Rack swap but retaining factory collapsibility?

[Maybe Magpie]

In short, I've noticed that for non-airbag E30s you have to modify the steering joint in a way that removes the collapsibility that keeps it from impaling you in a head-on impact. Vorshlag makes a really neat collapsible u-joint column that eliminates the slop, but it's over $500 which is a little steep. Is there a way to swap racks but not lose the bit of safety margin a collapsible column gives you for not-$500? Obviously step 1 is "don't crash", but you never know when some dickhead drunk driver will slide out of his lane and plow into you. Given my car has no airbag I'm already not super confident in safety but I don't see a reason to make it worse, you know?

Input appreciated.

[uturn]

When I did my rack swap (non airbag car) I only had to modify the rubber donut with solid bushings. No change to the collapsing feature of the column.

With my airbag cars I had to modify the firewall. But you can get beauty plates to cover up that hack job.

[Maybe Magpie]

When I did my rack swap (non airbag car) I only had to modify the rubber donut with solid bushings. No change to the collapsing feature of the column.

With my airbag cars I had to modify the firewall. But you can get beauty plates to cover up that hack job.

Ahh, I was under the impression grinding out the rivets and replacing them with spacers and bolts on non airbag cars removed the collapsing feature as per the Pelican rack article. How did you modify the donut then?

[Northern]

I don't know why everyone chooses to eliminate the collapsing mechanism, but you can replace the guibo with a 1/8" "guibo" shaped piece of aluminum or steel.
IIRC you need to cut the centering pin shorter as well.

Steering feel is obviously much better, but with solid engine mounts, you can feel the engine vibration through the wheel.
Not to everyone's taste, but at least it isn't sketchy.

[Maybe Magpie]

I don't know why everyone chooses to eliminate the collapsing mechanism, but you can replace the guibo with a 1/8" "guibo" shaped piece of aluminum or steel.
IIRC you need to cut the centering pin shorter as well.

Steering feel is obviously much better, but with solid engine mounts, you can feel the engine vibration through the wheel.
Not to everyone's taste, but at least it isn't sketchy.

Good to know, thank you. Would it be theoretically possible to do the same with a softer material like UHMWPE or delrin in your opinion? My area has plenty of machinist shops and I doubt I'd have too much trouble finding someone to turn a part like that on a lathe for me.

[Northern]

Not the pic I was looking for, but it'll do.

Not sure you'd get away with PE or delrin because it's pretty thin and I think you'd need the strength.
I ground the rivet bucks/removed the steering guibo, then traced it onto a piece of flat bar and holesawed the basic shape, then enlarged the center + drilled out the 4 bolt holes.
I'm pretty sure there's a centering pin attached to one side of the joint that I needed to shorten, then test fit it and grind wherever the u-joints bind.
lock nuts and some loctite for muh safety.

It doesn't spin fast so it's not picky about if the holes are perfect.

[digger]

https://www.steeringlpsr.com/product-page/bmw-e30-to-e36-e46-z3-steering-rack-uni-joint-lhd

[Northern]

On the NA side, Woodward Steering in Wyoming makes aftermarket stuff that fits BMW splines as well. I can't remember who, but I noticed someone was reselling these for a while.
Their website is oldschool, but you can kind of figure out which u-joints/shaft you need from their Catalog 7.

http://www.woodwardsteering.com/catalog2019.html

Probably best to call/email them and tell them what you want. I think the whole setup is ~170USD pending inflation (As the catalog seems to be from 2024) so it's cheaper than most of the parts resellers.

We had a few of them for our FSAE car back when I was in school. Very overkill for that application but they were very nice units.

[digger]

i have the LPSR RHD version for the last 2 years and seems to work well and only $190 USD. the main reason i chose it was its a very slim design good for clearance to headers....i seem to recall it is based on a older OEM Holden Barina vehicle that was sold here

[Maybe Magpie]

On the NA side, Woodward Steering in Wyoming makes aftermarket stuff that fits BMW splines as well. I can't remember who, but I noticed someone was reselling these for a while.
Their website is oldschool, but you can kind of figure out which u-joints/shaft you need from their Catalog 7.

http://www.woodwardsteering.com/catalog2019.html

Probably best to call/email them and tell them what you want. I think the whole setup is ~170USD pending inflation (As the catalog seems to be from 2024) so it's cheaper than most of the parts resellers.

