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      09-09-2015, 07:56 AM   #1
DJ Rocc
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Angry Factory Alignment Specifications

Does anyone know if the BMW Factory keeps a record of the Factory Alignment Numbers for each new vehicle.

Mine has been in for alignment three days in a row, and BMW Service dont seem to be able to get it right!?

Want to know if I could ask them to just reset the alignment to the settings the car came down with, and go from there, if that is possible, and that data exists or not??

The car is pulling to the right slightly, and does not show good Straight tracking, too very easy for any small bump in the road to throw it off center.
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      11-01-2015, 05:44 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Rocc View Post
Does anyone know if the BMW Factory keeps a record of the Factory Alignment Numbers for each new vehicle.

Mine has been in for alignment three days in a row, and BMW Service dont seem to be able to get it right!?

Want to know if I could ask them to just reset the alignment to the settings the car came down with, and go from there, if that is possible, and that data exists or not??

The car is pulling to the right slightly, and does not show good Straight tracking, too very easy for any small bump in the road to throw it off center.
...not the alignment specs... however I have pictures of the prep required for alignment.





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      11-01-2015, 12:41 PM   #3
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Thats a start!
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      11-01-2015, 01:57 PM   #4
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This is mine after lowering the car. Alignment was done at the dealer. No problems of pulling. Hope this helps.
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      11-01-2015, 06:29 PM   #5
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Thank you guys for everything!! i really doubt if they did all the necessary steps, because they never filled the tank, etc. and my alignment sheet says its a F32 without Adaptive Suspension, and mine has. One good note, seems like the alignment is not too bad now, not sure if the tires got wore into the bad alignment, or the car self adjusted? It seemed to get better as well when I did a Adaptive Throttle/Transmission reset?
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      11-17-2015, 06:47 AM   #6
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So I have access to a Hunter alignment machine on-post at an Auto Skills Center. You can do your own alignments for ~$60.

However, sourcing the weight for the car seems to be inconvenient. I wonder if you can pay a BMW dealer to do the alignment (with weights) and have them remove the weights and provide you with the unweighted alignment readings as well as weighted alignment readings. I would expect the major change to be the rear camber.
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      11-17-2015, 12:55 PM   #7
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Radial pulls are real, even with quality name brand tires (even Michelin, which are generally the most consistent). You can have a perfect alignment and a tire with a radial pull will throw everything out. I was really surprised of this.

I got a bad Primacy a couple years back and could not believe it was the tire not the alignment. Once the shop replaced the front tires, the car tracked straight even with a big difference in cross camber (-0.2 and -1.1 factory non-adjustable alignment on the Chevy Volt).
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      11-21-2015, 05:02 AM   #8
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Car: 2014 BMW F30 335i RWD M Sport (Sport Suspension) - No modifications.

I had my alignment done at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Auto Skills Center. They have a Hunter alignment machine and the price of an alignment is $60. (My guess is a BMW dealer would charge between $200-300 for an alignment). I will say that maintaining BMWs is incredibly expensive IF you don't have access to facilities with the right tools and equipment.

Notes:
If your car has "AFS", you will need an OEM scan tool (Autologic?). If you don't have "AFS", you're good to go.



Not entirely sure about the "DSC" part of this. I think you can disregard it for a standard alignment.


Prep work:

You'll need to properly weigh down the car. I ended up going to my unit's gym and having the full time guys hand receipt me a bunch of plates and dumbells. It's a LOT of weight and you will need this to get the rear camber correct. (You'll see the effect of an unloaded car later).


And now to the official specs:


My front right toe and rear left toe were off. Here is my final alignment spec with the car loaded correctly and full tank of gas:


Here is my final alignment spec with the car UNloaded correctly and full tank of gas. Notice the significant change in rear camber. I ended up taking the readings unweighted because this will be more convenient in the future given the exact same suspension setup.



Here are some other photos...

This is the front tie rod adjustment. You basically need to rotate the tie rod until you get the correct toe. The torq bolt is to secure the tie rod in place.


Here's how to adjust the rear toe. There seem to be two eccentric bolts. One for each arm (upper and lower). Notice in the diagram that the braket has a hole around in it. This implies you are adjusting the upper arm. On the rear side of the bolt, it's a standard 6 side bolt. On the other side (towards front of car), the bolt is actually a "star" similar to a torx but you'll need a socket not a torx bit.


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      03-24-2016, 06:44 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Polo08816 View Post
Car: 2014 BMW F30 335i RWD M Sport (Sport Suspension) - No modifications.

I had my alignment done at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds Auto Skills Center. They have a Hunter alignment machine and the price of an alignment is $60. (My guess is a BMW dealer would charge between $200-300 for an alignment). I will say that maintaining BMWs is incredibly expensive IF you don't have access to facilities with the right tools and equipment.

Notes:
If your car has "AFS", you will need an OEM scan tool (Autologic?). If you don't have "AFS", you're good to go.



Not entirely sure about the "DSC" part of this. I think you can disregard it for a standard alignment.


Prep work:

You'll need to properly weigh down the car. I ended up going to my unit's gym and having the full time guys hand receipt me a bunch of plates and dumbells. It's a LOT of weight and you will need this to get the rear camber correct. (You'll see the effect of an unloaded car later).


And now to the official specs:


My front right toe and rear left toe were off. Here is my final alignment spec with the car loaded correctly and full tank of gas:


Here is my final alignment spec with the car UNloaded correctly and full tank of gas. Notice the significant change in rear camber. I ended up taking the readings unweighted because this will be more convenient in the future given the exact same suspension setup.



Here are some other photos...

This is the front tie rod adjustment. You basically need to rotate the tie rod until you get the correct toe. The torq bolt is to secure the tie rod in place.


Here's how to adjust the rear toe. There seem to be two eccentric bolts. One for each arm (upper and lower). Notice in the diagram that the braket has a hole around in it. This implies you are adjusting the upper arm. On the rear side of the bolt, it's a standard 6 side bolt. On the other side (towards front of car), the bolt is actually a "star" similar to a torx but you'll need a socket not a torx bit.


Wow apologies for the late reply, this information is indispensable!! I took it in and it was indeed my camber anfd rear toe that was causing the twitchy behaviour. It now holds a line so much better now, without any minor corrections to steering!!

Thank you so much for your help!!

They probably did not put any weight in the car, and no full tank either. Because when my car didnt have any weight the rear wheels looked way off in camber and toe, more so in camber (too much neg. camber)
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