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New Product: Vorshlag camber plates for BMW 1M/M3 with OEM springs

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  • New Product: Vorshlag camber plates for BMW 1M/M3 with OEM springs

    New Product! - This new camber plate + spring perch solution is past the prototype stage and into pre-production testing. We will post here when these are available for sale to the public.



    The E92 M3 and the BMW 1M are the performance versions of the 1 series and 3 series chassis, and both come with great engines and decent tire improvements over their non-M cousins. These cars have more aggressive suspension settings, but still are severely "camber limited" in the front suspension. This can and does lead to premature front tire wear and understeer when these cars are driven hard, either on a road course or at an autocross. As with any other McPherson front strut equipped car, these 1M and M3 cars benefit greatly from adjustable camber-caster plates, and should be the first "mod" done to these cars if they are driven on track or through cones in anger.



    Both the E90/92 3 series and E82 1 series M cars utilize essentially the same suspension components, including a unique aluminum front strut housing and very compact upper strut mount. This strut mount is different than most other BMW units we've made camber plates for in the past, with a very compact "stack up height", having an integral spring perch / radial bearing built into the rubber strut top mount. See the exploded picture below of this unique M part. The height of this factory strut mount and the unique spring diameter these cars utilize made for some new challenges when it came to designing a new Vorshlag camber plate for the factory strut/spring set-up.



    The trick with this installation, like all we tackle here it Vorshlag, is to have the new Vorshlag upper spring perch assembly we substitute for the OEM unit to have the same smooth turning, sealed from the elements, double row radial bearing assembly that goes into all Vorshlag designs. This unique perch design, along with the monster 3/4" ID spherical bearing we use in all of our top mounts, is what keeps our camber plates quiet and trouble free for years of street or track abuse.



    Since drivers that are utilizing the OEM springs (or lowering springs that utilize the same OEM upper spring perch/mount) do not want to raise or lower their cars, we have to make sure that the total stack up height of our new Vorshlag camber plate + upper spring perch assembly is within 0-1mm of the stock height. When we make a coilover spring perch set-up, we always try to minimize stack-up height which (when the lower coilover perch is adjusted upwards to compensate) allows for more bump travel. We've put our super popular Vorshlag E82/90 camber plates on dozens of 1Ms and E92 M3s that were utilizing coilover shocks, including cars with AST 4200s, 4100s and 5100s that we have installed here at Vorshlag.



    An AST coilover kit is a good chunk of change and not every 1M driver is going to make that commitment, but there are a LOT of these cars showing up at race tracks. And when they track their cars on bone stock suspension, they shred the front tires. There were not any adequate options out there and we had many 1M customers asking and even begging Vorshlag to make a camber plate + OEM spring perch solution for these cars. So we dove in, and with 3 engineers working on it we came up with a design that stacked up, worked with the OEM spring, and still utilized our radial bearing.



    This new design uses our existing E90/E82/E36 camber/caster plate, but with a unique upper spring perch. This new Vorshlag perch is thin and compact, to match the factory strut mount, and has the same external dimensions - so it can re-use the factory spring isolator. It is thick in certain areas, to accept our beefy, sealed, double-row radial bearing assembly. It starts as a big chunk of billet aluminum and costs more than most of our BMW upper perches - but that's what it takes to match the spring diameter and stack-up of the OEM E92 M3/E82 1M top mount.



    The final result is the perfect dimension and when assembled onto the stock struts it matches the same stack-up and installed height of the OEM spring/strut/top mount components. It also can articulate fully without interference between the camber plate and upper perch, unlike some other designs out there.



    I will post again below showing the installation steps, additional details, and the first pre-production tester's 1M that has been using these for a week without issue.
    Last edited by Faerus; 07-12-2012, 04:52 PM.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

  • #2
    Re: New Product: Vorshlag camber plates for BMW 1M/M3 with OEM springs

    Making the camber plate + spring perch work in the 1M and M3, we had to juggle a lot of variables, make several custom parts, and think outside the box, but in the end the finished assembly turned out exactly as we had expected. Just to make the camber plate + perch stack-up height match the factory assembly, we had to use our thicker E90 non-M top pointer ring (.250") than what we use on the E36 or E46 camber plates (.100"). This made the ride height exactly the same as stock.



