I hate my light steering feel. Will a rack swap fix this?

[shayne_bermudez]

i have the e36 rack in my 325is coupe shell i just bought. No power stearing and its heavy but not to heavy for daily driver. i love it

[fiveightandten]

Dear fiveightandten,

So you want your e30 to have the same steering feel as your e46 or e36? I suggest your please sell your e30 to someone who isn't insane. Thanks.

Love,
straight6pwr

Dear straight6pwr,

My name is Nick. And yes, i'd like to get rid of my over-boosted, slow steering, which is devoid of tactile feedback and too light to provide any sort of sports car feel.

I'd like to modify the steering to make it closer to other BMW's I own, which have superior steering feel, quicker response, and more feedback. Insane, I know. There's a 72 page DIY thread full of other insane people talking about how it's a terrible idea.

Don't confuse handling with steering feel.

Love,

fiveightandten

[straight6pwr]

Dear fiveightandten,

So you want your e30 to have the same steering feel as your e46 or e36? I suggest your please sell your e30 to someone who isn't insane. Thanks.

Love,
straight6pwr

[fiveightandten]

Please report back after you do the swap. I'm in the same boat, I love my e30 but the steering feel in my e90 is soooo much better. If a swap will make the feel a little heavier as well as quicker I'll definitely go that route.

Will do. Unfortunately, I had some family stuff come up and I can't get to it this weekend. I'll do it up soon though, and will definitely report back.

I went with a small steering wheel and a PS delete. I think it may be a bit too much but you sure do get some fantastic feedback from the wheel.

Thanks for the data point. I think manual is a bit more than i'm looking for, but your car is awesome BTW. I remember going through the build/swap thread when I was researching 24V stuff (I still want to do that at some point). Euro bumpers and rack swap this season, for now.

[Nick_S]

I went with a small steering wheel and a PS delete. I think it may be a bit too much but you sure do get some fantastic feedback from the wheel.

[Mwishlist]

Please report back after you do the swap. I'm in the same boat, I love my e30 but the steering feel in my e90 is soooo much better. If a swap will make the feel a little heavier as well as quicker I'll definitely go that route.

[F34R]

Quicker rack and power steering delete. Feels amazing.

^^^^this

I have the 1.9ltr rack in mine with a Condor Speed Shop aluminum PS block delete. I daily it too, my EX GF also drove it around without a single complaint.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Sweet, thanks for confirming that. Were you able to re-use your PS lines, or did you have to swap to the E36 stuff? I see conflicting info about this. I have the rack and the knuckle spacers, and the rack mounting spacers. It would be sick if that was all I needed.

It was quite a while ago, but I think I was able to reuse the old lines.

One thing I will say, I wish I had blocked off the power steering pump because 3 months after the swap my pump went out. I was obviously pissed, and after driving an e21 for a little bit, I wish I had made the switch to manual steering. One less thing to go wrong.

[ELVA164]

Are we talking beach sand, or playground sand?

Definitely beach sand. Collecting playground sand will probably get you arrested.

[pandaboo911]

Thanks. I have an E46 330ci and love the steering on it. I like that car's steering more than my E36 M3 (1998). But I couldn't find much info on swapping in an E46 rack, so I just bought the E36 rack instead. It was like $50, and the E46 racks are significantly more, so I suppose the E36 rack will do the trick.



Is the E46 rack much different to install (modifying the knuckle, hose/line placement, etc.)?



Are we talking beach sand, or playground sand?

E46 rack is exactly the same install. Same spacers, e36 high pressure line with bends, e36 outer tie rods.

Can get a rebuild unit from rack doctor for $200. I got a full refund for my e30 core since it was a euro rack or some such.

[fiveightandten]

Another suggestion - e46 rack (gold tag - some refer to this as the ZHP rack.) It feels somewhere in between the z3 rack and the e36 rack. If you're planning on doing a good amount of highway driving, I recommend this. It is much faster than the original rack but not as touchy as the z3 rack. I have one in my 24v e30 and love it (It is still power-assisted, for reference)

Thanks. I have an E46 330ci and love the steering on it. I like that car's steering more than my E36 M3. But I couldn't find much info on swapping in an E46 rack, so I just bought the E36 rack instead. It was like $50, and the E46 racks are significantly more, so I suppose the E36 rack will do the trick.

Is the E46 rack much different to install (modifying the knuckle, hose/line placement, etc.)?

A bit of sand in the rack might increase effort somewhat...

Are we talking beach sand, or playground sand?

[pandaboo911]

Put a restrictior into the line. You can get banjo fittings with integrated restrictors. I believe the e46 came with said fittings

[ELVA164]

A bit of sand in the rack might increase effort somewhat...

[KI4UJO]

Another suggestion - e46 rack (gold tag - some refer to this as the ZHP rack.) It feels somewhere in between the z3 rack and the e36 rack. If you're planning on doing a good amount of highway driving, I recommend this. It is much faster than the original rack but not as touchy as the z3 rack. I have one in my 24v e30 and love it (It is still power-assisted, for reference)

[CaliDazze]

First thing I noticed after my z3 rack swap was how much heavier and more grounded the steering was. You should see an improvement with the e36 rack.

x2. z3 rack feels like a racecar. Or maybe its the swaybars, or the springs and shocks, or all the fresh bushings. anyways my car feels like a racecar.

P.s. Ive never driven an actual racecar...