Adjustable suspension question

[tony martin]

GUYS,

FIRSTLY MY SPEL.CHECK IS NOT WORKING!!!

HERE ARE THE RECOMENDED BMW WA SETTINGS.AND MY RECOMENDATIONS.

THESE ARE THE SETTINGS FOR A NORMAL 4 SEATER PASSENGER CAR AND NORMAL(NOT COBRA!!!)EVERYDAY DRIVERS.

WE HAVE EXPERIMENTED WITH VARIOUS SETTINGS AND FIND THESE A GOOD STARTING POINT.

AS WE ALL KNOW,COBRAS ARE NOT NORMAL 4 SEATER PASSENGER CARS AND THEIR OWNERS AND DEFINATLY NOT THE NORMAL STERO TYPE OF DRIVER FOR WHICH THESE SETTINGS WERE DERIVED.

THERE ARE MANY CHARACTERISTICS BIULT INTO THE BMW SUSPENSION WHICH ARE TOTALLY SUPERFICIAL TO THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF THE COBRA PERSON.

EG.

SHOULD A COBRA TIRE LAST 20,000 MILES OR 15,000 MILES? SHOULD THE CAR HANDLE BETTER?

NO CONTEST(FOR ME)?
IT SHOULD HANDLE BETTER?

THEREFORE IF ONE WANTED TO RUN WITH A TAD MORE CAMBER AND SACRIFICE A FEW MILES IN TIRE LIFE I AM SURE WE WOULD GO FOR THE HANDLING?

LIKEWISE WITH THE RIDE HIGHTS.MOST OF US WOULD GO FOR A LOWER CAR WITH VISUALLY MORE CAMBER AS IT LOOKS FAR BETTER? IT ALSO HANDLES BETTER AND DOES NOT APRECIABLY AFFECT THE TIRE WEAR.

MOSTOF OUR CARS ARE NORMALLY SET UP WITH MORE THAN SPEC. NEG. CAMBER IN THE FRT.WE RUN BETWEEN 1 DEGREE AND 2.5 DEGREE NEG.(SOMETIMES EVEN A BIT MORE)

SHOULD ONE WANT TO RUN THE CAR WITH SETTINGS CLOSER TO THE BMW SPEC. THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO DO THIS.

I MUST SAY THAT WE HAVE HAD THESE OPERTUNITIES AT THE FACTORY AND HAVE DECLINED TO CHANGE OUR SETTINGS AS BOTH FROM A HANDLING AND ASTHETIC POINT OF VIEW, WE FIND OURS TO BE THE MOST SUITABLE FOR OUR APLICATION.

DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE ALSO CONFIRMED THIS.

AS TO SETTING UP THE CAR WITH WEIGHT IN IT,YES THIS IS TECHNICALLY, MORE CORRECT.
DUE TO THE LARGE TOLERANCES IN SPEC.WE DO NOT FIND THIS TO BE CRITICAL.

TO SUM UP THIS IS HOW I WOULD SET UP MY CAR FOR ALL ROUND DRIVING.

REAR: AS CLOSE TO RECOMENDED SPEC.AS OBTAINABLE WITHOUT MODIFICATION.RUN AS MUCH CAMBER WITHIN THE SPEC. AS U CAN WHILE RETAINING TOE IN.

1 - 1.5MM TOE IN IS OK.

FRONT: CAMBER 1.5 - 2.5 DEGREES NEG.CAMBER. THE CASTER WILL THEREFORE BE DIFFERENT TO THE SPEC.MENTIONED BELOW.

**NOTE***IF U RUN THE FRT. OF YOUR CAR EXTREMLY LOW THIS NEG. CAMBER MIGHT INCREASE SLIGHTLY.I DONT HAVE A PLOBLEM WITH THIS.

BMW WHEEL ALIGNMENT SETTINGS


Front (specified ranges): Camber -1° 20' to -0° 40', Caster 6° 55' to 7° 55', Toe 1mm to 2.4mm, Turning Angle Difference -2.03° to -1.03°


Rear (specified ranges): Camber -2° 00' to -1° 30', Toe 1.7mm to 3.0mm

I HOPE THIS ANSWERS MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS.SHOULD U NEED TO KNOW MORE PLEASE CONTACT MYSELF OR REG.

DRIVE SAFELY.