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<E30> negative camber
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Subject: <E30> negative camber
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From: John M Mulhouse <mulh0006@domain.elided>
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Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 14:26:13 -0500 (CDT)
As the last step in setting up my DSP 318i, I had negative camber
added to the front wheels. I was expecting to have the strut mounts
slotted and pushed inward. My reputable alignment mechanic called me and
said that he didn't want to slot the mounts as it would completely
rearrange the front suspension geometry. Instead of slotting on E30s, he
bends the strut where it attaches to the wheel. This is essentialy
the same as most cars where there are bolts at the bottem of the strut to
adjust camber. By bending, the strut tube stays at the same angle
relative to the car, but the wheel-to-strut angle is changed. My
question to the digest is; what is the perfered way of adding negative
camber to E30s? Is my mechanic's procedure used elsewhere? He
mentioned to me that few shops are able to percisly bend struts.
I understand that negative camber can be added using camber plates, but
isn't this the same as slotting? With a different angle at the top of
the strut, it would change the strut to car relationship and have nothing
to do with wheel-to-strut relationship. Is it better to change the
wheel-to-strut, or strut-to-car? As my car sits now, it has -2.1 +- .1 on
all four wheels. The front was changed from ~-1.5 to -2.1. Toe was set
at 1/16 in. in (which I specified). I had asked for 2 1/4 - 2 1/2. I am not
sure exactly why he didn't add more, either he simply
couldn't by bending the strut or he was concerned about my tire wear.
Thank you for reading my post.
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