any1 using a Z3 steering rack? if so...

[JGood]

wow, this thread totally went to shit.

im not gonna pass any judgements here, but here is info how to measure a steering rack. please use it and report your findings instead of arguing.

this is best done with two people. have someone crank the steering wheel while you observe the steering rack at the tie-rod to rack housing area. notice which part stays fixed and which extends. pick a fixed reference point (somewhere on the housing) and moving point (somewhere on the tie-rod, avoid the boot).

measure between the fixed point and the moving point with the steering wheel centered. this is your 0. then, crank the steering wheel 45 deg and measure again. repeat until you've reached lock.

what you end up with is a bunch of data points. you can repeat the same exercise for the other side to confirm. or even do the same side multiple times to determine how acurate you are at measuring.

with that data, i can make you some fancy graphs that will explain everything.

sorry if this was too 'dumbed down', please dont be insulted.

Exactly. And this is how I intended to measure mine.

[Wh33lhop]

wow, this thread totally went to shit.

im not gonna pass any judgements here, but here is info how to measure a steering rack. please use it and report your findings instead of arguing.

this is best done with two people. have someone crank the steering wheel while you observe the steering rack at the tie-rod to rack housing area. notice which part stays fixed and which extends. pick a fixed reference point (somewhere on the housing) and moving point (somewhere on the tie-rod, avoid the boot).

measure between the fixed point and the moving point with the steering wheel centered. this is your 0. then, crank the steering wheel 45 deg and measure again. repeat until you've reached lock.

what you end up with is a bunch of data points. you can repeat the same exercise for the other side to confirm. or even do the same side multiple times to determine how acurate you are at measuring.

with that data, i can make you some fancy graphs that will explain everything.

sorry if this was too 'dumbed down', please dont be insulted.

Actually, it'd tell you how precise you are, not necessarily how accurate ;)

But that's the general jist. I'd do it 2 or 3 times and take the averages. Will be quicker (and possibly more accurate as right angles are easier to eyeball than diagonals) to do it in 90-degree increments.

[guibo09]

Actually, it'd tell you how precise you are, not necessarily how accurate ;)

But that's the general jist. I'd do it 2 or 3 times and take the averages. Will be quicker (and possibly more accurate as right angles are easier to eyeball than diagonals) to do it in 90-degree increments.

yes precise. i understand the diff.

[Wh33lhop]

I was just giving you shit.

[Mr. Horsepower]

I have only red the first page.

When upgrading to z3 rack it is important that it is from a 1.9l Z3. That rack has 2.7 lock to lock. I bought mine from Garo Steering International on Ebay, reconditioned. Which I fitted my 87 E30 M3! This IS and upgrade indeed.
I got no play at all on the steering and as well as the rack rooms more fluid you will get more feedback from the steering.

The Z3 1.9l rack gives you LESS turning radius, which means a smaller circle when turning. When I put my steering wheel in lock with 8.5x17" w/215/40 tires it is almost not clearing to the sway bar.

This is an upgrade I will recommend to everyone that is searching for shorter steering. I bought the AKG spacer kit, but ended up just using the spacers for the rack. It is not needed to shorten the steering knuckle at all. Just push it further onto the splines and force the bolt through.

Cheers

[phivethreephive]

where did you get yours?
how much was it?
anyone heard of "Maval" for remanufactured racks?

I just bought a used 1.9 Z3 rack with inner and outer tierod ends from a yard in Wisconsin for $200 shipped. Sourced it on car-parts.com. I'm putting it in this winter, I've never done a lot of work on cars so it should be an adventure.

[JGood]

I have only red the first page.

When upgrading to z3 rack it is important that it is from a 1.9l Z3. That rack has 2.7 lock to lock. I bought mine from Garo Steering International on Ebay, reconditioned. Which I fitted my 87 E30 M3! This IS and upgrade indeed.
I got no play at all on the steering and as well as the rack rooms more fluid you will get more feedback from the steering.

The Z3 1.9l rack gives you LESS turning radius, which means a smaller circle when turning. When I put my steering wheel in lock with 8.5x17" w/215/40 tires it is almost not clearing to the sway bar.

This is an upgrade I will recommend to everyone that is searching for shorter steering. I bought the AKG spacer kit, but ended up just using the spacers for the rack. It is not needed to shorten the steering knuckle at all. Just push it further onto the splines and force the bolt through.

Cheers

As far as I know, all non-M engined Z3's will have the same rack. According to the part numbers, anyway. Have you come across a Z3 that had a different rack?

[Nic01101011]

I have a 95 M3 rack in my car, and I do suspect it is progressive.
It seems to get much quicker about a fifth of a turn in each direction.

[Mr. Horsepower]

As far as I know, all non-M engined Z3's will have the same rack. According to the part numbers, anyway. Have you come across a Z3 that had a different rack?

No, the Z3 1.9l have a shorter ratio than the other. The Z3 1.9l will be the shortest rack that we can use which is original BMW part.

Reason for the same part numbers might be that it is the part number of the housing for the rack. Like the Getrag 265/5 and Getrag 265/6 share the same outside part number.

My 87 E30M3 went from 3.5 lock to lock to 2.7 lock to lock, so it IS an upgrade no doubt. The car felt so much more right, like it should have come like that out of the factory.

As I mentioned I bought mine from Garo Steering International on Ebay without core charge.

I have a complete writeup on S14.net but my Photobucket bandwidth har exceeded.

[nmlss2006]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...4&postcount=44 this was one of the posts I was referring to BTW.

[guibo09]

so what steering ratio do other Z3's have?

every spec sheet ive been able to find on the internet shows that Z3's have 2.7 lock to lock. ive never seen anyone report that they got a z3 rack but it's not 2.7 lock to lock.

do you have anything to back up the fact that although all z3's share the same part number, only the 1.9L has the short rack?

[Mr. Horsepower]

I don't know what the ratio is, I only know you get a shorter steering with the Z3 1.9l rack.

I have red so much an searched the internet for information about it, so I cant remember where I got it stated that that specific rack got at shorter lock 2 lock.
Ther is a couple of steering rack threads on S14.net that is worth checking out.

I payed $420 with shipping to Norway from Garo. Thats no core charge.

[JGood]

Well, there is a lot of misinformation out there. I'd like to see a measured non-m z3 rack with different mm/rotation of travel then the 1.9l z3.

[robrez]

As far as I know, all non-M engined Z3's will have the same rack. According to the part numbers, anyway. Have you come across a Z3 that had a different rack?

This is true, all the non-M Z3 racks are the same - 2.7 turns lock to lock. The rack came stock on my 3.0 Z3 Coupe and I put one on my 318i as well. They are the same. The M Z3 racks are not 2.7 though.

[guibo09]

This is true, all the non-M Z3 racks are the same - 2.7 turns lock to lock. The rack came stock on my 3.0 Z3 Coupe and I put one on my 318i as well. They are the same. The M Z3 racks are not 2.7 though.

which agrees perfectly with the part numbers, all Z3's have the same part number except the MZ3 which share the same part number with standard E36.

anyone know if the Z3's ever came with servotronic (ie vehicle speed variable power assist)? im wondering if they can be used in standard mode on an e30, or if it is necessary to get a non servo rack.