ix quick ratio steering rack now available!

[D.Martijn]

Doesn't the rack then need to be shortened by 29mm on each side? I thought that in order to maintain the designed bump steer and Ackerman characteristics the tie rod inner to outer ball joint center lengths need to be the same as before. Using shorter tie rods to compensate for a longer rack changes both pivot to pivot length and the angle.

I'm no steering guru so that's why I'm posting the info I could gather on there.
to hopefully figure this out with a couple of you guys!

I'll look further into this topic

[Kershaw]

Nice project, good luck.

[marko]

Super cool and something I've been wanting in my iX for a while now. Will be following along closely, good luck!

[marko]

This is awesome. Definitely some great work!!! Am I right to assume the rack is rebuilt?

Heard back from Kent today on this topic. "Our racks are resealed where needed, but are not completely remanufactured. They carry a 2 year warranty against leaks." So take that for what it's worth.

Also the racks are selling for $1400 + shipping (not $1825 as previously mentioned here). You get $200 back if you return a core to them, although shipping likely eats a lot of that up as well, depending on where you're located.

[Kershaw]

You forgot the steering linkage if you don't have an airbag car, so that's $1400+$250. Not sure where I got $1825. But it would be $1650+shipping now. Which is probably another $150.

[nando]

This is awesome. I've been looking into this for years and never got anywhere. IMO, $1200 is well worth it when considering what a new ix rack must cost now.

[D.Martijn]

I've had the chance to measure both steering racks and the iX subframe.

After putting the measurement reports into Solidworks, I came to the following conclusion.

To get the X3 steering shaft/cylinder in the same position as the original iX steering rack, the X3 steering rack mounting points need 7,8mm removed.
When removing this amount from the mounting holes, there is even more clearance issues with this stump on the X3 rack and subframe.
I could mill a pocket to get clearance, the iX subframe has plenty of reinforcement ribs, so I think it shouldn't be a problem


I centered the rack from the inner holes of the rack, not sure how to explain this, but the plane/surface where the inner tie rod ball joint hits the rack. Somehow these pockets aren't the same depth, 18,7 and 22,5mm respectively.

New holes need to be drilled to mount the rack as well. 3mm more towards the rear and each hole 4mm more inward.

Now, to get the same bumpsteer as the original.

iX rack has 70,2mm travel/each side
X3 has 80,9mm travel/each side

Total length iX = 617mm ; total length X3 = 672.8mm)

So to get the same length, the X3 needs to have 27,9mm removed

Then, 80,9 - 27,9 = 53mm travel
-> 17,15mm less travel than the iX rack, only then you will get the same bumpsteer as original.


Question now, anyone that has an idea how much the 7,8mm height will have in bumpsteer? Should I just try and run the X3 rack without making any changes to it first and go from there.?

Cheers!

[EyExR]

This sounds promising. But I'm concerned about slop. If the racks they are using are not fully rebuilt and just resealed, you may end up with a big problem on your hands.
Also, it is required that the motor mounts be in PERFECT condition and that your ride height is stock. So if your motor mounts wear out or your springs start to sag you may end up banging things around.
These are my worries, anyway.
Has anybody installed this that can report back with their experience? Thanks in advance!

[fiftytakedowns]

How's this project coming along?

[madman23]

How is the X3 rack coming?

[D.Martijn]

I got the X3 rack fitted into my iX Toruing. Check out my thread in my signature to get some more info/pictures.
I still need to remove it one more time, when I rebuilt the rack the bushings I used were quite tight and I had to tap in the steering shaft in the housing.

I still have to original bushing that I plan to reinstall, this will hopefully solve some issues of slight binding I'm having near the center of the rack