rear wheels out of allignment

[boxer19741]

i've noticed that the rear nearside wheel on my 97 z3 is level with the wheel arch but the offside wheel is set back inside the arch approximately 20mm. there's no signs of accident damage,everything is original and straight.there is also no uneven wear on the tyres.could this be caused by a failed bush or something similar?
any ideas would be appreciated

[Del]

On level ground, is the offside rear of the car lower? The bottom coil, of coil springs, is the common bit to snap off with age and sometimes it can slip your notice. Has anybody done any previous work which would have meant removing/replacing the pads on which the rear coil springs rest i.e. making one side a bit lower? Old coil springs can sag with age but in my limited (DIYer) experience, this sagging/weakness is due to rust and so if they are the good quality BMW originals and still have most of their black coating they are usually OK.

[boxer19741]

it is lower on that side.il have a look at the springs tomorrow.never thought to check them to be honest

[siwilson]

If all looks good then next step is to get an alignment check just to make sure everything is in the right place.

I have seen posts on other boards where one side looked set further back in the arch. In these cases there was nothing wrong. Maybe just a manufacturing tolerance that most people never notice?

[Mugs]

this is something that used to bug me....the offside sitting lower than the nearside giving the visual effect of the wheel sitting further in.
i have found out that BMW built them this way as they are supposed to LHD cars and when the driver is in the left side of the car it is supposed to level the car out to make it sit level.
apparently some are more noticeable than others but the fix seems to be to buy a thicker spring pad from BMW who made different thicknesses to level out the car after numerous complaints about the leaning.
i used a 15mm spring pad on the offside and this sorted it out. they are only a few £ from a dealer.
hope it helps?

[boxer19741]

i know what you mean,its annoyed me for ages now.thanks for the info,il look intofitting a new,thicker spring pad.
thanks
paul