DIY adjust front camber without plates

nightkrawler · 27th April 2013, 00:46

My new M5 has H&R springs in the front. First alignment on her the front camber was out of spec too far. I was going to get camber plates but i wanted to try something first. Most bmw's have a slight bit of adjustment for front camber, approx .5*. You adjust it by slackening the front strut nuts and sliding the strut left or right. So I took the dremel and extended the holes where the upper strut mount studs go through the tower. I did another alignment a few days ago and now the readings are in spec. Im going to extend them a bit more so I can get it closer to where I want it. Unfortunately I didnt print out the specs from the first alignment but I know the front camber was in the red. Now after adjusting it, back in the green(in spec).

Correct me if im wrong with my specs.

E39 M5 front camber spec -1.0* to 0.0*

mine are currently

left -0*40' right -0*46'

so if my conversion is correct -40 minutes/-46 minutes converts to approx,

left -.65* right -.77*

POOFY · 28th April 2013, 01:24

I've thought about this bit never looked into it. What would be the draw backs? I would like to be able to add camber for track use and then put it back for street.

Scott the Pict · 28th April 2013, 23:53

It's an old trick for cheaply getting more negative camber at the front.
Good for better turn in and cornering.

As standard my rears wear out the inside first (because of the negative camber)
The fronts wear on the outside edge very quickly (big heavy car, lots of roundabouts)

This "trick" would help reduce understeer. (mattmartindrift)
Would slightly reduce outer edge wear on fronts also?

nightkrawler · 29th April 2013, 00:54

i did this to get more positive camber as with the lowering springs in the front it was out of spec, too negative. if you want to do this to get more negative camber then you have to ream out the holes in the opposite direction.

POOFY · 29th April 2013, 03:47

I understand the why's (I do drive an M5, lol), I'm wondering if there could be some negative effects to making the holes bigger, structural integrity and all. Another way to put it is why doesn't everyone do this? Seems like a great idea to me.

nightkrawler · 1st May 2013, 03:17

you would probably have to make the holes the size of a half dollar to weak the strut tower, reaming them out a bit like this will cause no problem. why more people dont do this i dont know.

nightkrawler · 16th May 2013, 23:50

did another alignment a week or so ago. now i got the front camber exactly where it should be, -.33' left and -.34' right, which translates to about -0.50 degrees.