E90 335d SM200 alignment review help

POBEP · 02-10-2022, 04:01 PM

Sorry for starting new thread. I would appreciate community feedback on alignment

E90 335d Sport
SM200 kit: Bilstein B8 + Eibachs, 1" drop
front: 225/40/18, rear 255/35/18 with PSAS4

Commute: 190mi highway, 70mi of which is nice mountain serpentine.

Before alignment:
- steering response was great
- perfect straight line
- heavy front tire wear on outer shoulders

Target preference:
1) reduced tire wear
2) decent steering response at 65mph on mountain section

I gave the shop attached specs, but final report seems to be not what was expected. Specifically, total toe seems to be to high.

Help/feedback needed

Should the final numbers be close to
- front toe 0.07', 0.14' total. (report says total is 0.26' too much?)
- rear toe 0.09', 0.18' total. (report says total is 0.38' - too much? )

Am I reading numbers right?

FCobra94

335i54n · 02-12-2022, 12:55 AM

euro use degree/minutes vs the decimal degree, so you need to do the conversion yourself since it seems they are not euro familiar. looks ok, my personal preference would be a little less toe in f & r and a little more neg front camber.

if you got outer shoulder/cornering wear only on your dd, you should look at tire inflation, tire quality, and tire widths

POBEP · 03-01-2022, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335i54n

euro use degree/minutes vs the decimal degree, so you need to do the conversion yourself since it seems they are not euro familiar. looks ok, my personal preference would be a little less toe in f & r and a little more neg front camber.

335i54n - could you suggest your preferred values F&R toe, F camber?
I drove the car for ~500 miles and it (steering) does not feel like BMW anymore.
I plan to visit shop for (re)alignment tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335i54n

if you got outer shoulder/cornering wear only on your dd, you should look at tire inflation, tire quality, and tire widths

Previous owner had spacers (which I removed).
Front tire size were factory spec (as so rears now as well).

It appears that pressure was the key.
I think I ran old fronts tires low (32psi) for some time.
Not sure how managed to misread values on the door.

335i54n · 03-02-2022, 10:24 AM

if you like how the car drove before, then go back to those total toe setting. i like .18 in the front and .3 degree like before in the rear, which should help the turn in feel. if you can take out some rear camber that will help with wear-likely already maxed. imo 225 in front is just too small of a front tire, a lot of psi will help but best upgrade is wider fronts. you can go even less/zero toe in the front for better turn in but i found it unpleasant highway cruising, too twitchy

POBEP · 03-02-2022, 12:40 PM

335i54n thanks for the h-m-s vs decimal degree education.
I was under impression that I am looking at different units, but could not put 1&1 together until your previous post

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335i54n

if you like how the car drove before, then go back to those total toe setting. i like .18 in the front and .3 degree like before in the rear, which should help the turn in feel. if you can take out some rear camber that will help with wear-likely already maxed.

I was just leaving to the alignment shop - had 0.18/0.30 degree toe written down (as I found it one of your other post as well).

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335i54n

imo 225 in front is just too small of a front tire, a lot of psi will help but best upgrade is wider fronts. you can go even less/zero toe in the front for better turn in but i found it unpleasant highway cruising, too twitchy

225 does seem small, especially for heavier 335d.
I just got new set of staggered PSAS4-s - so will have to run with it for now

Haideezy · 03-09-2022, 08:54 PM

Were those the actual values of your tire pressure at the time of alignment?

POBEP · 03-09-2022, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haideezy

Were those the actual values of your tire pressure at the time of alignment?

yes.

Haideezy · 03-10-2022, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POBEP

yes.

They need to set your tire pressure accordingly before doing your alignment.

POBEP · 03-11-2022, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haideezy

They need to set your tire pressure accordingly before doing your alignment.

Haideezy - thanks, good catch.

I hope they did (though the report shows otherwise)

I adjusted tire pressure few miles before going to the shop.
The alignment rack had all 4 tires connected to inflator.

The E90 steering now feels great (335i54n thanks for review/feedback)

On a side note, finding a good shop is a challenge in Bay Area.
Labor pricing is astronomic & mechanics experience is concerning.
On top, I dislike spending time driving to the shop, waiting several hours for rack availability only to come back again and point to deficiencies.

