[bigshooter]

I have a 2014 328d
Bilstein B14 coilovers
Staggered 19" M3/M4 replica wheels 9.5" wide front and 10.5" wide rear
Tires are General GMax RS


Problem
- pulling right and seem to be unable to fix it
- 2 failed alignments by bmw dealer after transfer case and cv joint replacement


Summary
- have never had a issue driving straight
- install Bilstein B14 coilovers last fall; only lowered half way
- drove like shit/very bouncy; lowered front to max & rear 3/4 of max back in May. Drove much better
- New tires installed the day I lowered in May
- Alignment performed at same time; drove fine to me, no pulling that I can recall
- 1 week later, car went into local bmw dealership for EGR issue; picked up car with new transfer case, new CV joint, and more…. EGR not addressed even though I mentioned it multiple times including calling while it was there.
- got car back, discovered it pulled right on drive home; drivetrain malfunction for EGR also popped back up
- called down, agreed to take back in and inspect EGR for free and perform alignment for free
- picked it up, still pulled right & steering wheel not straight; declined egr service as I'm doing it myself.
- called back down, they agreed to put on alignment machine again for free
- I waited this time; car still pulls right and steering whee is now slightly off centered to the left
- was on alignment machine at least 45 minutes and they did test drive it before and after

The service advisor told me that they are unable to get my car into spec because of how low it is. They are maxed out on adjustments in the rear. Told me steering wheel is dead on straight but it's not really. I am not being ridiculous about this, it pulls pretty bad

He suggested I get camber plates or lift the front right one turn and the rear right a half turn. And to remeasure my height. I did use micrometer when setting my ride height.


Question:
What do I need to do to get my car driving straight?
Are there different alignment specs for base vs m sport models?

I do want to lift the rear a bit to have some more rake. Visually the rear looks a little lower than the front even though front is maxed out and the rear is not. I don't want to get camber plates. Too noisy and don't want to pull the struts again unless I have to

[WDE82]

You can't use a micrometer to set your ride height. Do you mean you used calipers? Also not good. The only way to even out ride height is to measure from the ground to a fixed point on the body like the top of the wheel well edge. You can't just measure the setting on the shock/spring perch. That's fine for the initial setting for install, but you have to check the result.

Check that you've actually got the wheels in the right places. It's not hard to accidentally swap a front for a rear when not paying attention. And also you can have a front WHEEL with a rear TIRE that would be more difficult to see. So don't just check tire width. Check that the wheel matches the tire and the wheel is in the right location.

Also check tire pressures.

You will not achieve stock alignment in terms of camber after lowering a car. Always expect more negative camber than specified. This is fine as long as it's even. On my E82 I would always ask for "as negative as possible but even on both sides." They need to give your right side more camber or your left side less. Whichever still has room to work.

Finally, pulling right is fairly normal on most roads since streets are crowned to drain water to the sides.

[bigshooter]

Originally Posted by WDE82

You can't use a micrometer to set your ride height. Do you mean you used calipers? Also not good. The only way to even out ride height is to measure from the ground to a fixed point on the body like the top of the wheel well edge. You can't just measure the setting on the shock/spring perch. That's fine for the initial setting for install, but you have to check the result.

Check that you've actually got the wheels in the right places. It's not hard to accidentally swap a front for a rear when not paying attention. And also you can have a front WHEEL with a rear TIRE that would be more difficult to see. So don't just check tire width. Check that the wheel matches the tire and the wheel is in the right location.

Also check tire pressures.

You will not achieve stock alignment in terms of camber after lowering a car. Always expect more negative camber than specified. This is fine as long as it's even. On my E82 I would always ask for "as negative as possible but even on both sides." They need to give your right side more camber or your left side less. Whichever still has room to work.

Finally, pulling right is fairly normal on most roads since streets are crowned to drain water to the sides.

Not looking for stock alignment. Just want it to drive straight.

I used a digital micrometer from harbor freight. I've always measured from top of the rim to the bottom of the fender. Many shops do this as well, which is where I got the idea from.

My stock bumper has head light washers and I realized that my new one was not cut for headlight washers. I just installed the bumper and decided to leave that disconnected.

[bigshooter]

Front bumper and cheap lip installed.

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by bigshooter

Not looking for stock alignment. Just want it to drive straight.

I used a digital micrometer from harbor freight. I've always measured from top of the rim to the bottom of the fender. Many shops do this as well, which is where I got the idea from.

My stock bumper has head light washers and I realized that my new one was not cut for headlight washers. I just installed the bumper and decided to leave that disconnected.

Ah I thought you were measuring the spring perch.

Yeah that method is valid.