Best place for tyre and wheels balancing for our E90

[astroboy]

I went to my regular tyre shop and they took the camber measurement. Rear left is -1.0, rear right is -0.5. However, they dare not touch my car since it's still under warranty.. very sincere/honest of them to warn me of that..

Ingress insisted to charge me RM350 for the job.

I think its time for me to kacau my SA, who sold me one of the most expensive 4-potter BMW among the similar units sold at that time..:damnmate:

 

[superman]

astroboy, I did my allignment in one of the tyre shop about a year ago. The reading of rear camber at that time was about -0.5 both side. The tyre shop adviced me to adjust to the 'factory spec' which shoudl be -1.25. I agreed and they adjusted for me. Honestly, cornering improved a bit and yes I do have faster rear tyre inner side wear but it was not that bad. Maybe I do swap my rears with the fronts.

 

[Schwepps]

-0.5 to -1.0 rear camber is within factory spec, so that doesn't seem to be the cause of your inner shoulder wear. Did you do any changes to your setup? Wheel/tyre sizes, spacers, lowering, etc? What were your tyre pressures, front and rear?

IA is probably quoting the RM350 for a suspension check - argue that it's a warranty issue.

 

[Schwepps]

With all this talk about alignment and balancing, I decided to go for my quarterly check today! :driver: Camber was within spec, and front toe-in was slightly out. Not bad, but both left wheels are dented. :62:

I usually set mine:
Toe-in: Fr +0.5, Rr +1.0
Camber: Fr -0.5, Rr -1.0

 

[FIRZ67]

I would really consider on-wheel balancing for the front tires. Been doing it for more than a year now on non rft and no vibrations.
danc

Hi danc,

Is E90 are ok with on wheel balancing?some cars I heard are not suitable for on wheels such as it will damage the drive train,but i believe it is ok since this is a rear wheel drive car.Anyway,where did you do your on wheel balancing?

 

[E46Fanatic]

Tot I'll share the measurement printout from BMW's KDS II machine from my last alignment there. Can't figure out what some of the figures mean, but the significant part was the drive not the figures

Rear Axle:
Camber -1:38
Toe + 0.09
Total Toe +0.18
Geometrical driving axis 0.00

Front Axle:
Castor 20deg: +7.13
Cross Castor: +0:01
Toe out on turns: -2:01
Cross Toe out on turns: +0.02
Camber: -0:54
Cross Camber + 0:10
Individual Toe : 0:05
Total Toe: +0.11

Tyre Pressures:
Rear 2.4
Front 2.2

Tyre Depth:
8mm (all 4)

Ride Height:
Ride Heignt Rear: +577mm
Ride Height Front: +587mm

Left out the individual readings between right and left as they were similar.

 

[Schwepps]

Thanks E46F. Like reading a blood test report lar.

- So do you know what toe and camber they set for you, front and rear?
- How much does a BMW balancing and alignment job cost?

 

[E46Fanatic]

Thanks E46F. Like reading a blood test report lar.

- So do you know what toe and camber they set for you, front and rear?
- How much does a BMW balancing and alignment job cost?

The above figures were the measurement results for my car after the alignment. There was a set of readings for before, a column for "target" and the final column for final measurement which I listed above based on the print out.

I think it was ~RM360 thereabouts for the alignment job at AB Segambut. What is interesting is that after you do your alignment with them, they remove the camber pins which is visible on the front shock tower mounts (a little silver probe sticking out from one of the holes on the mount) After the pins were removed ,its a hole there where the pin used to be. I believe removing the pins require removal of the front shock assembly, but from what I read, its the proper way to do an alignment for our BMWs. A real pain I am sure to do which most shops outside will not do. Also what is interesting is that our BMWs should sit roughly 10mm lower on the rear vs. the fronts. Should be something to do with weight distribution I am sure, and I've noticed earlier batches seem to have the rear sitting higher than the front (nose down look) even for 330i sports suspension setup. Later batches of M sports suspension setup seem to have the rear sitting lower than the fronts as per spec.

 

[Schwepps]

Interesting bro Very comprehensive testing in AB! If I'm not mistaken, front camber can't be adjusted by the outside guys.

So the final camber figs from AB are Fr -0.5 and Rr -1.4, which are close to what I specify for mine. But the final toe-in figs are quite low at Fr +0.05 and Rr +0.1. Wonder why, unless my guy is wrong, or talks toe-in with me with the decimal in the wrong place.

 

[danc]

Hi danc,

Is E90 are ok with on wheel balancing?some cars I heard are not suitable for on wheels such as it will damage the drive train,but i believe it is ok since this is a rear wheel drive car.Anyway,where did you do your on wheel balancing?

I guess it's ok since it's rear wheel drive. I cant seem to get a smooth ride if i dont do the on-wheel balancing. Like I said I did mine at Lim Tyre TTDI, but after hearing the detailed alignment from E46 at AB Segambut I am very tempted to try it even at RM300++.

 

[astroboy]

Hmmn... so I should not make a big fuss if I am running a -1.0 RL Camber and -0.5 RR Camber.. as it is within spec according to superman and Schwepps.. .. and my E90 is 100% standard suspension setup.

.. and I do agree the +1.0 rear Toe-in as mentioned by Schwepps is too aggressive and will accelerate rear tyre wear, plus sacrifice top speed and pick up.

.. the -1.38 rear camber settings for E46F should result in inner tyre wear as well and that's worst than mine!! I want to hear from E46F commenting on his rear tyre wear.. please... and if this is true, then I expect to see all E90 325i rear tyre will have serious inner wear.

To top it all, I don't believe there's a set of "suitable for all" alignment reading because driver's attitude do play a role.

