Installed a E46 ZHP rack (yellow tag 712) into my vert.
It has transformed the driving experience into nothing short of spectacular. The response is instant, there is no dead zone, the weight is just enough, and the feel is fantastic. Can easily just point the nose of the car now.
Similar in feel to my Focus ST, but with a bit more heft and much better road feel.
Would like to make some comments to help others looking to do this swap:
1) It is not as easy as others have made it seem. Don't assume that you will get it done in one day.
2) You need to use E46 inner rods and E36 outer rods. The E46 inners have a special venting system, so you need those. The E46/E36 rods are different threading than the E30, so can't use E30 at all. E46 inner and outer would be too long, so have to use E36 outer.
3) Don't bother with the Garagistic swap kit. The hex head is a poor choice as there isn't clearance for an allen key to get in there when installing. My bolts were also not long enough to use with the washers and get the heads into the nyloc of the nut. If you have a Dremel (which you need anyways for this project) then just buy some spacers and good hardware.
4) Installation is as per other guides, but one thing that is VERY important but not noted as to why in these other guides.... DO NOT PUT THE TWO PARTS OF THE KNUCKLE BACK TOGETHER UNTIL THE RACK IS IN PLACE. The lower part of the knuckle needs to be driven onto the new rack and the upper part needs to be driven onto the splines coming out of the firewall. If you have the knuckle in one piece you won't be able to get the splines on far enough. Before putting the rack back into place you should drive the upper part of the knuckle onto the upper splines. Then with the rack still out of the car you drive the lower part of the knuckle onto the lower splines. Once you have the rack in place it's not hard to put the knuckle together with the bolts and spacers.
5) The E30 high pressure line does works well and does need to be bent a bit, but it's not as simple as doing it by hand. You need to make some small bends with a vice grip and it will require some force.
6) Once it is all in place then unlock your steering column and rotate the steering knuckle by hand to check for binding. There will likely be some and you will see where you need to grind a bit of the metal off using the Dremel. Check to make sure that the knuckle isn't rubbing against the newly bent power steering fluid line (it'll present as a binding but it isn't).
Hope this helps some people.
It has transformed the driving experience into nothing short of spectacular. The response is instant, there is no dead zone, the weight is just enough, and the feel is fantastic. Can easily just point the nose of the car now.
Similar in feel to my Focus ST, but with a bit more heft and much better road feel.
Would like to make some comments to help others looking to do this swap:
1) It is not as easy as others have made it seem. Don't assume that you will get it done in one day.
2) You need to use E46 inner rods and E36 outer rods. The E46 inners have a special venting system, so you need those. The E46/E36 rods are different threading than the E30, so can't use E30 at all. E46 inner and outer would be too long, so have to use E36 outer.
3) Don't bother with the Garagistic swap kit. The hex head is a poor choice as there isn't clearance for an allen key to get in there when installing. My bolts were also not long enough to use with the washers and get the heads into the nyloc of the nut. If you have a Dremel (which you need anyways for this project) then just buy some spacers and good hardware.
4) Installation is as per other guides, but one thing that is VERY important but not noted as to why in these other guides.... DO NOT PUT THE TWO PARTS OF THE KNUCKLE BACK TOGETHER UNTIL THE RACK IS IN PLACE. The lower part of the knuckle needs to be driven onto the new rack and the upper part needs to be driven onto the splines coming out of the firewall. If you have the knuckle in one piece you won't be able to get the splines on far enough. Before putting the rack back into place you should drive the upper part of the knuckle onto the upper splines. Then with the rack still out of the car you drive the lower part of the knuckle onto the lower splines. Once you have the rack in place it's not hard to put the knuckle together with the bolts and spacers.
5) The E30 high pressure line does works well and does need to be bent a bit, but it's not as simple as doing it by hand. You need to make some small bends with a vice grip and it will require some force.
6) Once it is all in place then unlock your steering column and rotate the steering knuckle by hand to check for binding. There will likely be some and you will see where you need to grind a bit of the metal off using the Dremel. Check to make sure that the knuckle isn't rubbing against the newly bent power steering fluid line (it'll present as a binding but it isn't).
Hope this helps some people.
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