95 M3 Steering rack + Airbag Car

[davesmystery]

Good to know.

I don't want to thread jack, but I'm not really finding the answer to this anywhere. So is the e36 rack a better design with thicker seals (aka less likely to fail in the long run), or is it solely to improve steering responsiveness?

[JCarp90]

Thank you everybody for all of the info. Still not sure I'm sold on the Z3 rack, just because I'm not interested in making my car a full-retard race car, but what I'm getting from this is:

Z3 > E36 > 95 M3

[DoneRightBimmer]

Hello all,

Getting ready to order a 95 M3 steering rack for my 91 325i airbag car. I'm told I need to replace the knuckle, but I'm not sure which one I need. Anybody know?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

No modification needed to the knuckle on an airbag e30. I just performed an e36 rack swap into my 1993 e30 vert 3 days ago. You just need to trim the firewall so the shaft doesn't rub. From inside the cabin the bottom right corner of the firewall needs to be trimmed about an inch or so. Also you will need to alter or make a new metal cover that bolts to the firewall so the opening moves down to the right like the firewall hole. There are write ups for both airbag and non airbag swaps with pictures if you need reference. Also I reused the e30 High pressure hose not the e36 hose like most recommend, because it seemed to fit better.

Thank you everybody for all of the info. Still not sure I'm sold on the Z3 rack, just because I'm not interested in making my car a full-retard race car, but what I'm getting from this is:

Z3 > E36 > 95 M3

Will recommend e36 to all daily drivers or weekend cars its night and day compared to the e30 rack.

[dude8383]

Just get a standard E36 rack. It will be night and day difference without the twitchy-ness that you're worried about.

You can find em real cheap used or a reman one...




^LOL at post above... literally say the same thing.

[SmokeE30]

I run a e36 rack and shifter in my sedan and love the way it feels I tend to forget they arnt stock and when I get in another stock e30 it feels like driving a bus lol. The standard e36 rack is easy to find and perfect for a daily driver setup. Although I think on my next one I will go z4 non M to delete power steering

[karmatose]

Just going to add my thoughts in here. I've swapped Z3 steering racks into a few cars now and I think it's a great option. I have one in my personal car and drive it on the street a lot (with no power steering). I don't find it twitchy at all and it returns to center just fine. It took me a few minutes to get used to it and adjust my inputs compared to a stock E30 rack, but it became natural very quickly.

I've also driven cars with the stock E36 rack (on the street) and honestly, I didn't notice that much of a difference between that and the Z3 rack. Yes, the Z3 rack was quicker but not terribly noticeable in day to day driving. I have not driven an E30 with a stock E36 rack on the track so I can't really comment there.

Anyway, bottom line; I think the Z3 rack is perfectly suitable for daily driving and excellent on the track. It's not too twitchy but it is quick. If you can find one for a reasonable price, it's what I'd get. As far as installation goes, on an airbag car you shouldn't need to modify the knuckle at all but before you lock it all down check for binding and break out the dremel and a grinding bit if needed. You may also need to trim the firewall a bit to keep the input shaft from binding as you're changing the input angle a bit. There's an excellent article on the RMeuropean site on installing a Z3 rack in an airbag car that I use the first time I did the swap.

Hope this helps (and isn't too rambly).

[JCarp90]

No modification needed to the knuckle on an airbag e30. I just performed an e36 rack swap into my 1993 e30 vert 3 days ago. You just need to trim the firewall so the shaft doesn't rub. From inside the cabin the bottom right corner of the firewall needs to be trimmed about an inch or so. Also you will need to alter or make a new metal cover that bolts to the firewall so the opening moves down to the right like the firewall hole. There are write ups for both airbag and non airbag swaps with pictures if you need reference. Also I reused the e30 High pressure hose not the e36 hose like most recommend, because it seemed to fit better.



Will recommend e36 to all daily drivers or weekend cars its night and day compared to the e30 rack.

Thank you for the info regarding the knuckle and the hoses. I recently replaced my power steering hoses with new lines when I did my S52 swap, so that's good to hear.

Just get a standard E36 rack. It will be night and day difference without the twitchy-ness that you're worried about.

You can find em real cheap used or a reman one...




^LOL at post above... literally say the same thing.

:D

I run a e36 rack and shifter in my sedan and love the way it feels I tend to forget they arnt stock and when I get in another stock e30 it feels like driving a bus lol. The standard e36 rack is easy to find and perfect for a daily driver setup. Although I think on my next one I will go z4 non M to delete power steering

I thought about that as well, but I'm a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles and my girlfriend likes to drive my car. She wouldn't go for no power steering lol.

Just going to add my thoughts in here. I've swapped Z3 steering racks into a few cars now and I think it's a great option. I have one in my personal car and drive it on the street a lot (with no power steering). I don't find it twitchy at all and it returns to center just fine. It took me a few minutes to get used to it and adjust my inputs compared to a stock E30 rack, but it became natural very quickly.

I've also driven cars with the stock E36 rack (on the street) and honestly, I didn't notice that much of a difference between that and the Z3 rack. Yes, the Z3 rack was quicker but not terribly noticeable in day to day driving. I have not driven an E30 with a stock E36 rack on the track so I can't really comment there.

Anyway, bottom line; I think the Z3 rack is perfectly suitable for daily driving and excellent on the track. It's not too twitchy but it is quick. If you can find one for a reasonable price, it's what I'd get. As far as installation goes, on an airbag car you shouldn't need to modify the knuckle at all but before you lock it all down check for binding and break out the dremel and a grinding bit if needed. You may also need to trim the firewall a bit to keep the input shaft from binding as you're changing the input angle a bit. There's an excellent article on the RMeuropean site on installing a Z3 rack in an airbag car that I use the first time I did the swap.

Hope this helps (and isn't too rambly).

Thank you. All of these folks talking about the Z3 rack make me want to stay with my original plan.

Damn it.

[bmwman91]

Z3 1.9L rack user here too. 2.7 turns L2L is no big deal. For the first week or so you will definitely feel the difference and scare yourself in a corner or two, but after that it is fine. After a month I was adjusted to it and could control it just fine. It will not feel like a twitchy racecar or anything like that, except for the first week as you adjust to NOT having a slow, shitty E30 rack in there that is just waiting to blow its end seals somewhere inconvenient.

Installation did require some Dremeling of the firewall, and I had to (CAREFULLY) bend the metal portion of the high pressure PS hoses to clear engine mounts and stuff. This was on a 1991 318iS with an airbag, so your M20 may not need the PS hose mods. Just be careful not to collapse the metal tube if you do need to bend it. I also needed to stack some heavy washers above the rack to take up the slack between it and the brackets on the crossmember.

I decided to go with the Z3 one when my 2nd E30 steering rack decided to blow its end seals back in 2006 in a parking lot as I arrived for my third or fourth date (with the girl that is now my wife lol)...good thing I keep some heavy duty wire cutters in the trunk. She sees me pull up and blast an arc of hydraulic fluid on the asphalt as I turn into the spot. I get out, get the cutters from the trunk, chop off the PS pump belt and that was that haha. "Mind if I go to the restroom to wash my hands?"