I just finished putting on the cp rack and pinion and it makes the car fun again.
My credit card was charged a month or so before delivery, but according to Chris, they were still waiting for the delivery of the product.

I think I was one of the initial guys to get one and the instructions were a bit sketchy .
( I have e-mailed my comments and suggested changes to Chris . If any of you guys want to see that , let me know and I'll e-mail you a copy.)

Whenever I had a problem, i e-mailed them and had an answer the following day.

I really like it . I wouldn't say it feels like a go cart, but it feels go-cart like . Much better than the stock box w/ 92 k miles on it. I was beginning to feel like I was driving a truck.

The ratio feels about the same as a manual steering box.

The installation wasn't bad . It took me maybe 10 hours to do it, but i also pulled the steering column out to disable the steering lock , and I'm slow and old.
I think I could do a second one in 4-5 hours .

I have some pictures up at http://members.cruzio.com/~stan/

I'll be happy to answer any questions .

PS I'm not affiliated w/ CP Racing

Stan

 

Welcome to the forum Stan and thanks for sharing your experiences with the conversion. We've all been waiting to hear some feedback about this. So.... How does the car handle at highway speed? I know mine wanders all over the place. Did you purchase the stage II kit or did you supply your own Vdub rack? Also, when the car is sitting on the ground, how "level" are the tie rods? Thanks!

PS - I moved this to a fresh thread.

 

Nice. Is that one of the HF racing jacks? Oh and what is the ratio anyway? How many turns lock to lock?

 

Stan - thanks for sharing your experience. I'm looking for how to fit that kit into my budget.

 

Great, finally some feedback on this. I've asked this a million times before, but I'll ask again. Can anyone tell me how exactly the U joint attaches to the steering column?

 

Thanks for the pictures. If you are able to post more, some from the front to show ground clearance and some showing the tie rods at ride height would be great.

Does it rub on the oil pan or anywhere else?

Thanks

 

if you could get some more pictures. im curious to see how far away from the stock steering "bar" it is. did it move far forward (thats what it appears).

thanks for the pics

 

Thanks for the welcome.
The car handles much better. No more wandering .
I could read a book while driving down the road now

My previous car was a Scirocco w/ r & p and when I bought the 7 it was the only thing i did not like.
Even when new, i was aware of how much steering input was necessary on a straight road.
I posted a few new pics at http://members.cruzio.com/~stan/
I tried to show the tie rod angle . It may be a hair on the down toward the outside . my car was lowered about 1.5 inches w/ TMC springs which would account for the slight downward angle. See picture labeled " wheel height " to get an idea of the amount lowered.

 

The picture showing the drivers' side and rack looks like there's not much clearance between the lower oil cooler line and the steering column attachment. It even looks like the steering linkage loops over the oil line and then between it and the engine.
Can you confirm that this linkage does NOT rub against this line during operation?

 

About the same ratio as the stock manual steering box .

3.6 turns lock-lock.

The jack is the knock off sold by harbor freight.

they're now down to $140 .

 

See the 2 pictures of the stock 2 piece steering column.
http://members.cruzio.com/~stan/

The upper piece is re-used , the new shaft is machined to slide into the the re-used upper part the same way the stock lower worked.
There are actually 2 universal joints in the new lower section.
I'll try to get some pix, but the column is black so it may not work.

 

Yea that does look dangerously close to the oil line. Like aviator said, does it loop around it? If so how do they expect it to work with those of us who have braided stainless lines for our oil coolers?

 

you posted yoru last post as I was typing mine, thanks for the answer about the column, I've been trying to get an answer about that since spring when it was first brought up here. Just to confirm: you don't have to remove the column for this mod right? you did for other reasons correct? Thanks a lot.

 

No rubbing .
Except slight rubbing of the lower universal joint against the oil cooler line. I had it tied back w/ a zip tie, but the zip tie is missing after 1 week. I guess it was rubbing against a sharp corner of the frame where i wrapped it.

Need to find a better place to tie it off .

I put a new picture from the front showing the clearance . The rack sits lower than the crossmember, but several inches higher than the cats/exhaust system .

 

Not sure what u mean by steering bar ?
If you mean the center link, it is about the same place .
Anyway there are a few more pics up now.

 

So would you say this was worth the time, effort and cost?

Also, how hard was the install? I remember promises of an uber easy install

 

The instructions say that you don't have to remove the steering column.I started to try to pull the lower shaft out of the steering column but it WAS hitting the frame rail. I shortened the lower shaft by cutting it w/ a 4 inch grinder w/ a cutting wheel ( about 45 seconds ) but it still did not have room. In my case, I just pulled the whole tube out.

There were other things that the instructions said to do and I could not figure out how to do , and did not believe could be done . However, a quick e-mail to cp , told me in more detail how to do it and Viola , it worked .

It's not that hard to pull out the column, about 30 minutes .

Anyway I hope your confusion is now at a higher level

 

well, I'm the original owner and I plan to keep the car for a lot longer. So the $550 cost is minimal ( 1 or 2 monthly payments for a new car ?).

Also I usually enjoy working on the car ( don't we all ?)



Also, how hard was the install? I remember promises of an uber easy install


Getting the old stuff off wasn't that easy , but got done .
One the old stuff was removed, the new stuff went on in just a a few hours.

 

this very much cements my determination to get one this summer

 

I wonder if my Racing Beat header will clear this bar? Has anyone confirmed this with Chris at CP Racing?

http://members.cruzio.com/~stan/p%20side.jpg



EDIT - I emailed Chris and asked him if the header would clear. His response....

 

Thats it im getting one

 

I think I want to buy one, I over budgeted my turbo project, so now i have some extra cash lying around hmmm Turbo FB with R&P

 

Has any one with a V8 tried it yet?

 

What I want to know seems to have been avoided here. Are there issues with bump steer? When driving down the road and hit a pothole does the car jerk to the left or right? Kind of important to know in regards to whether the suspension geometry was set up right!(Thanks to Gamble for his breif lesson on bump steer.)

 

I have seen it come up several times an I don't recall a clear answer form anyone excpet JO who said he tested it and it was perfect, but that was when he had the old design.