I love my manual steering. No regrets at all.

 

Depends on the application. You mention high speed, manual rack is fine.

You don't mention auto-x, if you do that then you won't/can't be fast with a manual rack in a FD, woman or not.

 

so what are you planning on using jim? manual i assume? the only situation that manual steering would suck for is parallel parking... that wheel would be a bit tough to turn quickly, expecially while traffic is waiting fo you to park. well maybe that wont apply for you, but i plan on my car driving around town and such.

 

You're right, I didn't.

Yes. I was one of the first (if not the first) with a recirculation loop, and I'm the one who tracked down Maval Gear to convert power racks to full manual operation and eliminate the extra lines and internal pistons.

I wonder how people managed to parallel park before power steering became standard equipment?

 

OK I'm having trouble explaining my question...so bear w/ me.

What exactly is the relationship between the steering wheel, the actual wheels, and stability? Cuz I'm curious if/how power steering actually makes a car more stable. Is *steering wheel* stability directly correlated to *wheel* stability? Because when going fast, it's the *wheels* that are bumping around, and that's what makes the car unstable, correct? And in my mind, power steering has to do w/ reducing *steering wheel* effort, ie, making the *steering wheel* more stable, but it has nothing to do w/ the *wheels* themselves. If that assumption is correct, wouldn't a bump @ high speeds create the same instability in both a power steering equipped car, as one w/o it? Unless the relationship is direct, and to move the wheels, the steering wheel must be moved (in a direct/linear fashion), meaning that by removing power steering and increasing steering wheel effort, the bump on the wheels won't move the tires as much because they're fighing a larger force applied against the *steering wheel*? (Jim, I'm sure you understood at least half of this lol Help me out here)

 

I would never go back to power steering. Even at Auto-X I don't mind and that's with 275's on all four corners.

 

You should have stopped right there.

The front wheels constantly make small shifts in alignment, either due to normal cycling of the suspension, tire tread design (wandering on grooved or uneven pavement can be attributed to this), and/or because of compliance in the stock rubber bushings which allows suspension components to twist and move in a non-linear fashion. And that's before you add in the compliance of a power steering rack which can move slightly without affecting the position of the steering wheel (i.e. giving direct road feedback).

Eliminating the power steering pump provides better road feedback through the steering wheel and prevents assistance from the power steering system under conditions (like high speed) where it would be unwanted. Speed-sensitive power steering systems are designed to reduce assist at higher speeds, but I'd still rather have nothing helping me out. I didn't like the "darty" feeling that the power-assisted steering rack had at high speed, so I did something about it.

A recirculation loop is only half the battle, though, since it only eliminates the assist from the power steering pump but doesn't totally eliminate the compliance in the rack itself, or the friction of pushing fluid around inside the rack. Converting the rack completely by welding the quill (input) shaft and eliminating the internal pistons is the best solution.

 

But I did.

 

Results probably depend specifically on the types of courses you run. If the course is a open fast course I could see it working for you.

Looking at the national contenders, most/all of them have PS on thier FDs. They are fast and feel the weight/feel is worth it.

 

Okay, let me try to answer some of the questions posted:

- Yes, the car has a FMIC. See page 15 - (oh so long ago) of the posts.
- As for the Pettit intakes, they do look cheesy but they work extremely well. Used them on my 13B. Anyone offer a solution that looks better and works as well?
- The Forgeline wheels are NOT white, they are silver. The flash must make them look that way. See prior post at the beginning of this thread for a better picture. Not a big fan of white rims so you won't see them on my car.
- No idea about the Greddy elbow and its mating with the 20B.
- Yes, the car still has PS, AC, etc. This would definately be a killer in Florida if the AC didn't work! Pettit's conversion relocates this equipment so the car still has the stock stuff.
- The engine doesn't use a stock strut bar but it will have a Pettit custom strut bar. My guess is that the engine is too high for the R model strut.
- The Tien coil overs are the FLEX set. Don't know that much about them. Came recommended by Pettit. Pettit sells several different types of TIENs but suggested using these.


Just got the punch list from Pettit and approved everything. Am told I'll get to pick up the car sometime next week. Can't wait as I have been driving an SUV since taking my car to Pettit and I definately now have a "need for speed"!

As for the dyno RWHP, this will have to wait until about 1,000 - 1,500 miles from now. Pettit wants me to take the car out and break it in before putting it on a dyno. I am now crafting "trips" to take so I can get back to Pettit quickly. I fgure one good trip to Atlanta GA and back to Pettit will do the trick!

 

i dont know... maybe im just a wuss and im ok with that, but its pretty damn hard for me to turn the wheels if the car is say parked in my driveway. i dont know if it has to do with the large tires, or tiny steering wheel, but its kindof a struggle. not that i cant do it, but it definatly takes quite an effort. on the other hand, i have a '67 MGB that is an absolute breeze to parallel park, and it has power nothing (even the windshield spritzer is a manual pump that you have to repeatedly push w/ your hand haha). i dont know, i need to find someone near by be that has done the conversion and try it out.

anyway, its seems that it would be more and more twitchy the faster you go. doesnt the FD have a speed sensing system for the power steering, where the faster you go, the harder it is to turn the wheel? i thought that was the case

 

We can say the same about disk brakes, fuel injection, ac, pw and on and on. Creature comforts, I'll take it anyday, its the essence of modern day peformance vehicles. Just the other day I was at a red light next to a guy with a 69 Camaro with a cam idling rough and shaking, manual windows, sweating his *** off with a 3 speed tranny. All that and maybe doing 12s, while I was sweet with all the creature comforts running practically the same ets.

