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      04-20-2015, 10:17 AM   #1
SYT_Shadow
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Top hat swap and no incremental camber?

I was looking for additional camber for the Z4MC without resorting to camber plates.

What I attempted was the top hat switch + rotation as seen on the E46 M3.

The top hats of the Z4MC are different than the M3s.

I had a shop change them from one side to the other, with the original 'forward' arrow pointing to the opposite side's front light.
After the switch I get the car aligned and front camber is still at -1.4 degrees.

My front caster is at 5.2 on one side and 6 on the other. Does this mean they screwed up the install? I would not be surprised.
When you screw up the install and end up not 'pointing' the top hats correctly you end up screwing caster up.

This doesn't make any sense. Please help!

Last edited by SYT_Shadow; 04-20-2015 at 10:27 AM..
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      04-20-2015, 10:58 AM   #2
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ETK diagrams aren't usually the best indicator, but you can see it here:



Part #1 is the E46 M3 strut hat. As you can see, the hat itself is eccentric, meaning the center shaft where the strut is installed, and the 3 bolts holding it to the mount, are not equal distance.Therefore when you swap the left hat to the right, you can potentially gain negative camber.

The following is the strut assembly for the MZ4:



The 3 nuts holding the hat, and the center of the shaft is concentric, or equal-distance. Therefore when you swap the hat left to right, it makes zero difference as to camber. As for how your caster got so out of whack, I can't explain that, since the hat is the same PN for left and right on the MZ4.
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      04-20-2015, 11:34 AM   #3
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Damn... I stand corrected. So I've just wasted a lot of time
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      04-20-2015, 12:04 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow
Damn... I stand corrected. So I've just wasted a lot of time
Well, yes, some time wasted but there's still an easy and very cheap way to get what you want using camber washers from Turner for about 20 bucks.

See this thread which has links to a lot of info. Post 21 has links to parts and other detailed threads.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14568663
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      04-20-2015, 03:16 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
Well, yes, some time wasted but there's still an easy and very cheap way to get what you want using camber washers from Turner for about 20 bucks.

See this thread which has links to a lot of info. Post 21 has links to parts and other detailed threads.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14568663
Thanks for the link! That should work until I get the KW CS with integrated camber plates

Ughh all along the shop was telling me this wouldn't work, but as this is the first BMW M I've seen with simetrical tops I told them to keep going despite their warnings.

Genius moment but you learn something new every day!
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      04-20-2015, 07:26 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
Well, yes, some time wasted but there's still an easy and very cheap way to get what you want using camber washers from Turner for about 20 bucks.

See this thread which has links to a lot of info. Post 21 has links to parts and other detailed threads.

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14568663
Thanks for the link! That should work until I get the KW CS with integrated camber plates

Ughh all along the shop was telling me this wouldn't work, but as this is the first BMW M I've seen with simetrical tops I told them to keep going despite their warnings.

Genius moment but you learn something new every day!
Meh, it's an odd car in many ways. E36 M3 front end and more or less and E46 M3 rear end.

Feel free to ask questions. We'll point you in the right direction. I'd say the combined knowledge on this forum is one of the best resources out there for this car.
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      04-21-2015, 08:33 PM   #7
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Bimmerworld has a camber shim kit also.

http://store.bimmerworld.com/e36-fro...-kit-p610.aspx
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      04-22-2015, 05:51 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
Meh, it's an odd car in many ways. E36 M3 front end and more or less and E46 M3 rear end.

Feel free to ask questions. We'll point you in the right direction. I'd say the combined knowledge on this forum is one of the best resources out there for this car.
Yes, I appreciate all the help!
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      04-24-2015, 01:02 PM   #9
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how much did the castor change? If caster increased, then the mounts moved the upper strut location toward the rear of the car. If that's the case, then you can probably rotate the mounts so that the offset is toward the center of the engine bay, instead of toward the rear.

do you have a photo?
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