Home Forums Articles How To's FAQ Register
Go Back   Xoutpost.com > BMW SAV Forums > X5 (E70) Forum
Arnott
User Name
Password
Member List Premier Membership Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Xoutpost server transfer and maintenance is occurring....
Xoutpost is currently undergoing a planned server migration.... stay tuned for new developments.... sincerely, the management


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-15-2011, 06:38 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 5
d3Code is on a distinguished road
H&R lowering and wheel alignment

So I got my car dropped using the H&R front springs and shorter links for the rear and it looks awesome.
Took it to the dealer to have a general service done and told them that I needed a wheel alignment since the camber will be off.

Based on the machine the front wheels are off by 1 degree which I have no idea if this is a lot or a little.
BMW is telling me that they cannot bring the wheels back to spec without installing longer control arms for $1200.

Is this true or can I live with the 1 degree variance? Anyone having this issue?

Thanks in advance.
Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links

  #2  
Old 03-15-2011, 11:10 PM
kcort_x5's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 32
kcort_x5 is on a distinguished road
well I'm not sure if you need longer control arms but it sounds like bmw is bullshiting you big time
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-15-2011, 11:35 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: NJ
Posts: 86
icenutz is on a distinguished road
They are 100% full of shit!!! $1200?? Kinda like when I went to the stealership b/c my front parking sensor was malfunctioning, and they wanted to charge me $160. I asked if I needed a new sensor, my S.A. said..."oh no your sensor is fine you just need to replace a clip" Sure, Nice try!!!

Go to an independent alignment shop and get the car properly aligned for the reasonable price of $75.

Furthermore the minimal drop that you have 1.2" is hardly any extra stress on the control arms, or any other suspension components. I doubt that it would even create accelerated wear on your tires, if you did not get an alignment at all!!

Trust me I have owned several bagged vehicles, drove them around slammed and still caused minimal wear to the suspension components.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-16-2011, 12:20 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 149
finagle69 is on a distinguished road
Most vehicles cannot be aligned to within OEM spec after lowering > 1". This is normal. What you want to see on the alignment printout is that camber is near identical between fronts and rears independently. The more important factor for tire wear is 'toe'. Typically, as you lower a multi-link suspension, the geometry dictates that you gain more negative camber (desirable), but also gain 'toe in' (not desirable). Toe in (or out) to a degree larger than dictated by the OEM spec will wear tires like mofo. It basically shreds them.

My previous car had about -1.5 front camber and -2.5 rear camber, but with my aftermarket camber-adjusting kits, I was able to achieve 0 toe, which was excellent for tire wear.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-17-2011, 06:39 PM
X5JDX's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Perthshire, Scotland, UK
Posts: 63
X5JDX is on a distinguished road
Front Tyre Wear

Yet again I am seeing the nearside front tyre wear on the outer edge, offside front tyre still OK. This occurred on the first set of tyres and I had the alignment checked at my supplying dealer. Was not expecting it to occur again and now I'm told that there is no camber adjustment - am I being told a pack of lies? Don't want to hi-jack your thread but interested to read about camber checks. It's a UK RHD X5 running on 20" wheels and Bridgestone tyres.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-17-2011, 09:27 PM
ard ard is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Sierra Foothills, California
Posts: 6,732
ard is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by X5JDX View Post
Yet again I am seeing the nearside front tyre wear on the outer edge, offside front tyre still OK. This occurred on the first set of tyres and I had the alignment checked at my supplying dealer. Was not expecting it to occur again and now I'm told that there is no camber adjustment - am I being told a pack of lies? Don't want to hi-jack your thread but interested to read about camber checks. It's a UK RHD X5 running on 20" wheels and Bridgestone tyres.
Post the ACTUAL alignment results here, we'll look at them.

If you don't have them, well, that is not good....
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-18-2011, 10:58 AM
X5JDX's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Perthshire, Scotland, UK
Posts: 63
X5JDX is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by ard View Post
Post the ACTUAL alignment results here, we'll look at them.

If you don't have them, well, that is not good....
I'll try and get a print out from the dealer next week. Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-20-2011, 03:43 AM
Kloogy's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Escondido, CA
Posts: 584
Kloogy is on a distinguished road
My experience with previous vehicles is opposite to what Ice posted. On a couple of them, I could not get the to align within the factory specs, so I had to install C/C plates to allow adjustment. I tried to get away with it, and it ended up costing me dearly in tires. I don't have a clue how it would affect and X5, but like ARD said, post the results.

My E92 needed an alignment after 30k miles. The SA at my dealership wanted to charge me $500 because he claimed they had an " Uber special " alignment machine. LOL. I said no thanks. I looked up the BMW specs and took it to a neighboring BMW dealership that charged me $150, which is still a bit high. I always tend to doubt what a dealership's SA tells me. I've found that many times, WE on the forums know more than they do.
__________________
2013 X5 Xdrive35i Premium
2013 F30 328i
2004 Mustang GT Very Modded...
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:23 AM.
vBulletin, Copyright 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0
© 2017 Xoutpost.com. All rights reserved. Xoutpost.com is a private enthusiast site not associated with BMW AG.
The BMW name, marks, M stripe logo, and Roundel logo as well as X3, X5 and X6 designations used in the pages of this Web Site are the property of BMW AG.
This web site is not sponsored or affiliated in any way with BMW AG or any of its subsidiaries.