[newoldbeemer]

I bought this car CPO last month. I can't believe I didn't notice this before. looks like the wheel well on one side in the rear is significantly different than the other side.

I suspected it might be road crown / incline, so I turned the car around. nope, still the same.

attaching pics.

[newoldbeemer]

Ok how do I attach pics from mobile

[drewnel22]

Upload to photobucket or imgur and paste the links with the [IMG] and [/IMG] tags around them and they should show up automatically.

[newoldbeemer]

Sorry I couldn't post pics earlier.

I am quite confused. I parked my car at work today, one side rear wheel showed much more gap than the other side. Then I turned the car around (reverse parked it), still the same side showed more gap. So it can't be the road incline, right?

But then when I came back home and parked it in the garage, both sides are equal. I took it out and parked it in a few more places, both sides seem to be equal. What's happening??

Right side:


Left side:



Turn around car and reverse park in the same spot.

Right side:


Left side:


So it seems either way I park my car, the right side has more gap than the left side. How is that possible??

But when I come home:

Right side:


Left side:


This is driving me nuts

[Hankdoll]

You're probably parking on uneven ground. BMWs typically sit a hair higher on the driver side to compensate for the driver's weight.

[vapore0n]

Go under the car and see if the springs are the same.
The lowered side looks just like my car, which has eibach springs.
The non lowered side looks like OEM Xdrive springs.

[Socket]

Could it have something to do with the storm water drain?
The gap in your pics is biggest on the side next to the storm water drain but disappears when you park away from it..
Just a theory

[BavarianMWfan]

BMW suspensions are very sensitive to ground levels so seems like ground levels are unequal.

[07chupacabra]

Mine does the same thing, I'm on KW V3s. I thought it was due to uneven ground. Glad you made this thread though, maybe we'll figure out what it is.

[mjn77]

Just about every E46 had this problem.

[07chupacabra]

Originally Posted by mjn77

Just about every E46 had this problem.

What's the problem? And what's the fix? I feel like left turns in my car are horrible.

[PhaseP]

You are assuming where you parked the car at work, the ground corresponding to front and rear axles have the same slope. Which may not be correct assumption.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Go find perfectly level concrete slab then check all corners to see clearances......I wonder if cars are perfectly levelled from the factory.....I suspect each car has a slightly different spec/height in relation to the body as there are many variables to consider.....gas..cargo...tire pressure/wear...latitude/longitude

[gtaccord]

This is normal.

[VTECaddict]

There's a storm drain in your pics, so the ground is not even.

Front springs are harder to compress and the front has a thicker sway bar, so when you're sitting on uneven ground, most of the articulation to keep all 4 wheels on the ground is done by the rear wheels and the fronts stay pretty even.

When your front right wheel is dipped into the storm drain, the front suspension remains relatively even and your rear right suspension compresses and left rear suspension extends.

When you flip the car around, the left rear wheel is in the storm drain and the suspension extends, right rear compresses, and the fronts again remain relatively even.

[newoldbeemer]

Ok its definitely the parking spot. I observed the car in a different spot today (like my pics from garage - the second two pics) and both sides are equal.

I still don't understand why it still showed the same side raised when I turned the car around and reverse parked it (shouldn't the other side be raised when I do that?). Anyway.

Phew! My car is normal. That feeling .

[Socket]

Mystery was solved back at post 7

Parking next to a storm water drain = parking on uneven ground

as the ground slopes towards the drain so the water will run towards it
Thats why the gap above the wheels was always higher on the side of the car parked closest to the drain....check out the pics