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Another Hunter alignment setup

Specific discussion about the E89 2009 Z4 (sDrive35is, sDrive35i, sDrive30i, sDrive23i)
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StanM
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by StanM » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:10 pm

I've had a Hunter alignment done at Pro Tyre in Enfield last month after replacing a nearside steering rack gaiter which had perished and I've noticed that they used the standard suspension setup and when I've told them this is an M Sport suspension the guy checked the database and said there is not much difference between the two and as I didn't know much about the car geometry I agreed to leave it like this.
Since yesterday though after reading the other Hunter alignment post I am now thinking should I go somewhere else to correct it. I've been to A&S Tyres in South Woodford to do my A3 and they seemed as it drives straight now :D

I've also found this link http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg3.html and now have a little bit better understanding of the whole car geometry concept ...or I think I have :D so but would still appreciate advise from you guys as I see there a few on here who seems to know this stuff well and can explain it well.

I am looking to get more grip as the car doesn't feel as planted as my old E85. This was the reason why I went for wider profile tyres 235/35R19 front and 265/30R19 rear but this didn't seemed to help much.

I see from the printout that the rear camber is still out from the recommended values but is this good or bad and what should I do with the other settings.
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IMG_0927.JPG (147.18 KiB) Viewed 900 times
These are the two geometry setups
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IMG_0925.JPG (182.2 KiB) Viewed 900 times
IMG_0926.JPG
IMG_0926.JPG (176.22 KiB) Viewed 900 times
2011 E89 sDrive23i M Sport Highline Edition, Alpine White, Coral Red Leather, 326M, Stubby

2004 E85 2.5i
2001 E46 320Ci
2000 E36/7 2.0i

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hopz121
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:14 pm

where do you live OP?

Its an ok alignment but not the best, I don't understand why these places don't math the sides evenly like they should.

The one I use is brilliant and only £50 and have always been spot on.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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StanM
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by StanM » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:55 pm

Loughton but happy to travel around London or further out if you know of a place whet they actually understand what they do.
2011 E89 sDrive23i M Sport Highline Edition, Alpine White, Coral Red Leather, 326M, Stubby

2004 E85 2.5i
2001 E46 320Ci
2000 E36/7 2.0i

brillomaster
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by brillomaster » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:58 pm

I could be wrong about these cars, but I wouldn't be taking it back for a camber correction of 0.1 degrees, given everything else is identical. the camber will change that much just by having a passenger in the car or not.
And that said, the front camber is actually closer to the m sport camber setting anyways!

the rear toe angle will make a far bigger difference to how the car feels - the rear wasn't going in a straight line, and the rear right was actually toeing out, which is strongly advised against for how unstable it makes a car feel. A little toe out on the front can be ok if you want a super responsive darty car, but rears should always have a decent amount of toe in.

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hopz121
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:58 pm

2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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StanM
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by StanM » Wed Aug 30, 2017 2:46 pm

What should I ask them to change or go with what they suggest
2011 E89 sDrive23i M Sport Highline Edition, Alpine White, Coral Red Leather, 326M, Stubby

2004 E85 2.5i
2001 E46 320Ci
2000 E36/7 2.0i

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benv6
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Location: Berkshire

Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by benv6 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:01 pm

I wouldn't really bother with Hounslow Tyres tbh even though they are cheap, they couldn't set up my e85 2 years ago and they came up with all kind of c**p on why they couldn't. (Few other garages couldn't).

http://www.thetyreshopwitham.co.uk/ are very professional and they do know what they are doing, they were a bit far but highly recommended in different threads (in this website) ... If I remember correctly they were £60+Vat ...
I wasn't disappointed as they really knew what they were doing, was well worth the trip for me.

