autopaul

i really want to hear any costom rack and pinion setups i have heard way to many bad things about the cp racing kit in regards to price and workability clearance issues etc. and want to see what people have done for them selves ie what parts they used VW, 2nd gen 7 setups or what have you. tips, ideas would be helpful i want to build a reliable setup with a tight ratio and good or better than stock turning radius than stock.

autopaul

dont worry i did a search all i could find were thread after thread of complaints about cp, (and thier sales rep) so we need to solve this problem and be innovative about it, and figure out a setup that can be made much cheaper than 600$$

woodonastick

iTrader: (1)

i heard something about putting in a crx steering into an fb...please dont' qoute me on that. just what i heard.

autopaul

hmm that would probably work, cause theyr about the same width, and i know crx have a great turning radius and ration, but i think they have terrible bumpsteer... cool good suggestion, dont worry ill do my research first though

rotor vs. piston

I heard about the CRX rack too, and I remember that bumpsteer was an issue. The CRX has a good turning radius mostly due to it's short wheel base. If you can fabercate (sp) all you would need to do is to shorten the steering knukle so you'll have more movement there per movement of the rack. Though this would also increase effort a bit. There is another guy that did a conversion with a Mustang rack, he just swapped the knukles from Right side to left etc. and began the fab work and he seems to like it. He post over on the V8 Rx-7 board though I can't remember his name off hand.

twigg

theres no way in hell, even if it benefited me, would i put a honda product into my rx7.

The Wankler

iTrader: (14)

Come on, lets add the honda badge to the back of our cars!
;0)

twigg

those who use honda parts in their rotary cars must be stoned and force to drive the first year of the crx for the rest of their lifes. stock.

pjr

iTrader: (8)

Hey, whatever works...

Slammed_GSL

iTrader: (14)

I used a 84 rabbit rack for my conversion on my 82' GSL. I'll post some pic's sometime soon.
I will be at ABF again this year so you can give is a good look.

pjr

iTrader: (8)

Isn't that what they used in the CP kit?

Junia

Those old crx are badass.

Slammed_GSL

iTrader: (14)

Yep, I just ripped their design, cost me $100 bucks and 10 hours of fab work and 1 tsp of blood.

autopaul

cool how is it working for you, where did you get the steering universal joints , did you use two or three of them?, is there a special car i should look for in the junkyard?, a better model with tighter steering or quicker ratio? i want the best for my car, just like any proud 7 owner

grantmac

I just drove my 2nd gen front subframe swap for the first time around the block today and I was really impressed! The power steering without the PS pump doesn't take too much effort and I was one-handing most of the time. I'm gonna wait until I have the wheel spacers for the rear and some better brakes before I really test it, but it looks promising. The turning radius is if anything bettet, and the ratio is much faster! It did take a lot of fabrication though.
Grant

autopaul

so i can take 2nd gen 7 rack and pinion? cool
do you have any writeup or anything how you did it?
or does anyone for any custom rack and pinion swap?

grantmac

You have to swap the entire front subframe. Website by the first to do it is here:
www.bcrx7.com/swap.pdf it'll take a moment to load. There are a few issues that he didn't cover but I got around them with minimal fabrication skills. Other bonus is you can get the 4 piston calipers and big brakes. I see you are in Vancouver, if you are ever on the Island I'd be glad to show you the car and have a chat about the swap.
Grant

kenn_chan

Did you use the stock FB column, just cut off, and modded, or did yu use the guts from the FC column?

Kenn

Sgt Fox

iTrader: (3)

you MUST show me, tommorow...

grantmac

Were are you in BC?
I used the complete FC column, I got a tilt one and I recommend you go for a non-tilt it would have been much easier. Also I had a few more issues with the subframe than Abeomid did from that write-up, like the rear of the subframe sat lower and needed spacers. There is also an aweful lot of caster with this set-up, but the steering feels fine and the added caster is actually one of the things I wanted.
Grant

P.S. Just waiting on my wheel adaptors for the rear and I should be on the road, that and I need some FC front brake-lines because the FB ones are a little too short in one area.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

you say theres a lot of caster, iirc the fc subframe swap sits the wheels notable farther forward in the fender cut outs, looks a bit odd, how did yours come out? Also, what is required to make the Fc colum work in a FB? any pics would be nice as I plan this for one of my fb's

autopaul

thats really cool and a great writeup, im surprised some of it bolted right up, thank you mazda... cool i think id like that way better than the vw rabit **** or any aftermarket stuff.
ya a column writup would be great although im sure it woulnt be too bad... how much wieght do you think it would add?

grantmac

Yeah the wheels do sit very far forward, hence the added caster. The driver's side just barely rubs the inner fender as you turn it (205-50-15 tires), I may just bend that out of the way. If I decide the caster is too much I'm just gonna grind the mounting holes in the subframe into slots and move the whole thing back.
I'd do a column write-up but I don't have access to a digital camera right now, and most of it is in there too tight to film. Basically if you have a welder and you can weld you shouldn't have too much of a problem with the swap, I will try and answer any PMs that come my way.
The hardest part was building a motor mount, this would be a non-issue if you also swapped in an FC motor! I built a completely free-standing one that mounts the 12A to the frame on the original mounts. This way I can move the subframe around independant of the motor.
The swap shouldn't add any weight really maybe even loose some, the FC components are much lighter. The steering box from our cars is a pig and all the steering linkage is heavy too. The other nice thing is the swaybars are stiffer stock due to shorter "arms" on them also the control arms and calipers are aluminum so the unsprung weight should be down too.
Grant

P.S. Wheel adaptors arrived from CP today, should have them on by Friday and the brakes re-bled. I'll do a more thorough shake-down this weekend.

Slammed_GSL

iTrader: (14)

The 84 GTI rack has a better ratio than the rabbit does, as for the universal joints I used the 2 joint connection that came with the car. I recommend getting the steering column, uni-joint and rack as a set from the donor car. I used the bottom column bearing to keep the column centered and I cut the rabbit steering rod end off and welded it to the mazda column. This is the part were some fabrication skills are required for this conversion. CP Racing did all the fab work up front to make their kit a bolt in..kinda....minus some cutting. I spoke with Chris about 2 weeks ago and they are releasing a new R&P kit with a new Aluminum rack instead the rebuilt rabbit stuff and a reengineered design. Sounds good, we'll see how much it ends up costing$$$. I'm just waiting for my new flares to arrive soon to cover my 225 50 r15's! My 82'GSL is starting get the look!!!

autopaul

does a 13b front mount not just bolt right up ? youd think with some drilling although im not speaking from experience. i cant wait to get into this swap looks like fun. how much time do you think someone would spend on a swap like this using the writeup, and begginer fabrication skills with a welder and some good cutting tools?