Z3M steering rack by turner motorsports. Is it any good?

[Zambuzan]

Which one did you end up going for? The original listing I found on turner or one of the other ones? Also I was considering rack doctor initially, as a good friend highly recommended them, but then I saw the bad reviews, and also couldn't even access their store page... I hope they can turn around and retain the reputation they used to have but I'm steering clear of them for now.

I got my rebuilt ZF "Purple" tag rack from Rack Doctor back in 2019. No complaints from me, the rack was in amazing quality and he happily answered all my pesky emails prior to the purchase.

Install was a breeze: I just used the rack swap kit from Garagistic, modified the steering knuckle, and plumbed up the factory PS lines to the new rack. Everything still works like a charm.

I personally wouldn't use a no-name rack, but that's just me.

[notporgu]

I got my rebuilt ZF "Purple" tag rack from Rack Doctor back in 2019. No complaints from me, the rack was in amazing quality and he happily answered all my pesky emails prior to the purchase.

Install was a breeze: I just used the rack swap kit from Garagistic, modified the steering knuckle, and plumbed up the factory PS lines to the new rack. Everything still works like a charm.

I personally wouldn't use a no-name rack, but that's just me.

My research tells me rack doctor fell off during covid, likely due to the shutdowns, possible layoffs, and I think they were moving locations at one point in 2022. And like I said in another post, I can't even access their store page. (Error 404 every time)

I'll definitely be taking a risk, but there's a 2 year warranty so hopefully rockauto will hold up to that. Plus if it works out then maybe it'll help build their rep as a good option for people.

[82eye]

Which one did you end up going for? The original listing I found on turner or one of the other ones? Also I was considering rack doctor initially, as a good friend highly recommended them, but then I saw the bad reviews, and also couldn't even access their store page... I hope they can turn around and retain the reputation they used to have but I'm steering clear of them for now.

i went with the turner 2.7 lock to lock.


rack doctor is an absolute scam. the internet is littered with folk who've been ripped off. they took me for $1400 cdn, never sent the rack a refund or had any intention of doing so. still fighting with them seven months later.
rack doctor is an organization that has embraced theft as a business model. a simple search here will reveal a pile of angry people on this very forum.

STAY AWAY FROM THOSE SCAMMERS

[82eye]

I got my rebuilt ZF "Purple" tag rack from Rack Doctor back in 2019. No complaints from me, the rack was in amazing quality and he happily answered all my pesky emails prior to the purchase.

Install was a breeze: I just used the rack swap kit from Garagistic, modified the steering knuckle, and plumbed up the factory PS lines to the new rack. Everything still works like a charm.

I personally wouldn't use a no-name rack, but that's just me.

i went with the turner since it doesn't come from a pile of scammers and is built in the states. rack doctor does nothing but steal money now. they have literally the worst rep in the industry. they lost their bbb listing and the rating when to a flat f. you won't find a positive review from 2020 forward anywhere.

[82eye]

I'll definitely be taking a risk, but there's a 2 year warranty so hopefully rockauto will hold up to that. Plus if it works out then maybe it'll help build their rep as a good option for people.

the rock auto racks are mostly mavon, which is a chinese brand, and pretty much a disaster. replace all the boots if you go that way. chinese rubber is notoriously poor and breaks down fast. if you get lucky it'll be a reman, but you will still have to replace the boots, and they will send whatever fits, they won't care what the ratio is.

[Zambuzan]

My research tells me rack doctor fell off during covid, likely due to the shutdowns, possible layoffs, and I think they were moving locations at one point in 2022. And like I said in another post, I can't even access their store page. (Error 404 every time)

I'll definitely be taking a risk, but there's a 2 year warranty so hopefully rockauto will hold up to that. Plus if it works out then maybe it'll help build their rep as a good option for people.

Best of luck! Update us on the quality of the rack, would help others as well.

[Zambuzan]

i went with the turner 2.7 lock to lock.


rack doctor is an absolute scam. the internet is littered with folk who've been ripped off. they took me for $1400 cdn, never sent the rack a refund or had any intention of doing so. still fighting with them seven months later.
rack doctor is an organization that has embraced theft as a business model. a simple search here will reveal a pile of angry people on this very forum.

STAY AWAY FROM THOSE SCAMMERS

Wow, sorry to hear about your experience. As mentioned, they were very helpful pre-COVID but circumstances might've changed for the worse since then.

[82eye]

Wow, sorry to hear about your experience. As mentioned, they were very helpful pre-COVID but circumstances might've changed for the worse since then.

four things happened to them -

they grew too quick to keep up with demand and did not scale to what they could accomplish.
covid hit and demand spiked just as all racks were getting hard to source due to lockdown.
they moved facilities and did not plan for the needed investment in people and tooling.

finally, they decided outright theft was easier than honest customer service.

[notporgu]

the rock auto racks are mostly mavon, which is a chinese brand, and pretty much a disaster. replace all the boots if you go that way. chinese rubber is notoriously poor and breaks down fast. if you get lucky it'll be a reman, but you will still have to replace the boots, and they will send whatever fits, they won't care what the ratio is.

When looking at the e36/e46 rack options on rockauto, they have the aae rack listed with the same 3310N part number as seen on a few other sites that I mentioned. I would expect them to send the selected manufacturer if I buy it through them. Do you think they would send me something from China even if I select the American one?

[82eye]

When looking at the e36/e46 rack options on rockauto, they have the aae rack listed with the same 3310N part number as seen on a few other sites that I mentioned. I would expect them to send the selected manufacturer if I buy it through them. Do you think they would send me something from China even if I select the American one?

aae manufactures in both china and the US. the turner 2.7 product is built in the US, others are not.

rock auto is just a middleman. they contract the sale to a third party who ships it. rock auto doesn't keep it's own parts warehouse. if you order something from them, they send it to whoever can supply that particular part the fastest and cheapest so they maximize profit. parts avatar and many others also operate this way. they don't always send the exact same brand you order.

i've ordered cardone VW racks before from them and had two different branded racks show up in the box. the boxes they came in were both a cardone box. on a daily beater it doesn't matter so much, on the bmw i want something i can trust.

[notporgu]

aae manufactures in both china and the US. the turner 2.7 product is built in the US, others are not.

Oof didn't realize this, but looking at the product pages it only says manufactured in the US on the 2.7 racks. I'm not needing to order right away, so I might wait to hear your initial impressions when you receive yours. I just would have to find a little wiggle room in my budget that I already don't have.

[82eye]

Oof didn't realize this, but looking at the product pages it only says manufactured in the US on the 2.7 racks. I'm not needing to order right away, so I might wait to hear your initial impressions when you receive yours. I just would have to find a little wiggle room in my budget that I already don't have.

reach out to the vendor. i spoke with turner direct to confirm the product, then tracked where the others were built and contacted the vendors direct to be certain.

[projectJTv4]

I purchased the same rack from ECS in February of 2022, installed in May and have driven about 3,000 miles on them since. I have not had any issues with the rack.

[notporgu]

I purchased the same rack from ECS in February of 2022, installed in May and have driven about 3,000 miles on them since. I have not had any issues with the rack.

Good to hear! How is the feel of it? Does it feel twitchy at high speeds? And I assume it's a massive upgrade from the normal e30 rack.

[projectJTv4]

Good to hear! How is the feel of it? Does it feel twitchy at high speeds? And I assume it's a massive upgrade from the normal e30 rack.

Shortly after installing the Z3 rack, I installed a MOMO MOD. 07 steering wheel that has a diameter of 350mm. The combination of the two made a significant difference in my opinion. I can't say for sure with just the rack alone.