    One of the pieces that go into each Vorshlag camber plate / perch assembly is called the "lower spool piece". These adapter bushings are machined to precisely match the upper strut stem profile of whatever strut model the plates are going onto and they have an outer diameter that is a press fit into the radial bearing. Since we have seen 50+ variations in strut stem profiles from OEM and aftermarket struts over the years, we make dozens of these lower adapters (as well as various upper bushings and even custom strut top nuts). Of course the OEM strut for the BMW 1M and M3 has a new profile we had not seen used on anything else. Luckily it was close to the another BMW's OEM stem profile, and after a little time in the lathe I managed to make the perfect adapter for these newer BMWs. We will make a new drawing based off of this prototype part and start stocking these for use on OEM 1M and E92 M3s.



    The height of that lower spool sets the height of the spring perch relative to the strut shaft, and this set-up worked out to allow for plenty of exposed thread above the camber plate's spherical bearing when installed. This meant instead of using one of our custom long reach strut top nuts at the top - like we have to do on the non-M versions of the E90 3 series / E82 1 series, we could use a normal upper spool adapter and the factory top nut. Of course we recommend a new nylock nut when replacing the strut tops with camber plates, and we stock and sell all of the various nylock nuts here. This particular car uses an M14-1.5 thread pitch, so we installed two new nylock nuts with the camber plates.

    Step By Step Instructions

    So enough with the technical bits - now we'll cover the installation steps for these camber plates and perches, which are unique to the 1M and E9x M3. Our Pre-Production tester is Mark Williams, president of the Lone Star chapter of the BMWCCA (North Texas), who is a track and autocross junkie. He picked up his 1M in Germany and drove it around Europe before having it shipped stateside, so those euro plates are legit. Mark has tracked this car on numerous road courses already, but with the stock alignment restrictions it destroys front tires in short order. He has been bugging us to make this camber plate + OEM perch solution since last year, so we asked him to be the tester.




    First up get the car into the air and remove the front wheels. Having a lift and air tools is extremely helpful, but it can be done without a lift. We checked the ride height and camber + toe settings beforehand; the camber was maxed out in the factory slots at -1.7° up front. That's not nearly enough, as shown by the chunked front tires.



    Put a jack or other restraint under the lower control arms. Disconnect the swaybar end links, the headlight leveling rod (driver's side), and loosen the strut to spindle clamping bolt. Then remove the three strut top nuts in the engine bay. With the strut loose in the spindle, have a buddy press down on the lower control arm while you pull the lower part of the strut out of the spindle (this is the only two man part of the job).



    With the strut assembly out of the car, place it into a strut compressor and compress the front spring. Once spring tension is removed from the factory top mount, buzz the strut top nut off of the shaft with an impact gun. You won't get this off with hand tools, as the shaft will simply spin inside the strut housing. A big enough electric impact might work, but an air impact works best. Pulse the top nut and it will come loose (only 50-75 ft lbs is holding it on).



    Peel the stock spring isolator off of the stock top mount and slide it onto the new Vorshlag upper spring perch. With the spring still compressed, slide the new Vorshlag perch + isolator over the strut shaft, then place the camber plate on top of the Vorshlag spring perch, making sure the lower spool piece mates properly to the spherical bearing. Take the upper spool piece and slide it over the shaft, it should fit snugly between the strut shaft and the inside of spherical bearing in the camber plate. If you are replacing the stock top nut, thread this by hand onto the strut shaft threads, otherwise re-use the factory top nut.



    Add a drop of blue loctite to the exposed threads on the upper stem, under the nut, for a little added insurance (optional). Make sure the spring is aligned properly top and bottom on the strut, then tighten the strut top nut using an air impact gun. You won't get it even remotely tight enough with hand tools. No, not even you. If you try to hold the strut shaft then turn the nut with a wrench you will maul the shaft wherever you are holding it. Pulsing the nut with the impact gun will keep the shaft from spinning and allow the nut to turn relative to the shaft. Once the nut bottoms out, the pitch of the gun will change - you're done. Don't keep hammering the nut.

    It doesn't take a huge amount of force, but it does take an impact to get this tight enough. Number one cause of "noise" from a camber plate install = loose top nut. Drive around long enough with the top nut loose and you will damage the spherical bearing. Number one cause of spherical bearing damage with our plates = driving around for weeks with a loose top nut. It's so easy to do it right.



    With the top nut secured you should see some threads above the nylon locking ring of the strut top nut. If the nylon ring is not engaging threads, it is still loose - or something isn't seated right on the camber plate. It should look like the pictures above. You can see the OEM top mount next to the Vorshlag camber plate - notice the relative movement of the top of the strut inside the slots of the camber plate. That plus the slots in the strut tower is what is moving the top of the strut inboard, which moves the wheel inboard, which is the negative camber your car needs.



