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

[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

[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.

[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]

so i'm taking a chance on this. placed the order last night. figure i can always harass rack doctor for my money back anyway. sure don't think i'll get it. in the meantime i'm gonna try it out and see if it works as an alternate.

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.

[82eye]

so i'm taking a chance on this. placed the order last night. figure i can always harass rack doctor for my money back anyway. sure don't think i'll get it. in the meantime i'm gonna try it out and see if it works as an alternate.

[82eye]

Yeah I think an important spec that's not often given is the actual rack travel, which plays a big part in the feel of the rack. Take the e36 m3 evo rack, it's got a 3.2 lock to lock, but the travel is shorter due to the spacers. It's got a shorter lock to lock but the same travel speed as a normal e36 rack. I dunno if that makes sense, but I'm thinking maybe newer cars have less travel despite having a shorter lock to lock, meaning a 3.0 rack might have the same travel speed as a 3.5 rack. That's what I gather from my research at least.

usually it's more about the weight. if the steering feel is heavier a shorter rack won't feel as quick. e30's are known for a lighter steering feel. they don't really even need power steering, a lot of track cars go to manual steering.

[notporgu]

i dunno about the twitchy. even my dirt poor 2.0L VW jetta has a 3.0 turn lock to lock. i don't find it twitchy at all. i think newer cars have shorter ratios than what we used to get on the whole. the difference from 2.7 to 3.2 isn't all that large. i'm probably buying one myself now. i'm still trying to get something out of the last vendor after 7 months.

Yeah I think an important spec that's not often given is the actual rack travel, which plays a big part in the feel of the rack. Take the e36 m3 evo rack, it's got a 3.2 lock to lock, but the travel is shorter due to the spacers. It's got a shorter lock to lock but the same travel speed as a normal e36 rack. I dunno if that makes sense, but I'm thinking maybe newer cars have less travel despite having a shorter lock to lock, meaning a 3.0 rack might have the same travel speed as a 3.5 rack. That's what I gather from my research at least.

[82eye]

Knowing this, I might go for it either way, as honestly the 1.9L rack scares me a bit for long highway rides as I've seen others say it's very twitchy at high speed. If the rock auto post turns out to be a 3.2 lock to lock rack, I'll still be happy to save $150 for a similar upgrade. I'll cross reference the part numbers you gave to verify when I get home anyway just to see if it says.

Thanks for the insight, I really appreciate it!

i dunno about the twitchy. even my dirt poor 2.0L VW jetta has a 3.0 turn lock to lock. i don't find it twitchy at all. i think newer cars have shorter ratios than what we used to get on the whole. the difference from 2.7 to 3.2 isn't all that large. i'm probably buying one myself now. i'm still trying to get something out of the last vendor after 7 months.

[notporgu]

the second rack does not list the 1.9L z3 when you cross reference. it does list all of the others suggesting it is the 3.2 turns lock to lock rack. both racks are an upgrade over the e30.

Knowing this, I might go for it either way, as honestly the 1.9L rack scares me a bit for long highway rides as I've seen others say it's very twitchy at high speed. If the rock auto post turns out to be a 3.2 lock to lock rack, I'll still be happy to save $150 for a similar upgrade. I'll cross reference the part numbers you gave to verify when I get home anyway just to see if it says.

Thanks for the insight, I really appreciate it!

[82eye]

Actually, checking BW again and found a second listing with the same part# here, with a different price and no mention of lock to lock ratio. The first one had 3310N as the BW part#, with no manufacturer part#. This one has 3310N as the manufacturer part# and 3310N-E36 as the BW part number. I might reach out to them to see if there's a difference between the listings. I think that will tell me what the deal is with the rock auto listing. Will update when I hear back.

the retailers typically list things under the mfgr part number as well as the bmw equivalent. there are sometimes subtle differences.

bmw lists two part numbers for the racks. one is for a full rack, the other a short rack with no inner/outer tie rods. the bmw part numbers bw is using refer to the short rack. the first one corresponds to all z3s including the 1.9L which has the shorter 2.7 turn lock to lock - 32131095575

the second rack does not list the 1.9L z3 when you cross reference. it does list all of the others suggesting it is the 3.2 turns lock to lock rack. both racks are an upgrade over the e30.

the two relevant part numbers for the 2.7 rack are 32131095575 as the short rack and 32131092611 for the full. whether it truthfully corresponds to the bw rack is another matter.





edit : i been in contact with turner and i'm seriously thinking of a purchase.

