# Rear Cambers???



## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

My rear tires are getting worn out on the inside of the tires, does anyone know of a way to correct this? Is there a camber kit, or would i use an antisway bar?


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## JEM (May 3, 2003)

You need to drive more energetically. Accelerate hard through three or four cloverleaf on-ramps per day, that should take care of it. 

Your car's a '97? Running same size tires front/rear? 

Then you can rotate your tires, every 6-9K miles, which will cure the wear problem quite nicely.


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*My bad! Better explanation of situation!*

I should have stated that, i have 19x8.5 up front 19x9.5 rears. 275/30-19 in the rear! The car is lowered with H&R springs/Bilstein shocks!! I already ran thru a set of tires, i don't know what to do now before i have to buy another set!:dunno:


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## vietsb (Apr 8, 2003)

RAVNS5 said:


> *My rear tires are getting worn out on the inside of the tires, does anyone know of a way to correct this? Is there a camber kit, or would i use an antisway bar? *


I had my rear camber reduced. You can see the results here. They asked me if I street or track my car. Street was the answer, so they moved them in. Not as cool-looking from the back, but my wallet will appreciate it. Both my buddy and I still have a decent amount of front camber still, so I assume those will start to be the issue.

Of course, if you drive pretty aggressively, you might not want to take out the negative camber.

Lastly, most camber kits are made to add camber, not reduce it from stock, so that might not help IMHO.


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## JEM (May 3, 2003)

With the staggered wheel setup you can afford to lose a little rear negative camber, lowering the car will add negative camber in any case. 

The 19in wheels also mean less sidewall flex to allow the tread to conform to the road, so more treadwear.


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## vietsb (Apr 8, 2003)

Also, if you're like me and run too high of psi (40) to protect your rims, you'll also notice excessive centerline treadwear.


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*CAN I........*

have any wheelsworks or alignement shop fix the camber? without me buying anything?:thumbup:

If that's the case, i'm going tomorrow!!


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

Yes, you can go anywhere to do it. However, you will need to tell them you do not want it set at the factory spec. Tell them you want the camber set more positive than the spec. The factory spec calls for a good amount of negative camber, so you will still have some inside tread wear.

I'd suggest going to Phaedrus BMW if you're in the city, they charge about $130 for a 4 wheel alignment.


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*where's he at? u .....*

have a #? or address? I've heard of this person b4!


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## vietsb (Apr 8, 2003)

Goto a quality alignment shop and spend the $$$. Get references from other if you need to. Rear camber on the E39 should be adjustable, just not front camber.


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*DO I C A ESS IN YOUR CAR?*

Is that an ESS SUPERCHARGER? 
I've been wanting to do that, but haven't found anyone capable of doing it! I think i talke to u b4 regarding it. U spoke of another person/tech who u think that can do it? BTW, i haven't done anything as far as engine mods is concerned just yet. Looking to get a special dinan exhaust, chip, & intake first after i fix the damn camber problem. Your input?


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

Phaedrus BMW
1641 Jackson (B/W Polk & Van Ness)
415.567.8000

Not sure if they are up to Viet's standards :eeps: , but my alignment turned out fine. If you have the time, going to Custom Alignment in Mtn. View is probably worth the trip.

BTW, you're still going to have some camber issues in the front, it is not adjustable.

Regarding, ESS, why would you spend any money on Dinan mods if you are going this route? :loco: First, there is nothing "special" about their exhaust. Second, you'll have to toss out your software and CAI if you install the ESS. Save your money and put it towards the ESS.

Phaedrus should be able to install your ESS, if you're willing to spend the dough.


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## vietsb (Apr 8, 2003)

*Re: DO I C A ESS IN YOUR CAR?*



RAVNS5 said:


> *Is that an ESS SUPERCHARGER?
> I've been wanting to do that, but haven't found anyone capable of doing it! I think i talke to u b4 regarding it. U spoke of another person/tech who u think that can do it? BTW, i haven't done anything as far as engine mods is concerned just yet. Looking to get a special dinan exhaust, chip, & intake first after i fix the damn camber problem. Your input? *


Yeah, Agent99 and I have been talking to you via e-mail about it. You should come to his CDV clinic which is advertised (not really, I guess just "announced" since it's nearly free!) at the top of this forum so we can discuss your options. I don't really know any tech who can do it in the area or I would have went to him. Phaedrus is possibly a decent choice, but I'm not sure they've done one and I'm sure it will be semi-pricey for the install. Check it out though.

I wholeheartedly agree w/ DKSF. Don't get the Dinan chip or CAI if you are considering supercharging. Even the Dinan kit doesn't reuse those parts, although they might credit you the ECU software towards the $$$ SC kit.