    Once the top nut is tightened, you can release the tension from the compressed spring and remove the strut assembly out of the spring compressor. Now slide the top of the strut under the fender lip, and get your helper to push down on the lower control arm/spindle again - now the bottom of the strut should slide into the spindle clamp. Once the strut assembly is in place, you can rotate the camber plate to the proper orientation (it is clearly marked) and line up the three studs into the matching holes in the strut tower. Once that is lined up, install the OEM, long reach strut tower nuts onto the Vorshlag camber plate's three mounting studs. These OEM nuts are specific to the thick strut tower brace used on the E9x M3 and E82 1M.



    Once the three mounting nuts are tight (17 ft-lbs is all it takes), then push the struts fully into the spindle clamp, tighten that bolt, and reassemble the end links and headlight alignment arm. Make sure to tighten everything to the factory specs! Then align the camber to your preferred setting - we found that these plates allowed -2.8° max negative camber and -1.3° minimum, and Mark went with -2.5° as a good track/street setting. We set the front toe to zero, verified that the ride height was the same as before (it was), then went for a test drive.



    The test route we use purposely goes over some nasty sections of road, to test for bump compliance, ride, and to listen for noises. The test drive was perfect - the 1M was dead silent, soaked up bumps perfectly, and tracked straight as an arrow. The turn-in and slalom feel were much improved, of course. We double checked that the bolt heads from the bolt ring did not contact the top side of the spring perches, which they do not.

    Now Mark can drive his 1M around town, carve cones, or haul ass around a road course without destroying the front tires. Also, he shouldn't be fighting the death plow that most OEM cars are set-up to have, ie: "understeer for safety".



    So these have been on the car for a week and he loves the new set-up. We will have Mark bring the car back to our shop for another inspection in one more week, after which we should release the new 1M/E9x M3 plate and perch assembly for sale. The production batch of new 1M/M3 OEM upper perches will be ready in about 2-3 weeks.

    Thanks,
    Last edited by Faerus; 07-12-2012, 05:37 PM.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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    • #3
      Re: New Product: Vorshlag camber plates for BMW 1M/M3 with OEM springs

      If you are tracking your BMW E9x M3 or E82 1M on the stock suspension or even with a KW V3 set-up using the stock top mounts, you are most likely tearing up the outside edge of the front tires at an alarming rate. Many of you have been patiently waiting for us to complete our Vorshlag camber plate + OEM upper spring perch solution for this chassis. Well good news! The prototype testing is over and a production run of the billet aluminum spring perches has finally been machined and anodized. You can order a set of these plates and perches right from our website today.



      After a few months of street and track testing on a 1M, then our inspection and feedback, we made a small design tweak to the production version of our E9x M3/E82 1M OEM spring perches. Using these components on a stock ride height 1M, we were able to see a maximum of -2.8° front camber on our tester's car - with a lower ride height the maximum negative camber number only gets better. This car has a -2.5° camber setting, for dual purpose street & track setting without having to make any changes.



      We released the final pricing at $529, and have already sold 10 sets in the first 24 hours. This is the most expensive (to make) OEM perch we have produced to date. It starts out as a big chunk of billet aluminum that is 100% CNC machined on every surface, anodized, then our bearings and spool adapters are pressed into place. Every set is custom built to order and everything is made in the USA. Not only do they look stunning, but they work great as well.



      Our E9x M3/E82 1M OEM perch + camber plate design is unique in several ways. First, our perch is made to re-use the OEM rubber spring isolator (with minor trimming for best fitment), which you can peel off of the OEM top mount. This slips snugly over the Vorshlag upper spring perch, so there is no perch to spring metal-to-metal contact. Next, this new perch + camber plate assembly keeps the same stack-up and front ride height as the OEM top mount, so it won't raise or lower your car. Last and most importantly, the camber plate can articulate fully along the spherical without any rubbing, banging or clanging - nothing but silent use over a long life. We get that long life from our camber plate designs by always using our unique, sealed, double row radial bearing pressed into the upper perch and our giant spherical bearing in the camber plate - both of which are unique parts to the Vorshlag design.



      So far we have the data and perch component set-up for the E82 1M factory strut and the KW V3 strut for the 1M and E9x M3, which also uses our OEM style upper spring perch. As soon as we confirm the strut pin measurements for the E9x M3 OEM EDC and non-EDC struts, we will add that as an option to our website. Anyone with this car/strut can contact us for instructions on the measurements we need. If any of this sounds like the camber plate solution you need, it is available today from Vorshlag.

      Thanks,
      Last edited by Fair!; 09-26-2012, 12:26 PM.
      Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
      2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
      EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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