Hello,
I took my car to Wheels In Motion after replacing both track rods this month. Over the phone, I asked if having a vehicle with Active Steering made a difference to aligning the wheels, and I was told it wasn't. Fine. I went ahead and booked, turned up and the 2 gentlemen working on my car invited me in to show me a computer screen showing the wheel angles and told me what needed to be done. I gave a thumbs up and the work was carried out.
Driving back home I didn't notice much, although maybe it's because I didn't use a motorway. The following day I had to travel a round trip of 800 miles, and this is when I felt the issues most. The steering is slightly offset to the left, although not by much. When on the motorway, the car would either pull slightly to the left, or if the road had camber on it, follow the area of the road which sloped downwards. Maybe linked with the steering being offset to the left, but when turning to the left, the steering wheel needs to be turned more compared to turning to the right.
Returning home, I checked the printout which was provided to see that, firstly, it said on the title: BMW: 6 Series - E63/64 (2003 - 2010) : without AFS (Active Front Steering), even though my vehicle does have Active Steering. Is there a different procedure for cars with Active Steering?
Secondly, all of the adjustments are green, apart from the SAI.
Rear Axle
Camber: Left: 2.03 Right: 2.04 Cross: 0.01
Toe: Left: 0.07 Right: 0.07 Total: 0.15
Geometrical driving axis: 0.00
Front Axle
Camber: Left: 0.05 Right: 0.06 Cross: 0.01
Caster: Left: 7.03 Right: 7.15 Cross: 0.12
SAI: Left: 14.02 Right: 13.47 Cross: 0.15
Toe: Left: 0.04 Right: 0.05 Total: 0.10
If the following questions could be answered, I would greatly appreciate it:
1. Is there a difference between cars that have Active Steering and cars that do not, with regards to centering the wheel? Does anything need to be reset?
2. Could the tyres have an effect on the car following imperfections in the road?
3. Is it worth going back?
Many thanks.