[Drivaar]

My car isn't holding alignments (has to be realigned each month or so!) and doesn't feel fully planted when driving, especially when accelerating.

I took a look, and found that one wheel has a different ride height from the other 3 by 0.25". Dealership tells me that is "within spec", but that seems HIGHLY unlikely to me, especially considering that the other three are identical as far as I can see.

Can anyone point me to documentation to prove that there is no way that is "within spec"?

Adding to the case is the fact that this dealership did work on the car previously, and I would bet that's where the problem was introuduced. (I have a documented history of them repeatedly making mistakes in the repair, unfortunately.)

Also, I'm pretty sure alignment cannot be a factor there, since alignment will not move the ride height THAT much unless a wheel is SEVERELY out of alignment.

Grateful for any advice!

[francisomar]

If it's on the driver's side front it should be ok, they desing it to achieve the right height when loades with passengers or driver, that's coming from the tech's at the dealer i go, also can do a search and will find it, at least that's how it is for e92 with zsp

[Drivaar]

Nope... other cars are identical all around.

[subieworx]

It would be weird that the car would have identical ride heights on all corners. I have never measured a car that was.

.25" really isn't bad. What part of the alignment are you having problems holding consistent?

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Drivaar

Nope... other cars are identical all around.

That's not possible. Every car's rear ride height is dynamic. Depending on how full the gas tank is there's easily 50-60 lbs of weight difference from side to side. I'd be more worried if the ride-height is the same left to right on ANY car.

[EvanL]

I assume that you're referring to the gap between the fender and the wheel, correct? If the wheel is riding 1/4" above the other wheels (i.e. off the ground), you have a much more serious problem than your alignment.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't consider a quarter inch difference between wheel-to-fender gap to be indicative of the root problem. The body and fenders of the car have a lot of freedom of movement relative to the chassis, and should never be used as a reference datum for chassis alignment.

It would be helpful to diagnose the problem if you followed subieworx's advice and told us what part of your alignment (and which wheel) isn't holding. More background information is needed here.

-Evan

Originally Posted by Drivaar

My car isn't holding alignments (has to be realigned each month or so!) and doesn't feel fully planted when driving, especially when accelerating.

I took a look, and found that one wheel has a different ride height from the other 3 by 0.25". Dealership tells me that is "within spec", but that seems HIGHLY unlikely to me, especially considering that the other three are identical as far as I can see.

Can anyone point me to documentation to prove that there is no way that is "within spec"?

Adding to the case is the fact that this dealership did work on the car previously, and I would bet that's where the problem was introuduced. (I have a documented history of them repeatedly making mistakes in the repair, unfortunately.)

Also, I'm pretty sure alignment cannot be a factor there, since alignment will not move the ride height THAT much unless a wheel is SEVERELY out of alignment.

Grateful for any advice!

[Express]

he failed to mention that he wrecked the car. probably has something to do with it.

[Drivaar]

express705: I wouldn't say "wrecked"! I did mention in the original post that it was repaired at a dealer. Let me just say it was a severe jetlag-induced issue that was pretty hard to avoid, unfortunately for me.

EvanL: Yes, thank you for the helpful response!

In response to you and subieworx: the issue is that various things are out of alignment each time. I wish it was consistent. Often multiple items in multiple locations.

So, it could very well be two independent problems.

My worry with the ride height specifically is that that rear-left corner does creak sometimes when parked on an incline... and the dealer did work there... and that dealer took many tries to get the original repair right...

Is there a way to tell if there is a defect in a shock?

Also, does anyone know the standard distance (for sedan sport suspension) from the ground to the middle of the fender arch?

Thanks!

[Express]

thats not a shock defect. i haven't followed your threads, but is this problem in the front or back?

[Drivaar]

experss705: it's in the left-rear.

(The original damage was to the right-rear. When the original repair was done, the dealer incorrectly put in a non-sport shock along with the other suspension parts. Later, when I finally figured out why the car was handling strangely, we replaced BOTH rear shocks so their wear would match.)

One other question: what parts are different between the sport and non-sport suspensions? Given that they made the mistake of putting in the wrong shock, I want to make sure everything else is right.

They say they've looked and all is fine. But multiple dealerships said all was fine even when the wrong shock was in. (And multiple shop foremen drove the car and couldn't tell something was off.) Altogether, the whole experience has shown a lot of incapability by dealers, but that is a story for another thread.

