CyCloNe!

Lol don't tell me that, I have 17x8 that are suppose to go up front eventually.

Van

I don't know the exact answer, Cyclone... But I can tell you this: my turbo, which put 1528 lbs on the front wheels, and I ran a 245 R18 tire, and as little caster as possible, wasn't too bad with a manual rack. After a 45 minute session or so, my arms would get pretty tired, though - so it was definitely noticeable that I had no power steering.

Now, on my NA car, which is lighter, only weighing 1345 at the front wheels, and has a narrower tire - 225 on a 15 inch rim, takes much less effort with the same manual rack. I don't really know how to quantify how much less... but in the same time period, let's say a 45 minute session on the track, it doesn't even cross my mind that my arms are tired or working hard. So maybe that equates to 25% less effort?

And all of this is with a real manual rack, not a de-powered power rack.

CyCloNe!

Thanks Van, I'm going to continue running it depowered for now until I get my new rims on. Honestly it seems as though the rack is getting easier to turn over time. Once the new rims are on it will tell me whether to go ahead and get a true manual rack or just stay depowered. Either way I personally would like to avoid going back to power, maybe easier but I like having less leaks and keeping things simple.

Van

Your arms are getting stronger.

CyCloNe!

Now if I could just some how apply this to my stomach my wife would be over joyed

sydneyman

haha yes i did. The depowering was just so i could still enjoy the car while i saved up for a full power steering overhaul. Also have to remember this was in my 968 so its a little heavier in the front.

haha nice. My wife can't/won't drive stick so im not in any danger there. oh by the way, did you start your car yesterday? i felt the house vibrate a little around 2.

Hollywood D

My rack seemed to loosen up after a few months of driving. Don't know why, but it seems to take less effort

ECS Tuning

You're building upper body strength.

My 944 came from the factory with manual steering. I love it, it's just so direct.

Otto Mechanic

I'm just getting back to my 944S2 track car project after an injury last year that took me out of commission for awhile and I'm trying to reconnect with all the projects I had planned, this is one of them.

I followed this procedure using a salvaged PS rack I got from a local wrecking yard for $20. I did shim the spring under the diamond shaped plate and rather than crimp off the hard lines I used some metric grease fittings to seal the ports and also allow me to re-grease the rack without taking it apart if I ever wanted to,

I've read a lot of conflicting reviews on the performance of this mod. Some people seem to hate it, others say that for anything but city driving it's a big improvement. My car is built for the track mostly but I do plan to keep it street legal in the first build (1.0) so I can get it too and from the local track without a trailer (about 150 miles to either Buttonwillow CA or Laguna Seca so I would like to have something I can navigate in polite company.

From what I read, there seems to be two sorts of mod; one is the "just seal up the ports, fill it with ATF and take off the belt. Top off with ATF in the reservoir as needed" method. The other goes more along the lines of what's described here.

One of the big differences between the two methods, near as I can tell, is this one has you remove the inner piston in the rack. I would think leaving that piston in place would be a bad idea and probably make it very hard to steer. Maybe this accounts for the different reports in road feel? Anyone know if this is the case?

Also, the hard plastic line connecting the right and left sides of the rack was missing on the scrap part I bought. I've been looking for a compatible material I can use (mostly trial and error through McMaster-Carr) but haven't hit the right combination of I.D. and material yet. Anyone know a good source for this part, or maybe just the correct specs?

Thanks!

Otto Mechanic

BTW, I noticed the link to Genikz's original PDF (which has lot's of pictures) on this site is busted. I have a copy of it and will post it here if anyone's interested and can tell me how to post a 8 or so page PDF with lots of photos on Rennlist?

CVR_Rally

You will want to take the rack apart and remove the inner piston as you say. It does make things a whole lot better. Driving down the road you won't even notice a difference. I like it so much that I look forward to the next time I'm in it. The only time it's a PITA is at a near to complete stop.

I also have a Momo wheel that is a little smaller. That adds a little extra effort so a stock wheel would be easier.

Otto Mechanic

Thanks for the confirmation CVR, it made sense to me also. I'll be installing it in a few weeks and I'll update with my experience when I get the car back on the road.

Big E

That would be excellent. Thought I had it saved, but just poked around and couldn't find it. One of my long list of things to do...

Otto Mechanic

I think I've figured out how to publish it, I put it in my Dropbox folder and secured it for anyone to read. You can read or download it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2tsbentchq...rsion.pdf?dl=0

Happy rack modifications to all.

There's another good thread here at:

https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...ring-rack.html

It's based on the document I've posted on dropbox but also includes some technical stuff on how racks work, why this mod works, and some great pictures from XSChop, who pulled out all the stops and built something that looks more like a piece of jewelry than a steering rack

Big E

Got it. Much thanks! I happen to have an extra power rack lying around that the fittings are already completely trashed / cut off, so this is perfect to fiddle around with.