So I guess I'll start...

http://www.mrcmfg.com/respeed/

I just finished installing the first Rack an pinion kit into this immaculate 84 GSL-SE with 70,000 original kms on it, this car is amazing!



The owner had the CP Racing rack kit in it and hated driving the car, and I can tell why. After taking it for a quick test drive down the road, I honestly dont know how anyone could drive a car like that. It bump steered like mad and you could never keep it pointed in a straight line even on the smoothest of roads.

So with Billys (Respeed) new rack kit now available, the owner wanted/needed something different.

Here are some pics of the process














The new parts! yay












Once we got the toe set I took it out for a quick drive to make sure everything was alright....and it was amazing! This steering kit is by far the best thing anyone who has a CP Racing kit or even factory steering could do to their car!
It drives soooo nice, no bump steer what-so-ever, very smooth when entering a sharp corner, no binding....WOW is all I had to say.

Thumbs waaay up to Billy at Respeed for a very quality product that actually works!

Installation takes roughly 5-6 hours depending how many bolts get broken , Anyone who has a CP kit in their car already, will need a different steering colum and new outter tie rod ends and will take about an hour extra to make some changes.

 

OOoooo so nice! i would love to do this mod......

 

Hell yea, that's what I like to hear! I haven't got mine installed yet, but Billy custom powdercoated my camber plates the same dark blue as my x-member, so I'm just waiting on a couple of more items from him, a new steering wheel, my Illumina's and RB adjustable LCA's, then some time off work to get busy on it. What rack did you guys use? I got the FR 15:1 quick ratio and will probably get a smaller steering wheel to help build up my arms... I also opted for the rod end outer tie rods-I hope this thing goes together as nice as it looks, it's absolutely top quality stuff!!!

-Adam Collins

 

Nice write up! This will be a future upgrade for me!

 

I can't wait till mine arrives.

 

dammit i want one, but im not sure if it would fit in my car

 

now that i think about it though, eventually, i might just buy it and fabricate it to work

 

Wow that CP racing rack looks like *** compared to the respeed one! That would suck to spend a bunch of $$ and then have your car undrivable afterwards. Nice work man!

 

Nicely done Joe,

Mine should be also arriving shortly, Billy will be custom powder coating it to match all the green stuff inside my engine bay. Good to hear on how long the process also takes. Billy is probably the best guy out there for us first gens.

PS - Joe, know anyone thats nearby that does good alignment? Or do you guys have all the equipment there? Mine should be here i'm guessing in a couple of weeks. Also who's car is that that you were working on if you don't mind me asking.

 

[QUOTE=ratboy;7433233]Wow that CP racing rack looks like *** compared to the respeed one! That would suck to spend a bunch of $$ and then have your car undrivable afterwards. Nice work man![/QUOTE

At first I thought the first pics were the Respeed kit... I was thinking wow that looks like a sack full of ********.

That Respeed kit looks very well made. To bad I can't use it though, but I do have plans for R&P and it should work just as well... I hope.

Beautiful car too.

 

Why'd they change the CP racing one halfway through production?

I have the CP racing kit laying about (Never installed) and it doesn't look ANYTHING like that. It's all round tube and doesn't block the oil drain bolt.

 

Hey Adam, we used the 15:1 in this car and its really nice. I almost wouldn't want to have the other one, the 15:1 seems right for the FB's.

driftking777 - why wouldn't one fit in your car?

dj55b - Yes actually we have an alignment place just down the street from us who have done all of our cars so far. $65 for a front wheel alignment. Now that they've done a Respeed rack kit, they know whats going on lol. I explained everything to the guy who does all the aligning. The car belongs to a guy from Cambridge.

 

Yeah I believe that was the first version of their kit.....pretty much the same crappyness as the second version.

 

Very nice writeup man! You're making me drool all over my keyboard. lol I've learned better than to question Billy's quality or designs. Always first rate, and very nice guys to deal with too, which is becoming a rare thing these days...

 

I got mine a couple of weeks ago. Just waiting for my nephew to clear his Stealth out of my garage so I can start on it. I can't wait!

Rich

 

Wow ... I actually wonder how many people have that kit now. Headcount? lol.

Joe- Thanks for the info, do they have a computerized alignment place where it tells you everything to .01 of a degree by anychance? I'm really curious to find out what I'm running all around and try to adjust a few things if necessary.

 

OOOOOOOOO no heee didunt!!!!! thats why

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the point of this?

When I bought my 1st RX-7 back in '95, the salesman told me the benefit of the manual steering is less things to go wrong... Made sense at the time, and still does. First and only time a car salesman said a shread of truth to me.

This is still manual, correct? What is the problem with the factory set-up?

Also, I'm coming from the Mustang world, and having the steering arms at that crazy angle is very bad (on lowered Mustangs). You want the steering rack arms parallel to the front control arms.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steering

Nevermind.

How much more difficult is it to turn compared to stock?

 

That looks like a very well built set up! The only thing I'd be weary about is the replacement of the factory tension rods with what seems to be a pre-bent (aka already passed it's yield point) suspension arm. All the forces from braking are transmitted to the chassis through these arms. I'd hate to see one of those arms fail! Although I'm sure the guys at ReSpeed thought of this though... no one could design something that nice and compromise the integrity of the front suspension.

How much does this set up cost? Does it come in black?

 

i love that wheel and tire combination.

 

Two questions:

1.) Who makes that strut bar in the first pic, that looks nice and I think it'd fit nicely in my car.

2.) What's so bad about the factory steering? Mine makes a funny grinding noise if you hold it at its limit, but it works fine otherwise.

 

DAAAAAMMNNNNN.....im so speachless at how flawless it looks. i need a better paying job so i can do this. respeed is living up to its rep.

 

1) That looks like the CP racing one, CP racing is no longer in business (well atleast not selling to the general public anymore due to a few issues) ReSpeed makes a really good one also

2) The stock steering over time creates this "wondersteer". By that we mean that when you turn the wheel from one direction to the other there's a bit of play before the wheels actually begin to move. On some cars (usually the ones abused more like race cars) tend to create quite a few inches inbetween the 2 direction before it actually engages with the wheels. In other term, not responsive steering. Also with the option of going between regular ratio or quick ratio is good for most race cars. But usually when you go with a quicker ration, its a bit harder to move the steering wheel. Combine that with some of the smaller diameter aftermarket steering wheels, and you've got yourself a work out everytime you drive the car until your arms are nice and big and then you get a smaller wheel yet again (just like increasing weight when weight lifting )

 

You should take a look at the pictures again (the last shows it pretty well), the arms are perfectly located.

$775 + Rack Choice.
Powder Coated your choice of our standard colors.



Thanks guys. It has been a long road of R-n-D on this kit. We are extremely happy with the response so far.

-billy