Since I have changed out the rear trailing arm bushes in an attempt to rid my car of its wooley handling I know it will now need a 4 wheels alignment.
I know the steering wheels sits well of centre & when i look at the front road wheels the driversdie is in a straightline, but the passenger one is toed in quite a bit.
Im pretty sure, if the steering wheel is pointing straight, the two sides are fighting against themselves.
My question is, Im going to take it for a 4 wheel alignment, but at what point would the guy start?
I mean, I will tell him the whole full story regarding the suspension / steering, how will he be able to know where to start since its a good posibility that almost every wheel on the car is out by quite a lot.
Maybee the driverside front wheel is correct when the steering wheels is centred.
Regards,
Pete.
e36 318iS 4 door 4 wheel alignment
Moderator: martauto
I have booked the car in for a 4 wheel alignment tomorrow afternoon.
I have also just changed both the front tyres to some Federal's (budget choice).
I dropped into arrange the alignment appointment & talked to the guy who was more than happy to explain how the 4 wheel alugment is carried out. he also advised me that I am able to watch it all & the guy doing it will explian everything that is going on & why.
My concearn was that i dont know what reference point he would use on the car to start the aligment.
He said, they start from the rear of the car, ensuring the wheels are in alignment with the body work. Then when the rears are correct, they then align the front wheels to the rear wheels.
he thinks that the issue with my steering wheel sitting incorrectly at the moment from previous wheel alignment attemps will probably be the person who has tried to align it has struggled to adjust the passenger side track rod end enough & applied more adjustment to the driverside, hence the wheel sitting wrongly. Sounds a good synopsis.
Fingers crossed it all goes well tomorrow.
Regards,
Pete.
I have also just changed both the front tyres to some Federal's (budget choice).
I dropped into arrange the alignment appointment & talked to the guy who was more than happy to explain how the 4 wheel alugment is carried out. he also advised me that I am able to watch it all & the guy doing it will explian everything that is going on & why.
My concearn was that i dont know what reference point he would use on the car to start the aligment.
He said, they start from the rear of the car, ensuring the wheels are in alignment with the body work. Then when the rears are correct, they then align the front wheels to the rear wheels.
he thinks that the issue with my steering wheel sitting incorrectly at the moment from previous wheel alignment attemps will probably be the person who has tried to align it has struggled to adjust the passenger side track rod end enough & applied more adjustment to the driverside, hence the wheel sitting wrongly. Sounds a good synopsis.
Fingers crossed it all goes well tomorrow.
Regards,
Pete.
Here are results for the 4 wheel alignment (for anyone who is interested).
Front
Camber Left Initial -1degree48' Final -1dergee41'
Camber Right Initial -1degree22' Final -1degree25'
Toe Left Initial 0degree04' Final 0degree08'
Toe Right Initial 0degree31' Final 0degree05'
Toe Total Initial 0degree35' Final 0degree13'
Rear
Camber Left Initial -2degree00' Final -2degree01'
Camber Right Initial -1degree01' Final -1degree58'
Toe Left Initial 0degree38' Final -2degree01'
Toe Right Initial -0degree34' Final 0degree11'
Toe Total Initial 0degree04' Final 0degree23'
Thrust Angle Initial 0degree36' Final 0degree01'
Regards,
Pete.
Aligned by North Eastern Tyres & Exhausts Middlesbrough
Front
Camber Left Initial -1degree48' Final -1dergee41'
Camber Right Initial -1degree22' Final -1degree25'
Toe Left Initial 0degree04' Final 0degree08'
Toe Right Initial 0degree31' Final 0degree05'
Toe Total Initial 0degree35' Final 0degree13'
Rear
Camber Left Initial -2degree00' Final -2degree01'
Camber Right Initial -1degree01' Final -1degree58'
Toe Left Initial 0degree38' Final -2degree01'
Toe Right Initial -0degree34' Final 0degree11'
Toe Total Initial 0degree04' Final 0degree23'
Thrust Angle Initial 0degree36' Final 0degree01'
Regards,
Pete.
Aligned by North Eastern Tyres & Exhausts Middlesbrough
After an appprox 235mile round trip, the car feels almost 100% perfect to drive.
The only think i can think of now is that the steering rack has a little play in it, so a Z3 upgrade may well soon be on the cards!
Regards,
Pete.
The only think i can think of now is that the steering rack has a little play in it, so a Z3 upgrade may well soon be on the cards!
Regards,
Pete.
-
Omi
- Witty custom rank.
- Posts: 1478
- Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Darlington, North East
They don't seem to have made much difference, nor does it look like they've managed to get anything symmetrical on both sides.
Looks like they've added a strange 2 degrees of rear toe in on one wheel?
Did they track with weights in the footwells to reflect the car in-use?
Does the E36 have adjustment in all these axes? - E30 certainly doesn't, and the E36 I stripped couldn't have most of this changed.
Looks like they've added a strange 2 degrees of rear toe in on one wheel?
Did they track with weights in the footwells to reflect the car in-use?
Does the E36 have adjustment in all these axes? - E30 certainly doesn't, and the E36 I stripped couldn't have most of this changed.
...or is it?
Hey Omi.
Eveything on the car was oout bar one thing (forget what it was now!).
I have changed the rear trailing arm bushes, so that had thrown out one element on the backs.
Also, as soon as i bought the car, i changed the entire suspension to that of a cheapie aftermarket setup (dampers / springs).
I hear what your saying about getting things 100% symetrical, but they are all within tolerance.
Considering the car has a few miles under its belt & to me is no 'spring chicken', im happy with the results.
No, they didnt mimic any weights in the car.
I did ask them to check the tyre pressures were at the standard for half load, which the did prior to conducting the alignment.
The e36 is adjustable for everything apart from front camber, this wold requite some adjustable top mounts.
A little bit of negative camber on the fronts cant hurt, afterall, it will aid cornering
I dont see the point now in shelling out for some adjustable top mounts, not when they are approx £180!
Regards,
Pete.
Eveything on the car was oout bar one thing (forget what it was now!).
I have changed the rear trailing arm bushes, so that had thrown out one element on the backs.
Also, as soon as i bought the car, i changed the entire suspension to that of a cheapie aftermarket setup (dampers / springs).
I hear what your saying about getting things 100% symetrical, but they are all within tolerance.
Considering the car has a few miles under its belt & to me is no 'spring chicken', im happy with the results.
No, they didnt mimic any weights in the car.
I did ask them to check the tyre pressures were at the standard for half load, which the did prior to conducting the alignment.
The e36 is adjustable for everything apart from front camber, this wold requite some adjustable top mounts.
A little bit of negative camber on the fronts cant hurt, afterall, it will aid cornering
I dont see the point now in shelling out for some adjustable top mounts, not when they are approx £180!
Regards,
Pete.