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[Notscott]

I have had my 08 M3 coupe to the dealer twice now to correct a slight pull to the right. After the failed second attempt, I took it to another shop today.

The before readings are the last settings the BMW dealer did to correct the pull. It didn't work. The after settings are what the other shop did today.

The car no longer pulls to the right but is that right rear camber OK? The tech told me that he could not adjust the toe and camber independently so he sacrificed some camber. I thought E92s had independent adjustment of both rear camber and toe?

[rzm3]

The right rear camber is way off. Take a look at the spec below.

And WTF is up with the original alignment... all the reds indicate out of spec!

My suggestion would be to check your tires. Sometimes uneven wear creates pull as well.

Not sure about the independent adjustment... but I've never had problems with alignment... even with aftermarket springs (H&R and Dinan)

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by Notscott

The car no longer pulls to the right but is that right rear camber OK? The tech told me that he could not adjust the toe and camber independently so he sacrificed some camber. I thought E92s had independent adjustment of both rear camber and toe?

I can't say for sure..but on some cars the rear suspension adjustment is such that as you pull the front of the tyre out (to reduce the toe in) it also reduces the negative camber.
Have you hit your right rear wheel/tyre on a kerb or a bad pothole? It may be that something is slightly bent making it hard to get the rear suspension into spec.

[Notscott]

The before alignment was done at my BMW dealer, as read on the second shop's equipment.

The tires are brand new.

What SFP said is basically what the tech told me. I asked if there were bent or broken components and he said no.

Does anyone have a picture or diagram of the rear end that shows independent adjustment points for camber and toe? I also read somewhere that one of the adjustments requires a special wrench. I am thinking either the tech didn't have the wrench, wasn't familiar with the rear or was just lazy.

I wonder how the alignments on the AMG, 911 Turbo and the two Ferraris I saw there went?

[SenorFunkyPants]

That first set of readings is after a BMW alignment? You would have though it would be a bit closer to spec than it is. ..the toe is all over the place so no wonder it wouldn't drive in a straight line.
Anyway I would try having the car redone at yet another shop...is there not a specialised BMW indy shop in your area?
In terms of the way the car drives it is more important to have the rear toe'd in equally and within spec than to have the negative camber equal left to right but ideally you do need to sort out that rear camber as well to equalise tyre wear if nothing else.

[tailgate1234]

I've had a right pull on my 2008 E90 M3 since new, plus steering wheel vibration at 80+mph. Alignment and balancing, and then new tires/wheels didn't correct it. Switching tires from left to right did correct it for a time but pulls right again. Dealer and 2 independents verified the problem but say the suspension components and alignment are fine. I've pretty much learned to live with it, unhappily.

[SenorFunkyPants]

I had a problem with a 2WD 911 turbo pulling left...in the end I reset all the front and rear suspension by hand in my garage using an old Dunlop alignment gauge and a hand camber gauge. As part of the process, I adjusted the corner weights by trial and error until the ride height was about right but more importantly that it drove in a straight line (later checked to be spot on with me seated in the car)...I don't know how sensitive the E9x M3 is to corner weight adjustment but it may be worth getting it checked.
You can also sometimes eliminate steering wheel vibration by having the front wheels balanced on the car rather than off the car.

Edit: Less likely but another thing to check, I had the same problem with my next car pulling to the left as well...the garage I bought it from put it on their alignment machine and it was spot on...it took ages to finally figure out that the when it had been aligned the previous time they hadn't centered the power steering rack so although everything looked perfect the rack was always trying to center itself causing a slight pull to the left.

[Notscott]

I found an alignment specialist who knows what he is doing. He let me watch the whole process. It turns out that he needed an assistant to keep the wheel in place while he tightened the camber nut. It is now perfect -1.7 on both sides, drives straight and even feels better than new. Oh yeah, he only charged me $79.

I am done with my dealer for all but warranty repairs.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Excellent...glad you got it sorted. Sometimes you never realise how nice a car can drive until its aligned spot on.