First words, wow, followed by hmm......

This was in Paul Aber's car, which has a bunch of goodies on it, 5 ways,Eibachs, R-Compound 16's, all new bushings. real nice setup, tight and clean.

So out for a spin in a first gen with a rack, hmm.. nice.

First thing yah notice is how tight the wheel is, no play, all these years its a WIERD feeling. a nice one though.
It does seem like there is a bit more effort to turn the wheel then my car, almost identical setup. problaly due to the ratio.

Off to road abuse it

Nice, tight, strait, goes where yah point it, and smoothly for the most part, a bit of notchyness in the u-joints I imagine, noticeable, but not anything to worry about.
Went over many bumpy, uneven, nasty OHIO crappy roads, and it was amazing, no bumpsteer for those who are worries, tracked strait, went where yah pointed it, really nice.
But I did notice more steering wheel effort and travel, once again due to the ratio. also the shorter turning radius is noticable, but I was still able to make every turn just as before.

Overall, seems nice. would I buy one for my 7?
Ask me in 2 weeks after Auto-X'n it at the Revolution.
So far though, I think it will be on the list for upgrades

ok, back to work.......

 

Interesting. I've considered buying this conversion kit, however my car seems to steer pretty well as it is (i havent auto-x'ed or road raced it yet though).

 

I did my own version, of the R&P.
84' Rabbit Rack and steering column.
new boot set and about 16 hours of fitting.
$100.00

 

Here's a pic

 

Sorry, res was to high on my camera. 5 Mb pic won't float.

 

reduce the res

 

I've seen a rabbit rack in a VW baja bug. It works well, although the front end has no gas tank and has one of those one-piece fiberglass nose things, so it's rather light. I'm not sure how it would do if it was the same weight as an RX-7.

 

thx for the review... i wuz considering this upgrade, but unsure if i would be satisfied with the difference...

 

Well, I can show you what the baja with the rabbit rack and peanut steering is capable of. http://www.geocities.com/cd23c/cars.html#rabaja

 

Ok, I got some good seat time behind the Rack.

I will make this easy and simple......

BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT!


For those who missed it, B U Y I T !


Wow, what a pleasure to drive, I didn't take my car to the revolution due to having a bad steering box, and was debating on weather a rebuild was needed or installing the rack and pinion kit. I'm going for the rack.
It's and absolute joy to drive the 7, after almost 10 years of slop-o-matic driving it was wierd to drive such a responsive and accurate 1st gen steering system.
I've had 7 or so 1st gens so I've had experience with different boxes, my 83 with 74k on her has a tight box, but no where near as tight as a rack.

On the highway you can let go of the steering go over uneven bumpy roads (like overpasses) and she keeps going strait, sure the wheel kicks a bit but she tracks STRAIT!

Its so responsive its so unlike a 1st gen, I love it. at 100mph you feel in control, not rocking the wheel back and forth trying to keep it strait.

Also I noticed that there was less tendency for the R-Compound tires to wander over uneven roads and it tracked amazing.

Overall I give it 2 thumbs up, actualy make it 3 thumbs up, its a great upgrade.

Saying that, not everyone needs it, my 83 is just fine with the stock box, 13 rims and 500,000mile rock hard Avenger Terror gripper 4000's work fine with it and the stock coils and shocks. However on a upgraded suspension and grippier tires, this rack will make for an excellent upgrade.

I wish we could take Pauls car cross country and let everyone take it for a spin. The test drive would sell it.

Also got to spend 2 days at the Revolution talking and hangin out with the guys from CP Racing. I know the good and bad that has been said about these guys. And deep down, they are just rotorheads like you and me. They aren't trying to make millions sellin these parts. they are just trying to make stuff nobody else wants to or can. I am not a salesman for them, I have not bought a single item from them. But my first purchase will be the rack. I belive they sell a quality product at a decent price. Some may say overpriced but I say they bitch about things to much.

Ok my fingers are tired, going to rest them for a bit.


Max7

 

I concur, even though I did my own copy of the CP kit I would have bought the kit if I hadn't needed it for a emergency. Mine was a repair not a upgrade, the adjusting stud on the top of the box sheared and the pitman arm dropped about 1inch...very bad! This condition was due to improper adjustment on my part, but now I'm hooked on R&P steering. I plan on trying some other combinations on my 83' and 85'. I will post when I install another unit.

 

i know Its been posted a bunch and there is a thread somewhere, but can someone give me a link to where they sell the rack conversion. Just curious on price. thanks.

CJG

 

www.cpracing.com

 

http://www.cpracing.ca

 

thanks guys.

CJG

 

Sorry....got the com and ca mixed crossed

 

that was one of the best Simpsons episodes

 

What is the difference between the stage 1 and stage 2 kits. I checked their website out, and all i see for sale is the stage 2 kit, and they say in their Q & A section that the stage 2 only takes like an afternoon to fit but stage one takes more. How much more does the stage 1 cost? and what more is it? I know you guys arent salesmen, but im just wondering if you guys can tell me the differences, i am defenitely going to do this. I drove a T2 last week, and it just had the stock power rack in it, but the belt had been taken of the pwr steering and lines looped, for auto x. I was very impressed with the difference that a rack car can make. Much more precise turning. thanks.

CJG

 

From what I've heard they have since stopped selling the stage one kit. Which is probalby just as well since you'll be getting a refurbished rack so everything will be nice and tight, unlike a worn out old ebay rack you would get for the stage 1 kit. just my $.02