 

[Schwepps]

If I'm not mistaken, the spec for rear camber is -1.0 to -2.0, astroboy, so anything within that range would be acceptable. What's more important for straight-line tracking is to have roughly the same setting on both sides. You have more -ve camber on the left...are you pulling to the left slightly?

I'm not sure about the toe-in spec - can you research it and enlighten me please?

My tyre wear is dead-even all round, examined when they took my tyres off for balancing. Even my tyre guy commented on that.

 

[astroboy]

Hmmn.... -1.38 camber can still get even tyre wear.. how u drive le..

My -1.0 camber also makan my inner tyre and heart ache when seeing it..

My E90 when took delivery, it was pulling left. Complained to SC and they rectify the pulling.. probably by compensating with toe and caster..

U check out E46's alignment reading, his final toe-in reading is there ma.. Fr 0.05, Rr 0.09

Seriously, I felt like paying the RM360 now... to get it +/- 0.001 accuracy.. seriously, with those toe reading, tyre can last very very very long!!

Some toe in is a must to keep the car going straight and return to centre line when steering is released.. but toe-in will wear out tyres fast because the tyre is not pointing straight even when the car is.

 

[Schwepps]

True astro, but +0.05 is like no toe-in at all. And my rear camber setting is -1.0, not -1.38 which is E46F's.

Both of us pump our tyres board-hard at 2.2/2.4. What are your tyre pressures?

 

[astroboy]

.. What are your tyre pressures?

Hmnn..... good question.. Last check was 2.1... many moons ago, I think 08Q2..

Update***

This is the reading for my alignment before adjustment..

Sorry don't have after adjustment figures because I was caught unaware when they finish the job and remove the equipment from my wheels, all readings gone.

I managed to get a glimpse at the monitor right before they remove the equipment and my rear camber both side was -ve 1.10

I asked if the -ve 1.10 is still too aggressive to my rear tyres, the sifu say the factory recommendation is -ve 1.20 and -ve 1.10 is within the allowable tolerance (reading remain in green color) and tyre wear friendly. I was having more than 3/4 tank of fuel, so with that load, I am alright with the settings.

The "sifu" say if our rear camber go -ve 0.XX, our E90 will not be as stable and not nice to drive.

Let see how it goes...

By the way, I also found out our front camber is NOT adjustable and best of all I ask them to check my long-over-due-tyre-pressure-check tyres. Guess what!? They are all still in perfect pressure!! still with 2.2/2.4 (warm) Looks like I don't have to check my pressure for the next 24 months..

I wonder my new setting (less aggressive rear camber) is nice to drift..

 

[loafer]

Hmmn.... -1.38 camber can still get even tyre wear.. how u drive le..

My -1.0 camber also makan my inner tyre and heart ache when seeing it..

My E90 when took delivery, it was pulling left. Complained to SC and they rectify the pulling.. probably by compensating with toe and caster..

U check out E46's alignment reading, his final toe-in reading is there ma.. Fr 0.05, Rr 0.09

Seriously, I felt like paying the RM360 now... to get it +/- 0.001 accuracy.. seriously, with those toe reading, tyre can last very very very long!!

Some toe in is a must to keep the car going straight and return to centre line when steering is released.. but toe-in will wear out tyres fast because the tyre is not pointing straight even when the car is.

Do you travel a lot? Especially on highways? That would affect your tire wear as well especially if you have -ve camber. The longer the distance you travel on a straight road with no corners the higher your tire wear will be with -ve camber.

I'm running -ve 2 (front) and -ve 1.5 (rear) on my E36. Need to occasionally whack corners and such to ensure there's even tire wear. Worse part is my tires can only swap front > rear and vice versa.

 

[astroboy]

The car is mainly used for office commuting between Damansara Uptown and Kelana Business Center.. less than 5km a day..

 

[loafer]

The car is mainly used for office commuting between Damansara Uptown and Kelana Business Center.. less than 5km a day..

Could be your tire compound as well. Maybe it's a softer compound that's why the wear is higher.

Such little daily mileage shouldn't cause high wear like what you're experiencing...at least I don't think it should..

 

[astroboy]

Could be your tire compound as well. Maybe it's a softer compound that's why the wear is higher.

Such little daily mileage shouldn't cause high wear like what you're experiencing...at least I don't think it should..

I'm on CSC2 225/45R17, so could be soft.

Whatever it is, I hope now my irregular tyre wear is a thing of the past.... some experience gained in the process, which I have already shared.. and not all shop can handle E90 alignment. The spanner needed to adjust the rear alignment is more than a feet long and its considered special tool..

 

[FIRZ67]

I guess it's ok since it's rear wheel drive. I cant seem to get a smooth ride if i dont do the on-wheel balancing. Like I said I did mine at Lim Tyre TTDI, but after hearing the detailed alignment from E46 at AB Segambut I am very tempted to try it even at RM300++.

Hi Danc,

I went to Lim Tayar TTDI last wednesday last week and did the balancing with them.But the supervisor overthere says that it could be due to :
1. Tyre mounting and roundness issues.He said the tyre that I choose which is Falken ZE522 225/40/18 does not really suit the car.The tyre may have some roundness issues.He said the tyre surfaces roundness is not perfectly round.Frankly I never heard this problem when using this same tyre for my previous civic FD.
He also refuse to do on wheel having said that if the tyre issues not resolve.Have anyone experienced this?Any good tyres recommended?

2.Second issues was a tyre mounting and he did a remounting works on both my rear tyre.

After that I went outstation and did't really test the car until mid of last week .This week took a car for a drive , I found out that the vibration issues while travelling at 80-90 kmh is stiil there.When the car travel above 120 kmh,there is no vibration but the steering feel makes my driving nervous (not firm enough).I dont think that this is the real character of our E90.

Do I still need 'on wheel balancing' before considering changing tyres?