Align Time

So I had my appointment setup for Monday to get my tires and an alignment. The call was made with Shelly at Bolton James to order in a set of Hankook Ventrus V12s. Now I just had to wait for Monday. I took the time off for another reason but, things worked out nicely being able to have Friday and Monday available for the car stuff.

Over the weekend I had some conversation with my buddy Eric about the front end stuff. He suggested I look into the toe settings that the factory specifies for the E36. For his E46 the toe was rather aggressive from the factory. I thought about this for a while. All I could come up with was that BMW wanted the front end to slide before the rear due to safety concerns. You know, for all the Moms making high speed maneuvers on the high way to get their kids to soccer practice.

Bimmerforums - The Definitive Alignment Guide for your E36 M3
Bimmer Haus Alignment Guide

Monday rolls in, I drop off the car. I wanted to talk to the alignment tech handling the car. His name was Barry. Nice older gentleman. I asked him about setting the toe at 0 degrees for me. He looks at me funny and says: "What does that mean, an 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch."

I'm looking stupid at this point because, I have no idea. Not my job! You figure out the conversion between fractions and degrees. Haha. I began to explain the story of the toe in situation. I also explained that I have no idea about anything on this car because I just bought it used. I took a quick look at the front end but, I didn't spend any good time under there taking anything apart. Barry asked if I had an appointment for this because they were very full already. I explained that I did. He didn't leave me feeling too confident at this point. He said ok and we shook hands.

Not but an hour or so later I get a phone call from Barry. He tells me that the front passenger side strut is leaking fluid, the ball joint is tore up, and the strut mount was torn. Bummer. He told me that the rear end looked real good. He did a 4 wheel alignment but, he couldn't guarantee the front would stay because of the bad passenger side stuff so, he was only charging me for a two wheel. Once I get the front suspension fixed up to come back in for a two wheel alignment only. He also said that he saw what I meant by the toe settings on the front and was able to adjust that out.

Talk about going from uncertainty, to clarity. That's why I appreciate Bolton James and the work they do. I made my check list for the next steps. I asked if it would be alright to drive it until I can get everything fixed up. Barry said he wasn't concerned about anything safety wise but, that I needed to get that Strut taken care of. Yes sir, will do.

 

We went to pick her up. There she was parked out front. I ran in, took care of my dues to them, they handed me the key, and I was out of there. I love the smell of fresh tires in the morning. No skids, just freshly mounted rubber. The Hankook's looked pretty. A nice new set of shoes. So, the moment of truth: How did she feel now? I started her up. A nice hum. Then, it was time for a short trip.

Exiting the parking lot the car already felt completely different. No terrible pull to the right. No flop, flop from the front. Just a nice composed drive forward.  I took the car on a short run through a local back road. Even with the floppy suspension out front the car felt wonderful. I can only imagine how much better it will be once I put some real struts and shocks on this thing. Not bad, not bad at all. Another step towards getting her back together properly. Next up, a good cleaning.