Z4M Roadster - Alignment Suggestions?

[davgia]

When I bought the car second hand the alignment settings felt superb as felt like I was on rails when going through the curves

However, I installed a new set of oem wheels (repaired and powder coated) with new rubber and had a new alignment done at the same time. The shop who did the alignment screwed the whole geometry up and after a few months had the dealership re-do it.

Now the car feels just okay but it certainly lost that superb handling I started off with and it has prompted me to set the car aside for quite a while.

I’ve done some reading all around and while looking at strut braces I noticed the camber pin removal suggestion. I checked my car and both pins where removed.

Educated guess leads me to believe that the original owner certainly fiddled with the suspension and I wonder whether he might have set up something close the CSL parameters that keep getting suggested.

This said, I’m not that great with suspension work. I somewhat understand the surface level material but really not enough to know what I should be asking.

Car is completely OEM in terms of suspension and wheels. Can anyone do me a solid and suggest a good set of parameters (camber, toe, caster) I can tell an alignment shop to follow and apply?

 

[RedUn]

I'd go with the CSL geo, it's tried and tested

 

[brillomaster]

more importantly than what settings to go for, make sure you take it to an alignment place that knows what they are doing! a full 4 wheel alignment is about £120 round these parts, thats how much i'd expect a decent place to charge.

 

[davgia]

I'd go with the CSL geo, it's tried and tested

When you say CSL geo, what numbers am I looking at? As close as possible Camber and Toe and leave Caster alone?

Would I just go to a sport alignment shop, tell them to load the E46 M3 CSL values, and match them as close as possbile?

 

[RedUn]

That doesn't look right, not enough front camber, use this one

http://www.clubcsl.com/CSL/various/wheelalignmentcsl.jpg

And yes ask somewhere competent to get you close to that, bmw will do it if you ask the right person nicely 8)

 

[Z4MCoupe86]

Just to confirm, these alignment numbers from the csl be obtained with stock z4m suspension?

In what way will the car perform differently with these settings?

 

[RedUn]

Just to confirm, these alignment numbers from the csl be obtained with stock z4m suspension?

In what way will the car perform differently with these settings?

Indeed if you pull the camber pins on the front.

Less understeer, more balance, bit more darty on the front end but as a downside more tramlining.