Time & quality is what made me shift from hired labor to DIY.
I still use hired labor for alignment and very limited maintenance items.
Transmission service is one of them - too much mess.
I will probably have to pass on N52 OPG DIY too.

Haideezy · 03-14-2022, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POBEP

Haideezy - thanks, good catch.

I hope they did (though the report shows otherwise)

I adjusted tire pressure few miles before going to the shop.
The alignment rack had all 4 tires connected to inflator.

The E90 steering now feels great (335i54n thanks for review/feedback)

On a side note, finding a good shop is a challenge in Bay Area.
Labor pricing is astronomic & mechanics experience is concerning.
On top, I dislike spending time driving to the shop, waiting several hours for rack availability only to come back again and point to deficiencies.

Time & quality is what made me shift from hired labor to DIY.
I still use hired labor for alignment and very limited maintenance items.
Transmission service is one of them - too much mess.
I will probably have to pass on N52 OPG DIY too.

Next time just go to TrackSpec in Fremont. Jon and his crew are very knowledgeable.

POBEP · 05-10-2022, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haideezy

Next time just go to TrackSpec in Fremont. Jon and his crew are very knowledgeable.

Haideezy

Trackspec Autosports team is really good, indeed.
I took my E70 35d for alignment today.
Price was a bit on a higher side.
Timing, quality and execution speed payed off extra premium.
Definitely worse 500mi round trip travel to the shop.

Thanks for advise

02-10-2022, 04:01 PM	#1
POBEP Lieutenant 369 Rep 554 Posts Drives: E70 E90 E91 Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Christmas Valley, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 E90 335d [9.33] 2013 E70 xDrive35d [5.00] 2009 E91 328i [10.00] 2016 F25 xDrive28d [0.00]	E90 335d SM200 alignment review help Sorry for starting new thread. I would appreciate community feedback on alignment E90 335d Sport SM200 kit: Bilstein B8 + Eibachs, 1" drop front: 225/40/18, rear 255/35/18 with PSAS4 Commute: 190mi highway, 70mi of which is nice mountain serpentine. Before alignment: - steering response was great - perfect straight line - heavy front tire wear on outer shoulders Target preference: 1) reduced tire wear 2) decent steering response at 65mph on mountain section I gave the shop attached specs, but final report seems to be not what was expected. Specifically, total toe seems to be to high. Help/feedback needed Should the final numbers be close to - front toe 0.07', 0.14' total. (report says total is 0.26' too much?) - rear toe 0.09', 0.18' total. (report says total is 0.38' - too much? ) Am I reading numbers right? FCobra94 Attached Images Last edited by POBEP; 02-10-2022 at 07:36 PM..
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

02-12-2022, 12:55 AM	#2
335i54n Lieutenant 302 Rep 543 Posts Drives: e90 335i, e39 m5 Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: socal iTrader: (0)	euro use degree/minutes vs the decimal degree, so you need to do the conversion yourself since it seems they are not euro familiar. looks ok, my personal preference would be a little less toe in f & r and a little more neg front camber. if you got outer shoulder/cornering wear only on your dd, you should look at tire inflation, tire quality, and tire widths Last edited by 335i54n; 02-12-2022 at 03:33 AM..
	Appreciate 1 POBEP368.50 Quote

03-02-2022, 10:24 AM	#4
335i54n Lieutenant 302 Rep 543 Posts Drives: e90 335i, e39 m5 Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: socal iTrader: (0)	if you like how the car drove before, then go back to those total toe setting. i like .18 in the front and .3 degree like before in the rear, which should help the turn in feel. if you can take out some rear camber that will help with wear-likely already maxed. imo 225 in front is just too small of a front tire, a lot of psi will help but best upgrade is wider fronts. you can go even less/zero toe in the front for better turn in but i found it unpleasant highway cruising, too twitchy
	Appreciate 1 POBEP368.50 Quote

03-09-2022, 08:54 PM	#6
Haideezy Boost>N/A 29 Rep 73 Posts Drives: 2007 BMW 335i Sedan Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (0)	Were those the actual values of your tire pressure at the time of alignment?
	Appreciate 0 Quote