hi everybody, i am after quickening the steering on my locost and, being very tight, wants to do it cheap! someone has suggested drilling a new hole in the steering arm (sierra hubs). this will shorten the arm, i think it's strong enough. if the arm is shortened by, say, a third, will it reduce lock to lock by a third? or is this all a bad idea?

same lock, less movement on steering wheel.....yes? main reason i've posted on here, i expect some one to shout ' bad idea', spend money on quick rack!! the idea seems o.k. but there might be something i'm missing!

afaik the only way to quicken the steering is to change the gearing ratio between rack and pinion.

it won't alter the number of turn lock to lock on the wheel, but it will give more movement of the road wheels, so i guess it will speed the steering up a little bit (if it takes you 10 seconds to turn lock to lock and the road wheels to turn through 80deg for example, after a redrill the arms, you might get 90 degrees. so if you turn the steering wheel through the same 10 seconds, your wheels turn 90 degrees, then yes it'll be quicker.

but i'd go for a quick rack. they're only about £100 for a whole rack, or you can get the internals and do it yourself.

new hole in steering arm?

You really think that is safe?

By all means do it if you are willing to die or be severely injured for the sake of £ 70.

IMO you don't f**K around with brakes or steering.

I may be been a bit thick here but I think it will alter the number of turns lock to lock as the steering rack will have to move less for the wheel to reach full rotation about the ball joints.

Steve

not too keen on that idea and are you sure you have enough metal where you want to drill. Mind though if you do move it that the rack will have to move also otherwise the steering will be wonky (to use the technical term)

quote:

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Originally posted by Howlor
I may be been a bit thick here but I think it will alter the number of turns lock to lock as the steering rack will have to move less for the wheel to reach full rotation about the ball joints.

Steve

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I agree but the fact that the wheels are limited means that the number of turns lock to lock will reduce.

Steve

but the full steering lock isn't limited by the wheels hitting your wishbones/chassis (or at least it shouldn't be, otherwise thats an sva fail)
its limited by the rack

quote:

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Originally posted by Howlor
I agree but the fact that the wheels are limited means that the number of turns lock to lock will reduce.

Steve

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I would get a quick rack.. You could move the pivots if you limit the rack travel, but the following might be a problem:

1) Not enough strength in casting.
2) More strain on ball joints.
3) Steering Geometry altered.

Without knowing how 1 to 3 are effected by the mod I would agree with the probably better not do that camp..

Dan

Not entirely sure what SVA looks for, but using the rack limit as a steering stop is a bad idea. There should be a mechanical stop on the spindle itself to limit its travel. Very common on most cars.

thanks guys! there is enough metal on the arms, but obviously the holes would need drilling with a tapered drill (i wasn't going to do it myself) and it would need some sort of lock stop on the rack. after reading your views, i'll get a quick rack

quote:

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Originally posted by Martian
i'll get a quick rack

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quote:

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Originally posted by MustangSix
Not entirely sure what SVA looks for, but using the rack limit as a steering stop is a bad idea. There should be a mechanical stop on the spindle itself to limit its travel. Very common on most cars.

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Some cars do have adjustable limit bolts on the uprights like my Nissan and all cars fitted with steering boxes have them but there is no reason to fit them on a rack equipped car unless you have clearance issues. The car will only be on full lock at low speeds so the loading on the rack pinion will be minimal.

you're not supposed to hold power steering racks on full lock for more than a few seconds, but thats it...

I thought the pressure relief valve would just open and bypass the flow to the reservoir, you can hear the valve whine like my digger does at full travel with the arm.

^ probably. its just what i read in one of my cars handbooks at some time.

Cheapest quick(er) rack if it is a Sierra rack is to use the Sierra power steering one with some fluid in the pipes and the pipes joined together, stops the moving parts seezing up

Using the steering rack as a limit has a couple of potential drawbacks.

First, many racks only have a snap ring to limit rack travel. That is not a very sturdy stop.

Second, if the rack should fail at that point, there is the potential for the spindle to overtravel. That potentially sets up conditions for an overcenter which would not allow a return, fouling of bodywork, or potentially even tearing off the brake lines.

Third, even once the stops are reached, the effect is then transferred to the rack mounts. With rubber mounts, that means you have rubber stops. The mount would have to be designed to withstand that type of lateral stress.

It is definitely doable, but bear in mind the possible issues.

what is preffered number of turns for a 7 style car lock to lock for best results ,feel and drive
cheers
richard