[Poodle]

Hi all,

I need some help on the alignment of my 2015 428i. It has shown uneven tire wear for years. Mainly the front right tire has extra wear on the outside, although the car is mostly driving straight. Used to do the alignment at the dealer during warranty, even though it's not covered. Never aligned out of warranty until:

Two months ago, I went to a local Indy shop for wheel alignment. They found I have extra negative camber on front left, and extra positive camber on front right, which is consistent with my observation of extra tire wear on front right outer. However the shop did not find anything obvious and left with such big cross camber difference.

Recently, things get worse as I notice the car pulls to the right and I need to turn 3-5 deg left in order to go straight. Again consistent with tire wear and camber observation. So I plan to go back for alignment. The same Indy shop wants to look at it again with myself present. They are thinking about adjusting subframe, which sounds to me a little overkill for wheel alignment.

So for F32 with M Sport, what is the standard procedure to adjust camber in the front? Does it have cam bolts at strut attachment, or is the adjustment in lower arm bushing, or top mount bolt pattern? Is subframe adjustment really necessary? What other advice do you guys have based on my story here?

Thanks a bunch!

[weehe126]

Sounds like you have some damaged/severely worn suspension components. Can you post a picture of your latest alignment. Also, post pics of under the hood of where the front suspension mounts.

[Poodle]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Sounds like you have some damaged/severely worn suspension components. Can you post a picture of your latest alignment. Also, post pics of under the hood of where the front suspension mounts.

Will send a pic of top mount when I have a chance. I remember it was a five bolt pattern with alignment pins, does not seem to be adjustable.

[weehe126]

Looks like someone slid the right side into a curb. You probably have some bent control arms.

[xpro]

Have you changed any components at all?

Firstly dont let anyone adjust or move your subframe. This will make the problem worse as they arent meant to be adjusted and then you will need to realign just about everything again.

Check your shock/springs for wear, etc. Get a shock test done to see the difference in damping on both sides. One might be sitting lower then the other. Common stuff.

Also, possibly a bent arm, either inner or outer. They are cheap and I would recommend replacing them and then doing out a full alignment again.

Rubber bushings might be worn in the wishbones too and this can create the camber aswell.

Finally, after full realignment , re initialize the EPS module.

[exE36M3]

Um... if you want critical... don't visit Joe's tire shop. Visit an alignment shop.
Custom Alignment in Mountain View, it's 2 hours of labor but they will pretty much take apart your suspension and make the alignment pretty perfect.

I had an E36 M3 which was stupidly sensitive to alignment. I drove a 70 mile commute. If the toe was off more than .2 it would pull or wander. CA nails all the alignment numbers and even with stuff like caster being off by .1 they will disassemble your suspension to get it to match the other side. They are crazy obsessive which is a good thing and may prove helpful.

Before you start throwing parts at it, get the right diagnosis of the issue.