What are your thoughts on converting the 1st gen steering to something that works better? Rack and pinnion etc. and have any of you performed any swaps for improved steering?

 

There used to be a rack and pinion setup available from Cp racing. They had crappy service and I believe finally went out of business.
I believe someone may be working on a replacement for this.

You might use the search function at the top of the page and use the key words Rack and pinion. I thought I saw something less than a month ago.

And by the way, Welcome to the forum. :-)

 

Well, from the search (thanks for the tip RX7doctor) it sounds like people have tried, maybe succeeded, maybe not.

I'm going to buy a second gen rack and see what I can come up with. I don't see why you couldn't design a set of brackets that bolt to the holes for the box and idler arm.

It seems the key items would be getting the rack in line with the steering arms, getting it the correct length and the amount of travel right and left, making sure it was adjustable vertically for bump steer adjustments and connecting it to the steering column.

Doesn't sound that difficult in theory.

 

if I remember billi from REspeed is working on a rack for the first gen. They do great work but havent heard anything about it in awhile.

 

You will need to convert from a rear steer to a front steer to get the 2nd Gen racks to work, or just find a rack off a Geo, Rabbit or another rear steer car.
I am looking into having a new shaft machined with reverse worm drive so the 2nd gen rack will work in rear steer. $$$$
Lot's of work no matter how you do it.
My Rack&Pinion is out of a 84 Rabbit and took about 10 hrs of fabbing to install.
Not for the faint of heart, you need skillz.

 

Billy at respeed keeps saying hes working on a r/p kit, so I'm assuming it will come out sometime soon, his stuff is top notch, just takes a little while to come to market.
A second gen rack won't work, it will turn the wheels the wrong way, probalby not a good thing

 

Thanks, that will save me some time. Are you happy with the setup? Seems it would be a vast improvement.

My problem with the 1st gen steering isn't totally about the recirculating ball type which sounds like a bear to keep tight on these cars but more the ratio. The stock box has a pretty tall ratio where most racks are much quicker. I plan on autocrossing this car when it's finished and I think that would help alot.

Off to the drawing board.

Thanks for the answers!

 

The Rabbit is way slower so stay away, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do at this time. Will keep the forum posted as it happens.

 

Have you adjusted your steering = while it is not like a rack and pinion, you should be able to adjust it such that there is very little free play (mine has none, have had 3 of the 1st gens and all were able to be adjusted to near 0 slop).

Scott

 

you should do a right up on the rack conversion. i have three rabbits at my parents farm and I was thinking about fabing up the rack on my gls-se. was the work worth it? what took the most time? not to thread jack...also you could use a rabbit GTI rack because its ratio is higher

 

What about the 3rd gen rack? Does anyone know if its forward or rear steer setup and what the ratio is?

I'd really like to keep it Mazda if possible.

When I find the appropriate rack I'll see what I can work up.

 

I found a possible candidate at Summit Racing. They universal rack units. 4 turns lock to lock. Brand new for a couple hundred bucks.

I'm going to work on this over the weekend. I'll lay it out on my CAD system and see what i can come up with.

I'll keep you guys posted!

 

you can use a pinto rack.. they are rear steer, however it will have to be narrowed. also you can find them in a quickratio 15:1 if i remember correctly. There's alos a company called flamming river that wiill build you a rack in your specified deminsions.. not cheap but definately quality. Also all the other guys are correct about Billy from Respeed coming out with a kit, and you can gaurantee it'll be top notch.... but you gota be patient for it as he still hasn't finalized all the testing...

 

how hard would it be really to use a rabbit rack? I haven't looked too close at the rx7's steering, but from what I understand the steering shaft is a two part affair. I would think that you could make a new lower shaft with like a universal joint. Then just make mounts on the crossmember to mount the stock rabbit's rack mounts. seems easy... I'm a farm kid so I'm pretty good at riggin stuff up that isnt made to work together

 

We are in development and testing phases. You will see it hit the market in a month. There will be 3 different ratios to choose from. A power steering option as well. It will be 99% bolt in and will include everything needed as well as the rack if the customer wishes.

Things we found about the 2nd gen rack along the way:

2ng gen rack is too wide and too costly to be a viable, cost effective alternative. May work out for a home project. Packaging issues will not allow you to put the rack in the proper place in relation to the lower control arm pivot point. Replacement racks are too expensive (approx $325) from a rebuilder or auto parts supplier.

-billy

 

so are these kits made to work with a rabbit rack?

 

^That is so sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^

 

I look forward to seeing it, I'm sure it will be much better then the cp rack. Anyway I will buy for sure. I love my FB but want a rack bad, I can only imagine how it would improve the handling.

I will watch your site for updates.

Keep up the good work.

Adam

 

Man I can't wait. The power steering option will definately be on my list. Do you have a final or approx. price for the kit yet? Would like to put money to the side early.

 

No.

It will be well worth the wait.


Start setting aside more than $500 but less than $800. That is the closest number I can speak of at the moment.


Also, keep an eye out for: Big brake for 4 lug patterns including 110MM for Rx2, Rx3 and 79-83 Rx7, properly designed stiffer engine mounts, competition tubular sway bar for 79-85, Watts update for street and strut braces for 79-85.

-billy

 

+1 for ReSpeed and bwaits. In my opinion the greatest thing to happen to the 1st gen community in a while. Great company.

 

best steering option is to get a power steering rack and rip off the power steering. Best thing I've ever done. Great response, no looseness and lets you feel the road.

 

*shrug* I'm quite happy with my stock setup, and I autocross.
Just adjust it to get rid of the freeplay and save $700.

 

What adjustment do you do, jays83gsl?

 

Tighten the box. It's in the FAQ section, meng.