Need help from the alignment gurus out there

[wrecklessfool]

I just finished replacing my rear subframe and diff bushings and as a result had to remove every rear suspension component from my car. When I wrapped everything up today I went straight to a local reputable BMW indy in my area who I have used before for alignments. I didn't have my previous alignment sheet with me so I asked for an aggressive street setup since for now the car will only see street use. Here is my setup:

Ohlins coil overs, OEM front top hats with pins pulled, 275/295 tire combo on 19x9.5 and 10.5 wheels. Car is lower than factory with a one finger gap front and rear.

I asked today for a street setup that improves over the factory handling but wouldn't kill my tires. This is what I left with:

FL: -1.66. FR: -1.65 Front L&R toe: 0"
RL: -1.11 RR: -1.22 Rear L&R toe: 1/16", total rear toe 3/32"

My previous alignment with the mods listed above from the same shop was:

FL: -1.64 FR: -1.82 Front L toe: 0" Front R toe: 1/32", total front toe 1/32"
RL: -1.82 RR: -1.87 Rear L&R toe: 1/32", total rear toe 1/16"

My thoughts are that the fronts are ok but I might want a little toe. Would I want toe in or toe out and how much, if any? The rear camber looks way too low at 1.1 and 1.2 based on what I see others are running on here. Toe also seems high in the rear on my latest alignment. I am going to call the shop tomorrow morning and have them change these settings but I need some advice on what I should be shooting for. Thanks for any help you guys can offer

[surlynkid]

I make no claim to be a guru.

All 4 corners are out of spec on camber.

This is all a tire wear versus handling trade off. There is also sometimes a need for more camber to tuck the tire in.

As far as front toe, the closer to zero, the better your tire wear but your car will move around more with the crown of the road. Track cars are predominately zero front toe. If you don't like the wander, add 1/32 toe in on each side.

Front camber spec is 0.8-1.6. Leave it be unless you want to track it. You are aggressive enough. High spirited driving is not tracking it.

Rear camber spec is 1.5-2.0, so you are light there. I would stay at 1.6-1.7 for street car. You want slight toe in at rear to offset squat which will cause the car to toe out under acceleration. Again, with street driving, don't get too crazy with toe in as it just wears tires. Rear toe spec is .10-.23 degrees. I set my car right in the middle of that. You could get away with a little on the lighter end of that range.

With 295 rear and lowered, pay attention for rub if you do not tuck them up into the fender well.

[SenorFunkyPants]

I would suggest driving the car for a little while to see how you like the car as it is....at least as regards how the front end of the car feels.
0 front toe is at the limit of the OEM spec for front toe (total toe in = 11 mins +-12 mins) and depending how much "play" there is in the front suspension components will dictate how unstable the car feels under acceleration and braking. You should have good front turn-in with 0 toe and if the car feels stable enough especially on uneven roads when accelerating and braking hard then you may want to stick with that. If its too "darty" then dial in a little front toe in.
I don't know how much 3/32 toe-in is in real money but too much toe in gives high tyre wear, too little gives better turn in but more instability under braking. I thing the target toe for the rear is 10 mins total toe in (split evenly as near as possible).

[bigjae1976]

You're previous spec looks OK if the front driver's seat was not weighted down.

[wrecklessfool]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

You're previous spec looks OK if the front driver's seat was not weighted down.

That was with 175 lbs in the driver's seat

[bigjae1976]

If that's the case...I would think the camber up front should be the same.

[wrecklessfool]

Do you mean the same as in equal on both sides or the same as in the same as my previous alignment?

[wrecklessfool]

I think the part I'm most concerned with is the rear toe and the lack of negative camber in the rear. Can anyone speak to these measurements specifically?

[surlynkid]

Originally Posted by wrecklessfool

I think the part I'm most concerned with is the rear toe and the lack of negative camber in the rear. Can anyone speak to these measurements specifically?

I already told you that the rear is out of spec. Does your shop not give you a printout showing before values, after values, and min/max specs?

Jae is saying that if you have weights in the driver seat to emulate your body weight, the front camber should be the same on each side.

[wrecklessfool]

Previous alignment:

[wrecklessfool]

Alignment in question:

[wrecklessfool]

Originally Posted by wrecklessfool

Alignment in question:

Damn mobile app sucks

[surlynkid]

As pics show, everything is out except rear toe. The color shows what is out. Personally, I would stay where you are on front camber as you wanted it a little aggressive. I would also leave toe at zero up front except for what myself and others have said is the downside. Zero is great for track but not for street. It will improve front tire wear though. You have been driving it. If you are okay with the front wanting to wander with the road and be less controllable under braking, leave it. If driving it now does not bother you, keep it at zero. The rear definitely needs more camber. Tell the shop that they are clearly out of spec and make them get the rear up in spec. They will have to then toe it back in to get toe back in spec.

Bottom line - tell them to get rear camber to 1.7 range without changing rear toe and you are good to go.

[tdott]

I'm a fan of zero toe in front and 1/32 toe in each side in the back.

Camber on stock hats is non adjustable so nothing you can do there. Mine is set at -2.5 but I have camber plates. My rear is set to -2 max camber the rear stock arms can go.

[wrecklessfool]

Awesome. Thanks guys. Guess I should have posted the sheets initially as they are much easier to interpret than my typed out specs. I will call the shop Monday and make an appointment to get my rear camber to where it was originally set to in the first alignment at around -1.8 degrees. Thanks again everyone for the input