545OH

I was looking at my wheels/tires today and realized they look slightly toed inward? Is this norma. I got new wheels put on a few weeks ago and never had even looked at this before so no clue if this is how it has always been.

schulrog

get an alignment

530ISPORT

A PIC will help alot more.. but no it shouldnt be that way...

gvolkov

I noticed that if a vehicle is on the 'elevator' wheels seem to be toed in. Is that normal?

545OH

Sorry guys I actually searched around and did find an older thread discussing this and yes this is normal and all e60 sports have a slight toe in. Go look at the car yourself and you will see it. It is also apparently amplified since the rear fender is slightly angled out, making it appear the wheel is more toed in than it is but nonetheless still toed in slightly is normal.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=10707&hl=toed Also an email from bmw regarding this persons question that answers why they do come toed in slightly. Guess I answered my own question but I had no noticed this in years of owning this car until recently

NobleForums

I like slightly (1/16" or so) toe in for the rear, and slightly toe out for the front.

Rudy

Is it possible that the terms "toe in" and "negative camber" are being confused here?

There have been many threads here regarding the negative camber that the car has by design. I haven't noticed any toe in on my car (although it's possible there's some there) and I don't recall too many others here discussing it.

If, in fact, your car has a noticeable toe in, I'm thinking you need an alignment. If you're really talking about negative camber, then it's likely normal...

sixcard

I find it difficult to imagine a toe-in on the rear wheels.

545OH

I am not confusing negative camber, nor do I know how one would confuse those two terms. They are nothing alike. Go take a look at your bimmer, you will see the slight toe in. I have had 3 sets of tires through the years and none have worn unevenly (except for a michelin a/s that wore in the middles on all 4) but other than that, totally even wear.

The rational is in the email and is two fold. For one it helps create more understeer, which is a safety measure, just like putting fatter tires in the rear. Second at moving speeds, the torque of the wheel/tire turns the wheel slightly outward, therefore while moving a toe in at static conditions is actually straight and pointed forward while moving. Same principle as negative camber. It is negative while static or straight but in turns the negative camber becomes zero camber and maximizes contact patch in the turn. Same principle. Static adjustments to enhance actual driving.

Rudy

I agree with you but take a look here to see that it is, in fact, possible on an internet forum to get the two confused...
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=10707

Here are the alignment specs for both the "normal" suspension and the "sport" suspension:

Normal:
TD_Wheel_alignment___E60___E61_Series.pdf
Sport:
TD_Wheel_alignment___low_slung_sports_suspension.pdf
As you can see, there is some toe in specified but it's not as noticeable to the naked eye as the negative camber in the rear (which is why the negative camber question is raised here fairly often and why many of us assume that's what people are noticing...)