x5 alignement question
 

Hi guys I tried searching but nothing..

Quick question:
04 5 3.0i

Do I need a full tank of gas and weights to do the alignment? some dumb shop owner refused to do mine cause he was unsure.

Let me know guys, this - camber is ridiculous!


cheers

You need a full tank.

To do it by the book you would need weights but if using a Hunter Hawkeye machine you can align it without the weights.

If your camber is excessive now, and you can't get it within spec in the rear, you have worn lower swing arm ball joints and/or wishbones and you would need to replace those before realigning.

I also strongly recommend rear toe set to -.01 so you save your tires, even if camber is within spec you want that toe closer to 0 to save your inside of the tires, the toe in the rear is what shreds them on the inside, not the negative camber.

+1 Rickey Bobby!

kill that tow in the rear

I don't think he was dumb...unless you count him not taking your money as being dumb. He didn't have all the info to do the job correctly...and was honest with you about his skill level. :)

Below is the specs for BMW sedans/coupes...I'm not sure if the exact weight specs are the same for the SAVs...but more than likely...it's either the same or really close:

You should use weight in order to get your camber to not be too aggressive. You can wing it and get it close. You can bring some dumbell weights in to your alignment shop. All it is is a bunch of weight until you get to a specific ride height.

Thanks for the information everyone
cheers!

get a Hunter Machine
Sear Auto Center uses them
3 yrs alignment UNLIMITED stops....imyself went 3x already this week..since been playing with ride height...

Glad I saw this, and that Ricky Bobby responded to my thread. Don't let this happen to your tires! I didn't know bout the weight stuff - great information! Not sure who did my last alignment but I think they were pretty incompetent...

I guess they can put a bunch of sears techs in as ballasts to weigh it down.

As long as they put the proper weight in. They can do a proper alignment. Even the hawkeye machine will state to put weight in and measure ride height.

3 years of free alignments...lol. Might take them that long to get it right

Firestone has LIFETIME alignment with UNLIMITED stops. I own E34 for 12 years and used Firestone alignment many, many, many time... :D Every time I change tires or replace/change suspension parts. Never had an issue with alignment on any of my cars. I agree with Ricky Bobby. My X5 has aggressive rear negative camber but my tires seem to wear evenly due to correct toe.

Very timely thread. Since I'm putting new shocks on my X5.

I did a quick check on mine last night (tried, tested and true tape measure method :)). Zero toe on the rear and maybe 1/32" on the front. I'll test it a little more formally when I get to doing some of the suspension repairs. Seeing as I've only had it about a month, I can rest a little easier knowing I'm not shredding the tires.

There suppose to be slight toe-in in the front. If not, car will wander and will increase tramlining.

He said he had a little on the front. You are supposed to zero it out in the rear for tire wear

does anyone know the exact weights needed inside the x5? i cant seem to find it anywhere..

not sure if i should go with the weights Qsilver aboveas that is for a sedan which means its a totally different vehicle.

Any thoughts guys? Im going for the alignment tmrw and wanted to get things ready.

Cheers!

Interesting, il have to ask the guys at NTB to set the rear toe next time. It would be nice to not shred my expensive Nitto terra grapplers

Not alignment related, but sweet wheels pnoyako! :thumbup:

You must be very lucky indeed! Been taking my E39 to Firestone for years using the lifetime alignment and they never could do it right. I changed Firestone shops but the results were the same. While doing suspension overhaul of my vehicle I discovered why- the tie rods and other alignment related components had all kinds of strange marks! They were using the wrong tools! I'm glad they didn't get a chance to touch my X5, those morons! They sure need a lifetime to get it right:rofl:

E34 only has front toe adjustment from the factory unless you added aftermarket camber plates or something. Also, the e34 does not require ballast during the alignment. You just measure all 4 wheels and then "toe and go". Ballast was first required with the a36 and e38. All models since have required it. It doesn't matter how good the machine is. The e53 requires weight and ride height measurement to perform a proper alignment. Not to mention a properly trained alignment tech. It is incredible how the alignment specs change with the addition of weight. Just like if your tire pressures are not set properly. I have seen it first hand.

ok well , i had all my toe and alignment done with the car empty, did they help or work, nope! i was getting excessive rear wear on the insides...and one side the camber could physically not be set to 0...! got so tired of this and the fact that I wanted spongier ride in the pot holed roads out here that i swapped from 19" alloys to the 17" with 'fatter' tire

guess what my our passenger side tire started to wear this time instead! i thought it maybe happened cos i swapped out thrust bushings up front, anyway I rotated that same tire n alloy to the other side up fron't same issue...i then rotated the fronts to the back and hey presto problem solved, rears wearing fine and so ae fronts

No weight?

So.........its fixed? Just move the wheels around until the tires stop wearing unevenly?

0 degrees of camber?

:banghead::banghead::yikes:

You will all think i am nuts, but yup changed alloys to 17" with 235/65 tires on em factory spec and my wear issues went.....be curious to see what happens once i change the tires for newer ones....the 0 degree camber i wanted as i thought having this set to 0 would reduce the inner wear but toe plays a significant role too...