noise.

One thing I noticed the week after my off-roading was I started to get some creaking when braking and accelerating from a stop. This past weekend I put the car up on my quickjack and found that was due to the bolts that hold the tension strut bushing to the subframe weren't properly tightened (100 Nm, 74 ft-lbs). They each had about a quarter turn to go before being fully tightened. I'm not sure whether this was due to the alignment shop not fully tightening them, or the vibration of the harder bushing making them loosen up. I'm going to be hitting the dirt trails again this weekend and will see if the noise returns.

Thus far I'd say if you're prepping your car for HPDEs or just weekend sportiness the tension strut caster bushings can give you what you're looking for, for better steering response, feel, and caster adjustment. If you want your car to be a comfy cruiser, I'd probably skip them due to the added NVH. I'm on the fence whether I'll keep these or not (I might try the powerflex "street" non-adjustable tension strut bushings for more road comfort).

Any developments since you wrote this back in March? I'm looking for the monoball steering improvement in daily driving (no tracking). Would like to get less of the numb center feel and more steering precision. But don't want to introduce/increase NVH.

'15 335ix, KoniSA's, Eibachs, H&R Sways, strut brace, 245/40-18 MPS4S tires

It's a street performance sleeper car that we also drive on trips so I don't want to lose the comfort that we've put in with some of the suspension choices like KoniSA's and tires.

Any advice is appreciated.

[CrushJelly]

Good luck with anything KMAC.

I used to recommend them as they are a local Australian manufacturer and are just down the road here.

But one cracked camber plate and one out-of-spec camber plate later, I no longer trust in Kev's work.

At the end of the day, the eccentric camber bushes from KMAC are still a very hard PU. And from what Graham of Superpro has told me (and many others on these forums already know), PU isn't a suitable material for the lower control arm joint.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by johnung

Any developments since you wrote this back in March? I'm looking for the monoball steering improvement in daily driving (no tracking). Would like to get less of the numb center feel and more steering precision. But don't want to introduce/increase NVH.

'15 335ix, KoniSA's, Eibachs, H&R Sways, strut brace, 245/40-18 MPS4S tires

It's a street performance sleeper car that we also drive on trips so I don't want to lose the comfort that we've put in with some of the suspension choices like KoniSA's and tires.

Any advice is appreciated.

I'm still happy with them. There's added NVH, manifesting in low freq road noise and vibration through the steering wheel (not seat). I don't have any creaking issues when the bolts are torqued properly.

Originally Posted by Jahjaman

Good luck with anything KMAC.

I used to recommend them as they are a local Australian manufacturer and are just down the road here.

But one cracked camber plate and one out-of-spec camber plate later, I no longer trust in Kev's work.

At the end of the day, the eccentric camber bushes from KMAC are still a very hard PU. And from what Graham of Superpro has told me (and many others on these forums already know), PU isn't a suitable material for the lower control arm joint.

It's been known for a while that KMAC's camber plates aren't worth getting. I still recommend their tension strut caster adjustable monoballs and camber bushings though. Their camber bushings have metal supporting the PU so they won't fail like Superpros do. I've had the camber bushings for 17,317mi, 8 track days (day 9 tomorrow), and numerous offroad drives without issue. There's no additional play that's developed.

The caster monoballs I've had for 15,261mi and 6 track days (day 7 tomorrow) and also still recommend.

[CrushJelly]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Their camber bushings have metal supporting the PU so they won't fail like Superpros do.

Good to know, Farkie. Thanks