[EvanL]

WRT the creak, I would have to agree with express705 and say that probably isn't the shock. Is the creak heard predominantly from the inside or the outside of the car? There really are quite a few variables here, and it could be anything from a suspension or subframe (carrier) bushing to the e-brake to one of the interior panel clips.

I assume it is your dealership that is doing the alignments for you? You mention that they said the delta-h in the ride height is within spec., but did not elaborate on who is doing the work.

Also, how do you know that the alignment does not hold after ~1 month? Is it something you can feel with the car, or are you acting on suspicion and having it checked? If it's the latter and you're having it aligned at an in-and-out shop, it's worth mentioning that it is quite easy to 'fudge' with laser machines (or any alignment system) to get them to read what you want without actually getting the car straightened out.

One thing that might be helpful is to have [whoever is doing your alignments] straighten (align) the car, then take it for a drive around the block, re-rack it and check it immediately. This way, the suspension will have settled, and you'll get a more consistent measurement. I cannot stress enough the fact that alignments take time and patience to get right. If your alignment service is just tweaking it a bit without re-settling the suspension or tires, you'll never get a consistent measurement.

-Evan

By the by, you'll be much better off measuring the ride height by measuring the distance from the ground to the bottom of the chassis just inside of the rocker panel as close to each wheel as possible (just behind the rear jack point and just in front of the front jack point). Also, make sure you're on a LEVEL surface when you take your measurements.

Originally Posted by Drivaar

express705: I wouldn't say "wrecked"! I did mention in the original post that it was repaired at a dealer. Let me just say it was a severe jetlag-induced issue that was pretty hard to avoid, unfortunately for me.

EvanL: Yes, thank you for the helpful response!

In response to you and subieworx: the issue is that various things are out of alignment each time. I wish it was consistent. Often multiple items in multiple locations.

So, it could very well be two independent problems.

My worry with the ride height specifically is that that rear-left corner does creak sometimes when parked on an incline... and the dealer did work there... and that dealer took many tries to get the original repair right...

Is there a way to tell if there is a defect in a shock?

Also, does anyone know the standard distance (for sedan sport suspension) from the ground to the middle of the fender arch?

Thanks!

[Drivaar]

EvanL: Thank you so much - great points!

To answer your questions:

- I have gotten alignment at the dealership before, and at indy shops, but they were inconsistent too. Right now I go to Firestone because they have free lifetime alignments. Important note: each time, after the alignment, the car feels great for a while.

- Didn't list the specific dealership because I don't think that's necessary. One of the issues, though, is that once a car is fixed at a dealership, all parties generally want you going back there...

Great advice on all other fronts, thanks. Not sure where to go from here though...

Thanks!

[ajsalida]

Sounds like something broken or bent, or the dealer forgot or mis-installed something. I have done dumbass things myself like install rear shock mount & washers in the wrong order, something felt funny and then the top of the shock popped up into the truck (duh).

Also various bushings can get ripped, subframe mounts torn off, sway bar links broken, sway bars bent. I even had a two front coil srpings break once (shitty non-OEM springs had rusted through believe it or not, and broke going over a parking lot bump). It felt "funny" afterwards til I looked at it on jacks. e36 cars used to rip sway bar mounts right out of the trunk/subframe area when driven hard.

Lotta stuff to check but this dealer sounds not competent enough to do it. I'd dig up a BMW tuner/race shop and have them look it over, then go back to the dealer with a list of things they need to pay for.

[Express]

i have something i want you to check.. i will PM you and explain.

[Drivaar]

ajsalida: yup, sounds like what needs to happen... painful to keep finding good shops, etc... not to mention the time it takes, but I will try a little more...

[ajsalida]

It could also be something as simple as a part is loose or not torqued down properly. If the alignment is changing something that shouldn't move is moving, so that is a safety issue and needs to be looked into ASAP.

Ex: I got a new (to me) dirtbike recently, was up in the hills miles from nowhere playing with it last weekend. Chain seemed to start to slap a bit on braking so decided to adjust it when I got home. When I did it turns out the PO had not torqued the rear axle nut down. Maybe 10 lbs holding it in place (should be 91 ft lbs). So the axle was moving around as I backed off throttle. Could have ended so badly. Fortunately was not getting to crazy riding wise and paid attention to things not feeling right.