We had a few of them for our FSAE car back when I was in school. Very overkill for that application but they were very nice units.

I was looking at the catalogues but the collapsible columns are in #8. The SC500 (the one I think I'd need) is 323.27, plus the cost of one of the weld-in spacers if I needed one of those. I don't see an intermediate shaft option in the #7 catalogue that says it's collapsible. That plus the two U-joints I'd need (I think UA201115?) would run me 498.03 and that's if I don't need a spacer, if I'm comprehending properly. That's all of two bucks cheaper than most other options, though it does seem to actually collapse? Does that 170USD number include a rack that emulates the stock safety features or one that doesn't? Am I missing something obvious here? Just a little confused.

have the LPSR RHD version for the last 2 years and seems to work well and only $190 USD. the main reason i chose it was its a very slim design good for clearance to headers....i seem to recall it is based on a older OEM Holden Barina vehicle that was sold here

Yeah, problem is I've got an LHD car. I consulted with a local E30 expert as well and he clarified the Vorshlag et. al. options that the LPSR one is like are collapsible for adjustability and not safety and the odds of it functioning that way in an impact are iffy.

[digger]

I was looking at the catalogues but the collapsible columns are in #8. The SC500 (the one I think I'd need) is 323.27, plus the cost of one of the weld-in spacers if I needed one of those. I don't see an intermediate shaft option in the #7 catalogue that says it's collapsible. That plus the two U-joints I'd need (I think UA201115?) would run me 498.03 and that's if I don't need a spacer, if I'm comprehending properly. That's all of two bucks cheaper than most other options, though it does seem to actually collapse? Does that 170USD number include a rack that emulates the stock safety features or one that doesn't? Am I missing something obvious here? Just a little confused.



Yeah, problem is I've got an LHD car. I consulted with a local E30 expert as well and he clarified the Vorshlag et. al. options that the LPSR one is like are collapsible for adjustability and not safety and the odds of it functioning that way in an impact are iffy.

They do a LHD version as linked above. My understanding is the part is actually adapted from an OEM car and that telescoping is an common and accepted method and the thin outer tube would likely break away once stroked and rotation begins . There are probably better designs solutions but would likely be a custom solution. None of these places would likely offer commentary/guarantee as the liability of this stuff in a collision though they do claim it is certified by a engineer but off road use only whatever that means. Compared to other solutions such as the e34 bmw UJ with solid spline shaft its alot better.

The other good thing with a telescope design is that with the larger angles involved this causes a length change as the shaft rotates so there needs to be axial compliance in the system this is why the often touted phasing of UJ can cause issues on rigid designs and that "180 degree phasing" is rarely correct. With a steering shaft you cant cancel out the sinusoidal input vs output with phasing as the input and output shafts are not remotely close to parallel and each uj goes through a different angle.

[Northern]

I was looking at the catalogues but the collapsible columns are in #8. The SC500 (the one I think I'd need) is 323.27, plus the cost of one of the weld-in spacers if I needed one of those. I don't see an intermediate shaft option in the #7 catalogue that says it's collapsible. That plus the two U-joints I'd need (I think UA201115?) would run me 498.03 and that's if I don't need a spacer, if I'm comprehending properly. That's all of two bucks cheaper than most other options, though it does seem to actually collapse? Does that 170USD number include a rack that emulates the stock safety features or one that doesn't? Am I missing something obvious here? Just a little confused.

I completely missed the point of it needing to be collapsible when I posted that, sorry.
Was envisioning just the knuckle, using whichever one measures out right (99% sure some company resells these for E30/E36, so they may be aware of the required length) probably something like UAD5-201115.