Front 5 Lug swap results in angled tie rod ends

[jibbajabba]

I'm confused...

My tie rods are angled towards the front of the car, coming out of the rack to the spindle quite a bit.

anyone else have this issue? I would think they should be coming out the rack straight - this has to be pretty hard on the rack turning the wheels like that...

[jahnaboi]

Take a picture. Kind of hard to picture what you are trying to describe.

[Jalves619]

This is happening to me as well. I'll post some pictures up but the tie rods are angled towards the front of the car. Like \___/ looking at it from the bottom. Not quite that extreme of an angle obviously but I was under the impression the tie rods were supposed to be as straight and level as possible.

[Jalves619]

Any updates on this? I'm planning on taking it to get aligned which is something I really can't afford to do twice so I don't want to have to disassemble it again.

I'm using e36 M3 struts, 96+ M3 CA, Offset CABs, and e36 M3 spindles. The rack is also from an e36 and I'm using e36 tie rods which should be fine according to all the rack swaps.

The tie rods angle forward enough to make contact with the splash pan do you guys just trim the plastic or have I got something in wrong? I know the picture is sorry but I think it will give you the right idea of whats happening. Thanks for the help,

[jahnaboi]

Do you have pictures of where exactly you bolted up the steering rack to the subframe?

On a lighter note, I just cut a small portion of the splash guard to get rid of the contact from lock to lock. Yes, I'm running a 98 m3 steering rack.

[Jalves619]

I bolted it in using the set of holes closer to the rear of the car, similar to how my e30 rack was mounted. I tried the other holes closer to the front but I was worried about rack to pan interference.

[hoveringuy]

I just looked at mine and my tie rods are also angled towards the front like yours. I only saw one mounting tab for the rack on the front of the subframe, where else could it be mounted?

I also don't have the splash guard installed. I think it's more of an aerodynamic aid.

[e46s54dr]

May be a stupid question but did you possibly install the offset cab bushings backwards?

[SA E30]

If they were installed backwards the the tie rods would be almost straight.

My e30 with std struts angles forward, and our race car with e36 struts also angles forward. I don't think it's a big deal.

[Jalves619]

Not that I have to ask for it but PLEASE correct me if I am wrong. After a little bit of research I believe having the tie rods angle forward will increase the ackerman effect and increase toe out on the inside wheel during a turn. This would be beneficial at lower speeds but at higher speeds you would be increasing your slip angle raising tire temps and actually slowing the car down. As far as I am concerned my car will be a DD so the effects will be fine at city speeds. If you were doing the swap for a track car I would assume you could use the Z3 rack which is said to have a smaller profile bolted to the forward set of holes on the subframe. This would bring the rack forward and allow a more parallel steering setup while still clearing the oil pan. Again I may be completely wrong any FSAE guys out there with some knowledge on the subject?