Hey guys, no real question here, just more of an FYI/story
Several years ago (probably 7 years now) I scored some HR Race springs and Tokico Illumina shocks for a killer deal on here and lowered my ti...having never heard much talk on getting adjustable camber kits and tire wear...or how severe it is. I've ignored my poor alignment and not being able to adjust anything on the rear, or camber/caster in the front, and I am regretting now as I think back to the number of tires I have SHREDDED to pieces because I was too cheap to get a proper alignment kit. I finally bit the bullet and dropped some coin on a proper alignment kit, and sure enough, the rear toe was way off, causing the inner edges of the tires to shred to pieces. The front was pretty far off too. Of course, having the car so low, it was near impossible to tell just from the casual observation, so my tires were always a ticking time bomb, as a fresh set rarely lasted more than a year before exploding on me, even with rotations.
So I have just recently purchased and installed:
http://www.cosmoracing.com/productin...d=301&pid=2021 and
Bavarian Autosport Adjustable Camber Kit - Rear
http://bavauto.com/shop.asp Cosmo racing (typically hated on by BMW purists since they have Honda parts etc) plates seemed very well made, and fit up perfectly. Took about 2 hours to install the front. They provided enough adjustment to get a good alignment afterwards.
The rear eccentric trailing arm bushings were another story. It is easy to get the wheels off, remove the lower shock mount, pop the springs out, and unclip the brake lines and sensors. However, the hardware on my ti was STUCK. There is very limited room to get a wrench in there, it's near the gas tank, so be careful with a torch, and all in all, just a complete pain. I ended up giving up and letting a local shop take care of it. They said they had to take a sawzall to the bolts and cut the trailing arms outs to replace the bushings. Technician said it was only possible with the car on a lift, which I agreed after cursing those things for a few days trying to unstick the hardware.
I know there have been rumors of the eccentric bushings falling out of alignment, but I wasn't willing to invest the time or money into a weld on kit and removing the entire subframe. Get a fresh alignment, crawl under there with a flash light, and take a snap shot of the bolt positions the shop set it to. If you think it rotates out, you have something to compare it to, and can adjust with a wrench. I, however, specifically noted the shop to torque the bolts down tight enough so they will not rotate out under load. Bavauto specifically noted that if torqued tightly, they will not rotate out. Time will tell
Now the ti has a fresh alignment and a brand new set of tires...finally!
Moral of the story: Tire wear ain't no joke. If you are going to lower the car, factor in the additional costs of alignment kits:
Front: $220
Rear: $280
Labor for rear: $385
Alignment: $100
Total: $1085
However, I have already calculated that I have spent more than that buying new tires, even having resulted to buying used tires/rims off craigslist to save money. Not to mention the handling really was not that great, especially in wet weather. If your trailing arm bolts break loose for you, you can save that 400 bucks, which would be nice.
But hot damn, that thing looks cool when it is that low to the ground!
95 318ti camber kits after lowering 
Linear Mode
