Excessive camber and alignment
 

2005 X5 3.0i Sports

Many people have told me that negative camber on my X5 is rather normal. I've talked to tire guys and they too said that BMW just makes them like that which they cannot figure why. My mechanic says it's got to do with independent suspension.

In any case, the bottom part of the rear wheels were sticking out noticeably and the inner corner part of the tires were terribly worn out. They have about 50K miles on 'em which is also the last time I got the alignment done. So I ordered new tires and got them installed then took it to a reputable shop who specializes on wheel alignment.

Here is the result. Everything was within the specs except:

Rear R camber was at -2.5 degrees and corrected to -1.9. Specified range is -2.2 to -1.5 degrees Its toe was at -1/8" and corrected to 1/16". SR is 1/16" to 1/8".

Rear L camber was at -2.4 and was corrected -1.8 degrees. Toe was at -1/4" and corrected to 1/8". Specified range is same as above.

Both front toes were at 1/8" and corrected to 1/16". SR is 1/16" to 1/8".

My wheels look much straighter now. Looking at the above number, can someone tell me how off the alignment was before the service? What causes excessive camber? I don't drive like a maniac.

Had the same problem on my e53. Ended up being worn bushings in the rear control arms. Replaced both upper and lower sets to remedy the issue. Fixes both the excessive tire wear and alignment issues.

Its a common issue as your car gets older.

You want close to zero toe as possible on the rear. Camber you have sounds decent. Powerflex makes some camber bolts for the front if you need tweaks there (ECS has them).

Worn rear position upper control arm bushings for me.

Replacing the rear position upper arms has allowed me to get camber back to spec on 2 different E53s that had excess negative rear camber.

Comparing old and new, the bushings seem to want to deflect inward over time, thus causing the top of the rear hub to tilt inward and give you negative camber.

Shouldn't need camber bolts on an e53 running OEM spec suspension. If you do, chances are you have worn/bent suspension components.

BINGO...:thumbup:

I am experiencing this same problem on my e53 as well. I wanted to order these bushings also, but the fitment guide on Amazon says that this bushing doesn't fit my truck. Is this part # correct? Thanks for your help.

We would need to know what E53 you have.:dunno:

A bit of negative camber on the rear wheels is normal, but wear on the insides of the tires is an indication of excessive toe. That means you've got worn suspension components.

Check RealOEM.com. Plug in the last 7 characters of your VIN in the Serial Number field, and it will tell you the build date of your car (you may want to bookmark that page.) Click the Browse Parts button, and you can dig around in the schematics to find most every part used on your vehicle and its part number. Very, very useful tool. Also, I don't know if I'd trust parts bought from Amazon unless it states who the manufacturer of the part is. Lemfoerder or Meyle are ok; stay away from URO and others that seem like way too good of a deal. Try buying from PelicanParts.com or ECSTuning.com; both reputable sources, with decent prices for decent parts.

12/2000 E53 X5 4.4i SUV M62 USA Left hand drive N
This is my vehicle info that was pulled off of realoem.com but I don't know the part# that Im looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks