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| Stock Bolt (Notice Shoulder) | Camber Bolt (No Shoulder - Threads The Whole Length) |
This is no longer how my car is setup, but I wanted to leave this here for reference. Click here to see the current setup for adjusting camber: KMAC Camber Plates.
Understeer still dominates the ///M Roadsters handling attitude even with the Stage 2 setup. The only way to turn the ///M into a neutral handler is to get more negative camber for the front wheels. The best way to do that is through camber plates (aka upper strut bearings). While there are adjustable camber kits and camber plates you can buy from Dinan, you can get a great camber setup by merely swapping the stock camber plates (sometimes called upper strut bearings) from side to side. Take the left plate and mount it on the right side, and take the right plate and mount it on the right side. If you do this when the shocks/springs are removed it is a 30 minute job. If you don't do it then it is a two hour job later. I wish somebody told me that before I did my Stage 1 install! NOTE: This mod only works on e36 M3, M Coupe and M Roadster. Standard e36 models need to purchase the M upper strut bearings which will work fine on the standard cars.
In order to add additional negative camber quickly I used a BMW part (add number) known as a crash bolt. Crash bolts were designed to adjust camber on cars that have some sort of alignment problem usually caused by a crash. The camber bolts typically yield plus or minus .5 degrees of camber and on my car resulted in a total front camber setup of -1.5 degrees. The downside to cambers bolts is that they are somewhat of a kludge. It is possible for the bolts to slip which would result in camber changes while you drive - UGLY! So that is what I run for now, but I will be swapping my camber plates when I have a chance. Here is a good reference on camber bolts: Camber Bolts.
Below you will find a picture of the front strut in the e36. The camber bolt is the part labeled "5" in this picture. The way it works is that the stock retainer bolt from BMW has a shoulder that fills the entire hole. The camber bolt does not have this shoulder, and as such it can allow for play. By allowing some "wiggle room", you can add or subtract camber and then tighten the bolt down so that it holds the camber.
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| The Camber Bolt Is Part "5" In This Drawing. | ||||
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