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

vietsb said:


> *Goto a quality alignment shop and spend the $$$. Get references from other if you need to. Rear camber on the E39 should be adjustable, just not front camber. *


It is adjustable - to a point.

When I had my E39 lowered a few weeks ago, I immediately went and had an alignment done. The rear is adjusted about as far as it could go, but I was told it isn't perfect. Thankfully, not too bad that I should have any problems.

My E39 was lowered with an Eibach Pro-Kit (20mm front/10mm rear).


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*Need a custom exhaust!!!*

I went to the Dinan factory in Morgan hill, & they told me they could make a custom exhaust. The reason i need it is because i have the AC Schnitzer add on rear lip with no exhaust vent, it's solid all way thru. If u look closely, you'll c that in the rear, there's no exhaust section. I wasn't sure @ the time with which exhaust i was gonna go with, so i got that rear for the meantime.

http://www.roadfly.org/bmw/gallery/picture.php?path=17747,1;17746,1;-12,1;

Now, that i know i'm going to get an ESS SC, i know i'm going to need a more free flowing exhaust than my stock for more HP right? What's your suggestion?:dunno:


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## RAVNS5 (May 8, 2003)

*OK, WHAT ABOUT FRONT CAMBERS.....*

What brand do u guys suggest for that?http://www.roadfly.org/bmw/gallery/picture.php?path=17747,1;17746,1;-12,1;


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

*Re: Need a custom exhaust!!!*



RAVNS5 said:


> *I went to the Dinan factory in Morgan hill, & they told me they could make a custom exhaust. The reason i need it is because i have the AC Schnitzer add on rear lip with no exhaust vent, it's solid all way thru. If u look closely, you'll c that in the rear, there's no exhaust section. I wasn't sure @ the time with which exhaust i was gonna go with, so i got that rear for the meantime.*


I thought the ACS rear valence had an exhaust cutout already? Well, not sure how any exhaust will look hanging down that low. Depending on how much lower that rear valence is, you should be able to find a muffler shop that can modify the hangers on any exhaust so it will fit below the lip.

Don't think you need to pay Dinan for a "custom" exhaust.

RE: your front camber adjustment, it's not adjustable. You'll need to call around to see if anybody is making a camber plates that CORRECTS for too much negative camber. Most camber plates are designed to dial in more negative camber, so this isn't going to help you. Try Dinan or KMAC.

Or, you can just cross rotate your tires every 7000 miles or so. Since you can't rotate front to back, you can move them side to side, as long as they rotate in the same direction. You'll need to dismount/remount your tires to make this work.


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## mottati (Apr 15, 2003)

Do you think you could mount camber plates backwards, as to get more positive camber? In theory this should work. I remember people re-mounting e36 M3 strut mounts backwards to get a little more negative camber, so why not do this with the camber plates? It would move the strut housing outward, which may decrease tire/wheel clearance.
Mike:drive:


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

Mike: I hadn't thought of that. Math and geometry make my head hurt, but here's my totally uneducated guess on the subject:

The front shock mounts have three bolts, so it would be impossible to mount the camber plates rotated 180 degrees. Instead you'd only be able to rotate it 120 degrees.

This might work in your e36 example since the shock is mounted at a fixed point, and assuming the net effect is that the top of the shock is moved inward without impacting it's position fore/aft. However a camber plate needs to slide outward and inward to work properly.

Even if you could simply flip it around, I wonder what affect this would have on the caster. I can only think in 2 dimensions, so I won't even try to speculate on this one.

I guess if you really wanted to do this you could always drill new mounting holes for the shock mount. :dunno: 

I'm just going to assume that it wouldn't work, because someone would have already tried this if it really was that simple.


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## vietsb (Apr 8, 2003)

I thought I heard H8LUUZN say the 3 tower bolts on the E39 weren't evenly spaced, so they couldn't be rotated like that? I'm probably wrong, so I *really* like the DELETE feature of this forum.


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

I think you may be right.

I was just speculating on if this would work assuming that the bolts were spaced evenly. If they aren't, then just one more reason why this wouldn't work.

Good thinking though Mike!:thumbup:


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## mottati (Apr 15, 2003)

you guys are probably right about not rotating the camber plates, just a thought. Does anyone make an adjustable camber plate for the e39? I believe there are some for the e36's.
Mike

happily taking all the negative camber i can get....


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## DKSF (Apr 4, 2003)

Dinan, KMAC, Ground Control.......

Call Ground Control, their Camber/Caster plate is really nice. Look on their website, www.ground-control.com, and look at the E46 one, it looks very similar to the E39 plate. Of course I'm biased on this.

Just be careful in picking which plate you use. One of our guys had problems with the KMAC binding up on him when turning the wheel at full lock. If you look at the factory strut mount, it allows the struts to steer. There is a bearing where the strut is bolted to the mount.


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