Good road geometry settings..

[jaistanley]

Hi guys.

My 318is is of the following spec:

E30M3 running gear
E30M3 (american) 4.1 lsd
Bilstein 'sprint' shocks
H&R -35mm springs
15" BBS M3 wheels
205/55/15 Kumho ecsta sports
Poly offset front bushes
Poly rear beam bushes
New rubber rear arb mounts
New E46 cabrio rear topmounts
Poly front arb bushes
new track-rods and wishbones
braided brake lines and re-built std M3 brakes

When I fitted the above I took a guess at the toe settings by parking on a very flat car-park, standing really far away and eyeing it up! I had very little toe and the car was really good to drive. Instant turn in with a nice predictable oversteer and good straightline stability. From what I could tell there wasn't any extra wear of the front tyres either.

I recently got some new tyres fitted (4 Kumho Ecsta sports @ 205/55/15 for Ԛ£200 fitted) and treated myself to a tracking check/adjustment.

The guy told me 'they're well out mate', did his thing and sent me on my way, YUK. The car feels as if it's pivoting around the rear, has a very lazy turn in, isn't stable in cross winds and understeers when pushed on. It feels like there is loads of toe out now.

What setting should I have the above set at? I know BMW programme a bit of safety into their settings but this feels horrible to how it was previously. I'm half tempted to go unwind each side 1/4 of a turn each and see what that feels like.

Any oppinions would be great...

Jai

[Chris-W]

From memory, it's toe-in 1.5 - 2.6mm. I usually set it closer to 2.6.