THSCC Forums

Rodney, Lee, what alignment settings are you guys running? i'm actually going to put the bmw on track before an autocross, so any suggestions (by anyone) are welcome.

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05 MCS

Mark Cooper has that stuff memorized

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traded the ultimate driving machine for a hatchback.....

depending on the tires you are running, the e36 likes front camber. thing is you will not be able to get a whole lot out of the stock hats. typical first step is to mount M3 hats flipped side to side. rear is 1.7 or so

seriously, do yourself a favor Chris and call Mark.

Sorry if this is too late, Chris, but if not, I used the following alignment settings on my E36 328is and similar settings on my E36 M3:

Front camber: -3.0 to -3.2 degrees per side (based on tire temperature testing w/pyrometer)
Front caster: maximum (positive)
Front toe: 0.02 to 0.03 degrees toe in per side
Rear camber: -1.6 to -1.8 degrees per side (also via pyrometer)
Rear toe: 0.10 to 0.12 degrees toe in per side

My 328is was set up more for track use than autocross (and had much higher spring rates than stock), but those alignment settings worked really well for everything - track, autocross, and street. If you don't plan to track yours and are most concerned about handling for autocross, I would run less rear toe (~0.05 degrees in per side) for more mid-corner rotation, although the general consensus on the forums is to avoid too little toe in in the rear to avoid oversteer, especially on a street car. My experience says you can very safely run less rear toe in than most people seem to think. I've never had any undesirable oversteer with any E36 (I've owned/autocrossed three and tracked two) - they seem to go where you point them better than any other car I've driven.

Also, if yours won't be used for street driving much, you might benefit slightly from zero front toe or a little toe out up front. I've never run toe out up front as I drove mine on the street a good bit.

Any questions, etc., let me know.

Keith

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Keith Q.
2008 Top Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmX8XuZ_DCo&NR=1

Chris,

I have no idea what settings my car is currently set at. It is as I bought it. So, I am no help and rather late in responding. HOWEVER, I am putting on a Ground Control Suspension package (Keith, I saved up enough!). The rear shocks and springs are on and as soon as I get the front done, I've got an appointment with Mark at HH&W to get the alignment sorted out. See you guys at the NCAC.

Lee

went to hhw today...got the azenis mounted, camber shims installed and an alignment.

front (left/right)
camber -2.4/-2.4
caster 3.1/3.5
toe 0

rear (left/right)
camber -2.5/-2.7
toe 16th/16th

i wasn't sure about so much camber in the rear, but mark is confident it will be more neutral on track that way...maybe not the best for autocross, but i gotta think to VIR next weekend.

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05 MCS

Did you mean -2.5/2.7 rear camber?

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05 MCS

Hmmm, that's interesting, my findings definitely disagree. I found the rear camber really wants to be in the -1.6 to -1.8 degree (per side) range for optimum tire temps, and this was confirmed at VIR using a contact probe pyrometer. I'll be very surprised if your tire temps (or tire wear) support those high rear camber settings, and I'd expect on-track handling to be less balanced toward oversteer due to lack of rear grip. Of course, it may end up working out okay as your front camber is a bit lower than optimum, resulting in reduced grip up front also. I'd strongly advise rotating your track tires front to back as often as possible, as the wear should be on opposite edges in front vs. back. Also consider running pressures on the high side to help even tire wear.

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Keith Q.
2008 Top Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmX8XuZ_DCo&NR=1