so who tracks an s/m50 swapped car?...

[JRKOUPE]

Im about to pull the plug on a PS delete as Im a bit tired of the leaks....


Id like to hear your reviews of this mod.....pros/cons..issues..etc..etc...

Ive searched and read..alot.

Im curious to hear from those that track alot. Although she will be driven to tracks.....Im not really worried about city driving or parking.

tia

jrk

[lostbeachbum]

the only time that you can tell the difference is when you are going below 5mph.

[iflytii]

I raced 7 out of 9 of my races in addition to several track days in 2009 without power steering. After 2 straight races with massive leaking I pulled the plug. The car was totally manageable without power steering but it did uncover some minor bump steer issues that were getting masked with power assist.

By the end of the year I had become accustom to the feel and had convinced myself I liked it better on track without. Last year I swapped in an LS1 and hooked power steering back up for grins. After racing last year with power steering, I plan on keeping it - I think... Really I could go either way and my lap times are similar with or without but it's a little less fatiguing running wide slicks for long periods with PS. With the LS swap I've got more power than talent so I can afford the parasitic loss, and knock on wood I have no leaks with this setup. If I were scrapping for every last bit of HP with my straight 6, I'd probably leave it off.

[Ian F]

Semi-related question: was any variant of the E30 ever sold in the US with manual steering (if it was ever available at all)?

[JRKOUPE]

I raced 7 out of 9 of my races in addition to several track days in 2009 without power steering. After 2 straight races with massive leaking I pulled the plug. The car was totally manageable without power steering but it did uncover some minor bump steer issues that were getting masked with power assist.

By the end of the year I had become accustom to the feel and had convinced myself I liked it better on track without. Last year I swapped in an LS1 and hooked power steering back up for grins. After racing last year with power steering, I plan on keeping it - I think... Really I could go either way and my lap times are similar with or without but it's a little less fatiguing running wide slicks for long periods with PS. With the LS swap I've got more power than talent so I can afford the parasitic loss, and knock on wood I have no leaks with this setup. If I were scrapping for every last bit of HP with my straight 6, I'd probably leave it off.

I forgot how much I do like riding the berms....and even w/ PS its quite a kick..hmmm..

how wide are your slicks?...

[bimmerteck]

You don't need PS on the track so it becomes personal preference, I have a bad shoulder and find it helps keep fatigue down. There are other options than the stock plastic reservoir and prone to failure OE lines. ;)


On my convertible I'm swapping over to AN/starlite solution with the HP hose made by a local hydraulics shop. On my next project I have an electric assisted PS setup out of a newer BMW leaning up in the corner to try out.

Gustave detailed the AN conversion on his site a while back his is a little mroe involved than mine as I adapted the rack using steel mectric to JIC fittings and the pump as well where as he used the stock hard lines and welded on AN fittings where the soft hose had been.

http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...rack/index.htm

[e30s50dan]

Getting ready to track my S50e30 in April,with PS on,but may take the short belt with me incase i want to remove it...stay tuned!

[bimmerteck]

Semi-related question: was any variant of the E30 ever sold in the US with manual steering (if it was ever available at all)?

I don't know that it was ever offered stateside but 32111130169 is the PN for the e30 euro manual rack.

[JRKOUPE]

Getting ready to track my S50e30 in April,with PS on,but may take the short belt with me incase i want to remove it...stay tuned!

I hear ya....

..but that may not actually feel the same as removing all the ps components and re routing the lines to prevent pressure build up in rack.

what event r u doing?....

[iflytii]

I forgot how much I do like riding the berms....and even w/ PS its quite a kick..hmmm..

how wide are your slicks?...

11.0" section width and 10.6" tread width on a 10" wheel.

[iflytii]

You don't need PS on the track so it becomes personal preference, I have a bad shoulder and find it helps keep fatigue down. There are other options than the stock plastic reservoir and prone to failure OE lines. ;)


On my convertible I'm swapping over to AN/starlite solution with the HP hose made by a local hydraulics shop. On my next project I have an electric assisted PS setup out of a newer BMW leaning up in the corner to try out.

Gustave detailed the AN conversion on his site a while back his is a little mroe involved than mine as I adapted the rack using steel mectric to JIC fittings and the pump as well where as he used the stock hard lines and welded on AN fittings where the soft hose had been.

http://e30m3project.com/e30m3perform...rack/index.htm

If you don't mind me asking, which pump specifically are you using? I have one from a mini and I've looked at several others including ones from Toyota (MR2) and Porsche. I had already converted everything to AN lines similar to Gustave's writeup and swapped to an aluminum reservoir but my pump ended up being the source of the leak. I'm reusing all my good stuff over to a buddies car and we plan to go elec. but I'm not sure we are going to use the Mini pump because of reported overheating issues. I need to research that a bit more before we settle on it.

[Eric]

I don't know that it was ever offered stateside but 32111130169 is the PN for the e30 euro manual rack.

Manual rack sure, but it's terribly slow, so it's not an upgrade at all.


OP - manual rack with a S50 is fine, but fatigue goes up w/out PS, and it gets worse if you have big front tires.

[etxxz]

NEW CRUSH WASHERS, TIGHTEN UP THE HOSE CLAMPS.... 30min of work to fix the leaks... If its the hoses then w/e

anyways, s52 e36 (non-M) rack. I track it (DE and drift) with PS and love it. I don't have a good reason to delete it, i hated fighting with my rack back in the day.

[j0oftheworld]

It's been long standing common knowledge that manual steering gives you much better "feel" on the track.

[BigD]

I would never want to have a non-PS car on the track. If you're always well under the limit of traction and don't care about the precision of your steering, then yes it's just like any other street car before PS became popular - you only really need it at low speed. But if you ever get into a high speed tank slapper, go on a bumpy track, you're going to regret it, badly. Every race car, including F1 (not talking amateur play cars), not including dragsters , has power steering. The only reason not to install it is laziness, and to delete it is stupid. The reason to keep it is everything else.