To much rear Neg camber?
 

I recently bought a 2005 turbo diesel 172,00k's and after replacing a front CV boot I had it wheel aligned and the rear was neg 2.03 left and 2.09 right (which I assume is out of spec and to much anyway) We checked the car on the hoist and couldn't find any play, including the cradle bushes which we removed the bottom plates to inspect and all appear ok. As expected the inner rear tyres are wearing out. Is this normal or are the rear control arm bushes worn or? The front don't have enough neg as only 0.12 and 0.10. The front should have more neg than the rear.

In my E39 1998 528i, I adjusted the REAR tire camber down to 1 degree or so.

I think you can do the same for E53.

Here is the link for E39 rear camber that I did a while ago.
DIY: 1998 528i REAR Wheel Alignment - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Thanks for the info and link. So does the E53 have adjustable front and rear off set camber pin bolts? If so I guess the wheel alignment shop just did a toe and go.

I just found this which explains a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_guTE2ANcIg

that lower ball joint he is talking about is pressed into that giant flat arm, which is quite a pain to get out or press out in situ. That's why most E53s you see driving down the highway look stanced. They are old.

Wow I'm glad you shared that video. Time to start checking into those ball joints.

Anyone make aftermarket ball joints to help with the squat?

Once you verify all the parts are good. There is a company that makes adjustable arms for toe and camber beyond factory adjustments.
These are super useful if you are not at factory height any longer.

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That is a smart idea

The majority of the time when one suspension piece starts to fail the associated parts are on their way out as well. Should check closely so that you address anything else while it is torn down especially if you aren't doing your own work.

Not unusual for an owner to replace the parts that are easiest to do and not replace the ball joints and swing arm bushings that require more work and disassembly. Not difficult job as long as you have the right tools. I purchased some of the parts I needed from ECS Tuning but I think FCPEuro also stocked the parts. Mine is lowered and has 18mm spacers. I can get within the negative camber specs without aftermarket options to help.

I've had that problem on both E53's, and both times I replaced the upper control arms and that got camber back within spec.

The bushings were intact but had taken a set inward, pulling the top of the tires inward and causing negative camber.

I have visible neg. camber but no problems with wear, however since I just replaced all four tires i'm going to do the test where the spring pressure is removed sooner than later

Negative camber and toe in settings impact inside tire wear. Negative camber that is in spec is still visible and there is still inside tire wear. If the toe is taken out the handling becomes skittish. If the negative camber is removed turn in and max speed in a corner are reduced. Reducing negative camber will reduce inside tire wear. I think removing toe in takes the fun out of driving and passengers will be grabbing something to hang on.

Lowering, spacers and sometimes rim mods make it harder to get to alignment specs and more difficult to zero out negative camber because the suspension swing arm angle to the road is increased adding negative camber.

Changing spring rate and rebound of shocks could help but is very difficult to verify results. I don't think a better combination is enough to offset the compromise to ride and the majority of inside tire wear happens when driving in straight line.

I am not a fan of adjusting tire pressure because cold pressure and 'hot' pressure vary so much depending on so many variables. The exception would be if tires are filled with nitrogen.

IMO, If better tire wear is the primary goal adjusting out negative camber is the best option combined with tires that have a harder tread rating than spec with road force balanced tires filled with nitrogen.

That's some great feedback. I've always thought the neg. camber has got to beneficial for my "look ma, no brakes" style of cornering. I wore my last set of tires almost to the wear bars with no significant inside wear so I'm hoping my car and wife's are within spec and the bushing is not worn out. Her car needs new thrust bushings up front however it seems that hasn't affected alignment or tire wear to ny surprise