[D's Bimmer]

I have been reading and reading and reading.

Initially I was bent on going down the M3 bits route as part of an overall suspension upgrade. Recently, I have been looking at the fixed Dinan Camber plates. This is for a spirited daily driver. Cost wish, it is much cheaper to go the camber plate route. I don't need the plates to be adjustable. The plates will dial in about -0.7 degree's of camber and I am wondering if the M3 bits woudl just be overkill.

Am I missing something here?

[HighPSI]

Do both

[D's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by HighPSI

Do both

HighPSI,

I am really liking your mod list. Have the ER chargepipe on order. Definietly ordering the Dinan Camber Plates now. Will likely follow you lead with the M3 control arms in time.

As for suspension, I am really liking the Koni + Swift Spec R spring set up. How have you found it compared to the stock sport set up? If I don't go with this setup, I am going with the TCKline Coilovers.

Look forward to your feedback.

Thanks,

[AGO 530]

How much of a necessity are the Dinan camber plate with the Koni / Swift setup?

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by D's Bimmer

I have been reading and reading and reading.

Initially I was bent on going down the M3 bits route as part of an overall suspension upgrade. Recently, I have been looking at the fixed Dinan Camber plates. This is for a spirited daily driver. Cost wish, it is much cheaper to go the camber plate route. I don't need the plates to be adjustable. The plates will dial in about -0.7 degree's of camber and I am wondering if the M3 bits woudl just be overkill.

Am I missing something here?

Experience. Dinan's the go-to company for those not in the know, or more money than desire to research & make things happen.

Adjustable camber plates a la Ground Control, Vorshlag, etc.'ll get you there. -1.5° camber, front, will do good things. When & if you go to M3 parts - recommended! - you'll want to adjust to fit.

In fact, forget Dinan altogether. Much better juju for significantly less elsewhere, all 'round.

[avocet]

with m3 arms and pins knocked out I got -1.4/1.5° camber. all I need for the street. if and when I decide to autoX, I will consider camber plates.

m3 arms are more than just camber. beefier bushings increase responsiveness and longevity.


just went and checked paper work...I lied:

-1.3/-1.4° camber.

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Experience. Dinan's the go-to company for those not in the know, or more money than desire to research & make things happen.

Adjustable camber plates a la Ground Control, Vorshlag, etc.'ll get you there. -1.5° camber, front, will do good things. When & if you go to M3 parts - recommended! - you'll want to adjust to fit.

In fact, forget Dinan altogether. Much better juju for significantly less elsewhere, all 'round.

This is very true if you have good experience in how to adjust the camber plates yourself. Lets also not forget that with McPherson type suspension, when you change the camber, you are also changing (inevitably) the toe....and honestly, do you really fiddle with your camber plates every time you go to the track?

The Dinan plates are static. Combined with M3 control arms and the alignment pins knocked out, you can get to -2.0 - 2.5 degrees of negative camber. You get your alignment done as you want and that's it. You never have to worry if your plates are "dialed in" correctly.

[cvc 22349a]

-1.5 d camber up front is probably the best setting for a spirited daily driver that isn't just a highway cruiser. Lowering the front of the car gets you a little more neg camber, removing the alignment pins from the strut tops gets you a little more neg camber.
Both the Dinan plates and the M3 lower control arms get you -.7d camber. The Dinan plates raise the front of the car 1/4". The M3 upper control arms (tension links) won't affect camber but are the more beneficial of the two for improving steering response and reducing brake shimmy and tramlining.
Decide on your suspension first OP and do it all at once so you only pay for one alignment. You mentioned TCK. If you're going that route, I'd get their camber plates with their kit. That'll be a better suspension than Swift/Koni, period.
To answer your original question, both M3 control arms>Dinan camber plates for improved steering response, feel, etc.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by AGO 530

How much of a necessity are the Dinan camber plate with the Koni / Swift setup?

They'll improve turn in and reduce understeer due to added neg camber.

[GreekboyD]

I added the Vorshlag plates this summer and ran -2.5 camber up front. Lots of fun for spirited DD along with the M3 bits and coils. Going -2.0 for next spring.

OP, it all comes down to what "you" want from your car. Already excellent advice in this thread.

[mlifxs]

I did the (TRW) m3 front control arms, if I had to do it all over again, I would pick that first, before getting camber plates (which I'm contemplating now). As others have observed, they will give you roughly the same amount of camber as the dinan plates.
The m3 front arms are around ~380. Though this is higher,
a. You will be replacing a wear item - your current control arms may have degraded, depending on your miles and driving habits. So some of the cost with this option is covering that.
b. Installation. The m3 arms are pretty much lift car, remove old arms, bolt on new arms (maybe a little persuasion needed for the tight fitting wishbones). For camber plates, you may need to use spring compressors (my arthritis is flaring just thinking about spring compressors). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is installation and labor may be higher for the camber plates.
c. The m3 arms have other great benefits besides camber. Steering is much more direct, less deflection etc.

[HighPSI]

Originally Posted by D's Bimmer

HighPSI,

I am really liking your mod list. Have the ER chargepipe on order. Definietly ordering the Dinan Camber Plates now. Will likely follow you lead with the M3 control arms in time.

As for suspension, I am really liking the Koni + Swift Spec R spring set up. How have you found it compared to the stock sport set up? If I don't go with this setup, I am going with the TCKline Coilovers.

Look forward to your feedback.

Thanks,

Thanks!

As others said I would go with the m3 arms before going with camber plates as you'll notice the benefit much more.

The Koni/Swift is night/day over stock and is a huge improvement. If you have the budget, go with TCKline coilovers and switch the springs out to Swift. Dinan is a great option, however it doesn't adjust caster so if I could do things differently - I would go with Vorschlag. They were sold out at the time and I really needed camber plates because my wheel setup was too aggressive and I was rubbing all the time. Now with -2.5 up front I'm good and the turn-in is amazing.

[StealYourFace]

Anyone know if the Dinan plates raise the nose of the car? If so, is it real obvious?

I'd like adj plates, but the Dinan's are a real deal on sale with no chance of making noise, plus I already have the M3 front bits.

But I'd hate to get them on, hate the look of a higher front end then spend another 90 bucks on front lowering perches...

[mlifxs]

from what ive read here , raises an eighth to a quarter inch, depending on oe tophat