E53 adjustable rear control arms.

[4.8isX5]

@itscoo

If your running factory height on your ride and your rear parts arent worn out or have been recently replaced then the fix is when you get the alignment done get the camber as close to zero as possible, and the other big one is the toe as well, you want to zero out the rear toe if you havent. Should fix your wear issues.

My buddy has a e70 4.8i that i lowered for him and he went for the alignment with me and did the above and he doesnt have that issue anymore despite being lower (which naturally without adjustable arms will make it so that there is more neg camber).

On my ride on these last set of tires i ran before i changed them Dec 2015, i ran pretty damn low and then later on slightly higher (the same height in my recent pics im sure youve seen) i did the alignment camber was -2.5 each side however got toe pretty much zeroed out. They lasted me 35k miles (i ran them down to about 1/32), and very spirited driving 95% of the time.

The rear tires i run are directional though so to get my 35k, i did have them flip remounted (one side to other, still remain proper direction and wouldnt be possible with asymmetrical tires) because of my low height i still have that camber which slowly eats the inner edge.

However after the flip i have a fresh inner edge on the inside where tire makes most contact anyways as on the very outer edge from the camber doesnt make much of any contact unless you are corning/hard cornering.

Regardless on your ride being at stock height you should easily be able to pull out more miles without doing a flip mount or changing anything because you wont have the added camber.

[itscoo2pyopants]

I got about 38k miles out of my rear tires before I had to change them. which isnt too bad, but camber wear was noticeable. the rest of the tire was in decent shape except for the insides. last time I had my alignment done they were able to get:

Rear Left camber within spec: -1.9 (range -2.2 / -1.5)
Rear Left toe within spec: 0.16 (range 0.07-0.23)
Rear Right camber was out of spec: -2.6 (range -2.2 / -1.5)
Rear Right toe was in spec: 0.17 (range 0.07-0.23)

im not sure what rear cross camber means but that was out of spec at 0.7 (range -0.5 / 0.5)

everything else was within normal limits. Im almost at 120k miles and I haven't touched any suspension parts (minus front air bags). Maybe that's all i need is some fresh bushings to get my alignment in spec. alignment guy said there is no adjustment in the rear so it got me thinking about these adjustable arms.

[zukgod1]

Update after about 1000 miles.
Here are the marks from the cinch bolts.
Doesn't look like they hit all the time as the damage would be much worse, shouldn't hit at all however.




Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by itscoo2pyopants

I got about 38k miles out of my rear tires before I had to change them. which isnt too bad, but camber wear was noticeable. the rest of the tire was in decent shape except for the insides. last time I had my alignment done they were able to get:

Rear Left camber within spec: -1.9 (range -2.2 / -1.5)
Rear Left toe within spec: 0.16 (range 0.07-0.23)
Rear Right camber was out of spec: -2.6 (range -2.2 / -1.5)
Rear Right toe was in spec: 0.17 (range 0.07-0.23)

im not sure what rear cross camber means but that was out of spec at 0.7 (range -0.5 / 0.5)

everything else was within normal limits. Im almost at 120k miles and I haven't touched any suspension parts (minus front air bags). Maybe that's all i need is some fresh bushings to get my alignment in spec. alignment guy said there is no adjustment in the rear so it got me thinking about these adjustable arms.

I know exactly where you're coming from on this. That's where I was about a year ago. My '01 seemed to drive fine, nothing seemed loose, handled well, no bad noises ... but it was eating through the inner corner of the rear tires very quickly (faster than it sounds like you are, although I think my alignment readings were similar), and it was maxed out on alignment adjustment.

I was thinking the same as you - if only I could just get a few more mm of travel on the adjustment I could fix the alignment and be done. I still think it's something to consider. But me, I struck out on my searches for adjustable control arms, so I never had to make that decision, and just overhauled the rear suspension with new Lemfoerder parts. That fixed it too.

[itscoo2pyopants]

^ thanks for the info. I am probably due for a suspension refresh also, hopefully that will help to bring the alignment specs into normal range.

[J.Belknap]

Heim joints should not be used on a street car. They cannot handle shock forces from bumpy roads.

I have personally seen a control arm heim joint split but not completely fail on a street car. Luckily the owner got to replace with oem and not get sent off the road.

[D Unit]

Super glad I finally found this thread again... Anyways...

Is it necessary that I have to buy all 4 to adjust camber?



Why does Megan's only show that I need 2?

[Joshdub]

Megan recently stopped selling their rear control arms. Apparently there was a design defect and they are being redesigned. The megan pieces you linked are for the rear toe adjustment.

[D Unit]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

Megan recently stopped selling their rear control arms. Apparently there was a design defect and they are being redesigned. The megan pieces you linked are for the rear toe adjustment.

Do all 4 arms adjust camber or does 2 arms adjust camber and the other 2 adjust toe? Is the drawing correct?

[Joshdub]

Your picture is correct.