[notporgu]

Actually, checking BW again and found a second listing with the same part# here, with a different price and no mention of lock to lock ratio. The first one had 3310N as the BW part#, with no manufacturer part#. This one has 3310N as the manufacturer part# and 3310N-E36 as the BW part number. I might reach out to them to see if there's a difference between the listings. I think that will tell me what the deal is with the rock auto listing. Will update when I hear back.

[notporgu]

pretty sure the rock auto is just a generic replacement. not sure you get the correct ratio. pretty sure it gets listed for anything e36/z3. be sure to double-check.

Yeah for sure. I searched up AAE 3310N which is the part# supplied by Rock Auto, and I've found the same rack on other places that have it listed. However, I only found two places that listed the turning ratio, one being ESC Tuning at $430, and the other being Bimmerworld at Getting the fan clutch nut free Both of which are also reputable retailers so far as I know, and bimmerworld actually has a pretty detailed description of the rack, leading me to believe it was actually inspected and verified by a human, instead of copy pasting the manufacturer's description.

Still being skeptical, I'm going to reach out to rock auto to verify that it is indeed the 2.7 rack that it's listed as on the other sites.

Looking at the hoses, I've got a 32411141953 high pressure line for an e36, 32411135936 and 32411133401 for my suction and return lines for an e30 which I'll bend if necessary, at a total of $221 before tax. A chasebays kit would run me $350+ which I don't see as worth it right now. My budget demands that I hold off on buying a second steering knuckle until I know I need one. Hopefully I'll be able to pull out my rack and knuckle while it's in the parking lot lol.

Edit: I might not actually be able to reach out to rock auto, as their help page kind of sucks. All it says is that if the info isn't on the info page for the part, they don't know it.

[82eye]

Ok sounds good, I'm just nervous about buying new parts and bending them. I might go with a chase bays or sikky kit, all depends on my budget.

I also found the same rack available on rock auto for about $300 (not sure how to share it here) and it has me even more tempted. Though I've been doing some research and I'm thinking since it's my daily driver, if having such high lock to lock is going to make highway travel difficult. I might keep all my original parts in case it's bad, then I can swap back some I find a better rack, like an e46 or something.

pretty sure the rock auto is just a generic replacement. not sure you get the correct ratio. pretty sure it gets listed for anything e36/z3. be sure to double-check.

[notporgu]

Ok sounds good, I'm just nervous about buying new parts and bending them. I might go with a chase bays or sikky kit, all depends on my budget.

I also found the same rack available on rock auto for about $300 (not sure how to share it here) and it has me even more tempted. Though I've been doing some research and I'm thinking since it's my daily driver, if having such high lock to lock is going to make highway travel difficult. I might keep all my original parts in case it's bad, then I can swap back some I find a better rack, like an e46 or something.

[82eye]

I might take one for the team and pull the trigger on it. Worst that can happen is I'm out $450 and a load of time. If i go for it, I should probably buy a second steering linkage so I don't screw up mine in case it doesn't work out. Which brings me back to my second question, can I use stock e36 power steering lines for the pressure and return lines? Or is the pump in a different location?

only the high pressure. you can also use the e30 high pressure and bend it. e30 return should work. make sure to get the knuckle and spacer kit, and you'll need e36 outer tie rods, or you'll have to replace the inners to accept the e30's. you won't need to change the knuckle on an airbag car but there is additional work on the firewall.

check the write-ups, there are piles.

edit : make sure to let us know how it turns out if you go for it.