In the end the car needed tracking but what it really needed at the time was to ditch the RFTs as they were horrible/dangerous on the e85s
Now: BMW 335D Touring
Previous: 435D Coupe, BMW Z4 E89 35i, BMW Z4 E85 2.0, BMW E46 330CI

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StanM
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by StanM » Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:55 pm

Thanks mate, I'll try to collect as much data I can before I go to visit them as it looks like the BMW recommended geometry will eat up the rears quicker and doesn't seem to give you the best you can get out of the chassis handling wise. The garage place doesn't seem far from me plus I will enjoy the drive there and back :driving: :D
2011 E89 sDrive23i M Sport Highline Edition, Alpine White, Coral Red Leather, 326M, Stubby

2004 E85 2.5i
2001 E46 320Ci
2000 E36/7 2.0i

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hopz121
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:15 pm

benv6 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:01 pm I wouldn't really bother with Hounslow Tyres tbh even though they are cheap, they couldn't set up my e85 2 years ago and they came up with all kind of c**p on why they couldn't. (Few other garages couldn't).

http://www.thetyreshopwitham.co.uk/ are very professional and they do know what they are doing, they were a bit far but highly recommended in different threads (in this website) ... If I remember correctly they were £60+Vat ...
I wasn't disappointed as they really knew what they were doing, was well worth the trip for me.

In the end the car needed tracking but what it really needed at the time was to ditch the RFTs as they were horrible/dangerous on the e85s
Couldn't disagree more they have set up my M3 on numerous occasions since January 2016 and they have been great. Exact settings I have asked for have been set and the sides are nice and even too. They really spend time getting it right, even copper greased the treads on my rod ends to stop them
Seizing up!

Couldn't have been more helpful if they had tried I will be going back again soon too when I change my rear tyres.

They have a good rep on many other forums too which is how I heard about them.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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hopz121
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 4:33 pm
Location: Guildford Surrey

Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:17 pm

My experience could have been after yours but they have been great on the 3 occasions I have been there in the last 18 Months.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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benv6
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by benv6 » Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:49 pm

hopz121 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:15 pm
benv6 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:01 pm

Couldn't disagree more

You mean agree ?!! :)
Now: BMW 335D Touring
Previous: 435D Coupe, BMW Z4 E89 35i, BMW Z4 E85 2.0, BMW E46 330CI

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hopz121
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:00 am

benv6 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:49 pm
hopz121 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:15 pm
benv6 wrote: Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:01 pm

Couldn't disagree more

You mean agree ?!! :)
Nope I mean disagree as in I don't agree with your statement .... Everyone has different experiences but just sharing mine to the OP.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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StanM
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Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:16 am

Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by StanM » Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:15 am

Thank you both for sharing your experience with these 2 garages it is much appreciated. I will probably use them both (one with the Z4 and one in with our daily Audi A3 quattro) so will be able to judge for myself. I was hoping more or less to find a place recommended by more of you guys where they don't just try to set it up to whatever the computer tells them but also to use experience so that they can advise what would be the best setup to my driving and preference as I am still new to the whole alignment setup idea.
2011 E89 sDrive23i M Sport Highline Edition, Alpine White, Coral Red Leather, 326M, Stubby

2004 E85 2.5i
2001 E46 320Ci
2000 E36/7 2.0i

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Ducklakeview
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by Ducklakeview » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:02 am

A brief glance says you need MORE camber on the front, ideally as much as you can get, balanced evenly. Pull the camber pins. I'm running about -1.0 and it sharpened up the front end by a massive amount, toe is 0.07 per side, total of 0.14. At the rear I'm on camber -2.0 with a toe of 0.1 per side, total 0.2 which I'll possibly reduce to 0.1 per side once I fit the new rubber.

Yours is still out of spec, but the wrong spec. Mine has M sport suspension btw.

Mike

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hopz121
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Another Hunter alignment setup

Post by hopz121 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:55 pm

StanM wrote: Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:15 am Thank you both for sharing your experience with these 2 garages it is much appreciated. I will probably use them both (one with the Z4 and one in with our daily Audi A3 quattro) so will be able to judge for myself. I was hoping more or less to find a place recommended by more of you guys where they don't just try to set it up to whatever the computer tells them but also to use experience so that they can advise what would be the best setup to my driving and preference as I am still new to the whole alignment setup idea.
Good Luck,

Also heard good things about Iverson Tyre in Chiswick too, not used them but are meant to be ok.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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