A true manual rack

[a_ahmed]

Now I know I made that thread to convert my hicas one properly to a pseudo manual rack... but the new job I've been at for the last 8 some months has taken away pretty much all free time.

Anyways that doesn't prevent me from reading stuff about cars though hehe... just less time to do stuff on my own...

So on topic, there was a guy almost getting a true manual rack conversion going for about 300-400 with faster lock to lock/steering. It fell through on zilvia cause people are cheapasses/dorifto home boys who don't care about improving our cars but being cool.

Then I accidentally ran across this (how to completely remove PS system from KA24DE):



And then a way to do it step by step better:

http://www.texasnissans.com/tx/forum...d.php?p=105891



Then for ****s and giggles I googled "true manual rack" and an fd rx7 site came up with this:

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=832782

I kept reading and reading and I just wish we could put something together like this.

Cost the guy about 1000$ but it's a 2.4 lock to lock true manual rack conversion which also happens to weigh about 20lbs less than the stock rack (not including the 20lbs~ power steering assembly/system).

Pretty bad ass.

Anyways I could rant, but I'll let you guys do the reading yourself.



[/img]http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/gmonsen/Mazda%20Rx7/Other%20Rx7/Steering20Rack-Not20fitted.jpg[/img]






He's gone crazy awesome over and reports its very very smooth, very responsive/fast, amazing feedback/feel vs any of their crap they've had before on FDs (powered, converted with looped lines, converting power to manual, true stock manual, some other conversions to the stock manual, etc...)

I just thought I'd share this.... it looks hot.
It's by a company in the UK

[a_ahmed]

[email protected] and http://www.atomicrex.co.uk

Guy is called Jon

I now have about 250 miles on the car and will be able to dyno it next weekend. In putting on the miles, I have a few more observations on the rack. First, I still like it as much as at first. I keep saying how smooth and precise it is. Although it might seem like the change from 2.0 to 2.4 turns lock to lock might not make a lot of difference, it really does. It turns so fast that you cannot defocus from steering. If you glance over at something for a minute, you could end up off the road. It turns as fast as a Lotus Elise or Exige.

At speeds of 45-55 mph going straight, I have to concentrate a bit to keep it straight. Its not that it has any bump steer or follows the crown any more so than stock, but a slight movemebt of the wheel just takes it off the straight line. You or I anyway need to focus more. However, at 80-90 mph this is not an issue at all, though I can't tell you why that is.

Also, while it is very tight and smooth turning -- no slack anywhere ever -- and very precise, there is not harshness at all. There is a lot of road feel and reading of the road surface, but the solid mounts seem to eliminate any quick jarring or jolting entirely. I think any bushing would actually interject that jolting or jarring into the feel.

That's it for now. I may post an update in a few weeks, if I notice anything more. But, so far, I would strongly recommend this for anyone who likes the twisties or doesn't like the loose and strangely assisted stock unit. For anyone who has switched to looped line or Maval and likes it, this will be a tremendous swap from there. You'll go nuts.

[Def]

I don't think our racks even weigh 20 lbs total, and the FD rack doesn't look very different from ours. PS pump weighs about 3-5 lbs, brackets maybe weigh a few more lbs. That's about it aside from some pretty light lines and whatnot.

[Basic1]

This is the place the the group buy people were going to use most likely:

http://www.unisteer.com/mm5/merchant...y_Code=IMPORTS

I'd found them about two years ago, and still intend to ship my steering rack to them once other things are in order on the car.

[Bumnah]

What is the goal a_ahmed? Weight reduction?

I've been very happy with my HICAS rack on the track. The steering feel is spot on, and the response is very good.

The beauty of the 240sx is, that you can actually make it handle well, and it can put some power out too.

[a_ahmed]

The weight figures were based on fd rx7 parts (weighed on a digital scale).

I do have a hicas rack in the parents' house right (same one i wanted to modify) and now I am staying here with my wife... I dont feel like getting my hands dirty but i will weigh it later.

Anyways, its not just about weight savings, its about it being a true manual rack as well as being even quicker than a hicas rack.

Personally I welcome all weight savings and dont care if thats obsessive. I just took out 15lbs off the car yesterday, every lil bit helps and in the grand scheme of things adds to the overall weight reduction in the long run.

The point of this conversion is again not just weight reduction (wtf?)... its a true manual rack hello...

I'm contacting this jon guy

[Def]

Faster than a HICAS rack and manual sounds like a tough thing to steer.

[jmauld]

I'll take your hicas rack.

[Matt93SE]

I'm perfectly happy with my stock rack converted to manual. I see no need to spend $1000 to not be able to blink without the car trying to drive itself off the road.

[BlackFire240sx]

I'll take your hicas rack.

no, me!

[Cory]

Faster than a HICAS rack and manual sounds like a tough thing to steer.

Yea, especially if you run a ****-ton of caster.

[Longfellow]

There is no way I'd want to try and drive my car aound with 255-40-17 nittos, 7.5* caster and a manual rack. That would totally suck.

Why do you want a manual rack in the first place?

[BlackFire240sx]

well now you won't need all that caster to actually feel the road...

[Def]

Caster is worth more than just "feeling the road." You get more camber gain on the outside front for one, which is something our cars need.

I drove my car around with a looped to breather rack, and even if you can reduce the effort 30% over that(I doubt it), it'd still be tough on the track on a fast car. It was pretty easy to drive the car 7/10ths or so with it like that, but start picking up speed and you find yourself just exhausted after a few 20 min sessions of fighting the wheel at the limit of adhesion. Plus it made it hard to get any kind of precise steering when the car would be dancing around, as it'd take a lot of effort just to keep any kind of angle on the wheel. I felt like the car flat out was way easier to drive faster after going back to PS.

I'd like a HICAS rack, but wasn't going to pay $500-600 for one, so I just stuck with the slow ratio. It's not too bad with a smaller wheel.

[Longfellow]

Caster is worth more than just "feeling the road." You get more camber gain on the outside front for one, which is something our cars need.

I drove my car around with a looped to breather rack, and even if you can reduce the effort 30% over that(I doubt it), it'd still be tough on the track on a fast car. It was pretty easy to drive the car 7/10ths or so with it like that, but start picking up speed and you find yourself just exhausted after a few 20 min sessions of fighting the wheel at the limit of adhesion. Plus it made it hard to get any kind of precise steering when the car would be dancing around, as it'd take a lot of effort just to keep any kind of angle on the wheel. I felt like the car flat out was way easier to drive faster after going back to PS.

I'd like a HICAS rack, but wasn't going to pay $500-600 for one, so I just stuck with the slow ratio. It's not too bad with a smaller wheel.

I agree completely. Though I wish I had a 350mm wheel instead of a 330mm.