I'll take on of those

 

I'd have to read up on how it actually works. I ditched my power steering 3 months after buying the car and never looked back.

 

I'm only seeing 10 pages using my preferences... what's the post number?


If they are aluminum, polish them... if not, powder coat or chrome plate them.

 

i dont know... personally they look fine to me. ideally i would like to use some apexi intakes on my 20b but the space is limited and they are not as compact as the K&N's. either way, im going to get a set and see if i can find some room for them. one option that i was toying with was making a pipe for the secondary that goes around the BACK of the engine (above the tranny) and the filter will dip down on the drivers side.. i think there should be enough room there. if that doesnt pan out, ill just go with an intake similar to yours.


By the way, are your turbos run in parallel or sequential. im sure this has been covered already and the answer is probably parallel... but i thought id just ask to make sure. i know that pettit does a few things with the turbos (jet coating housings and doing a bit of porting to the exaust sides)... and im assuming they cut out all of the flapper doors for sequential... but do you know if they do any other modifications? the HT-10 (secondary) is seriously TIIIIIINY and i cant see it doing much good. the ht-15 is decent, but they should have paired it with an ht-12 in my oppinion. too bad none of the housings are interchangeable, and you just cant "swap" turbos. also if they are run in parallel, how do you efficiantly split up 3 rotors with 2 turbos??? w/ the stock system... all 3 rotors go to the ht-15 untill the transition (which is like 3500 rpms??? i cant remember but its lower than the 4.5K of the FD seq.).... anyway, after that a flapper door is closed and the 3rd rotor is separated from the other two. the flow from the 3rd rotor is then diverted to the tiny ht-10, while the other 2 remain feeding the ht-15. anyway, i have no idea how what gasses would end up going where if you just removed all of the flapper controls. it seems that you would either starve the ht-10 and not get anything out of it, or give it too much exhaust and overspin it out of its efficiancy range and heat up the air. i dont know, maybe things just work them selves out? i just cant think that 3 rotors -> 2 turbos (especially unequal sizes, and distances away) will work well. -heath

 

FMIC = post #198

 

actually, David, the worst thing you can do for break-in of any engine is lug down the highway in top gear

break-in is all about heat cycling....the mileage counter is just there for ignorant people...break in the engine with short jaunts and city driving, with occasional bursts of throttle but never WFO and never overworking the engine to load too much heat into it at first....then let it cool down COMPLETELY (i.e. overnight)

within 400-500 miles it will be broken in, compression and vacuum will confirm this

change the oil at 100 miles and again at 500....the oil gets contaminated extremely rapidily during break-in, even if it doesn't look dark

I've researched this topic for many years and broken in numerous motorcycle engines this way...they all ran very strong....conversely, several friends "broke in" their bikes bogging down the highway for 1,000 miles and their compression sucked....plus the engines puffed oil from that point forward....granted piston rings are not the same as apex and corner seals, but the mating surfaces "bed in" the same way

again....heat cycling, heat cycling, heat cycling....quick bursts of throttle....extended trips are NOT good for break in

 

thanks for the advice. this is what Pettit has told me also. it has been my fantasy to be able to bring the car back to Pettit a few days later for the final tuning but, in reality, it won't happen anyway. my wife does a lot of community theatre acting so she can't go with me on a trip right now.

so, the engine will be broken in the way you recommend. i'll just make sure to use my car for all of those trips to the supermarket for milk!

 

also, just to state the obvious, never use a synthetic oil for break in....

some recommend a straight weight non detergent but I'd just go with standard 10w-40, you're gong to dump it quick anyway

 

What's the reasoning behind that? Every new Corvette rolls off the line with a pan full of Mobil 1 synthetic.

 

the superior lubricating qualities of synthetic delay or prevent proper "bed in" of the metal to metal surfaces

perhaps GM claims the engines are "pre-broken in" by the factory

I would never run synthetic in a new engine

 

Not to mention Mercedes-Benz and Dodge's Viper...

There are two schools of thought...

"Mobil [states] that engines break-in just fine on synthetics, and that any wear point in the engine significant enough to be an interference, and thus susceptible to rapid wear, would be a wear point no matter what lubricant is used.

Redline, on the other hand, recommends a mineral oil break-in. Occasionally an engine will glaze its cylinder walls when initially run on Redline, they say, so by using a mineral oil for 2000 miles, verifying there is no oil consumption and then switching to the synthetic, glazing is eliminated."

 

did the ol C5 puff a little after break-in Jim?

Amsoil kind of skirts around the issue http://www.houseofdreams.ws/amsoil/breakin.htm

 

No, the Z06 didn't.

 

why isn't there a button so i can print all pages?!? yes i searched for the button