e36 rack conversion / is it worth while???

[cubic]

can any one tell me the benefits of doing a e36 rack conversion as me C2 shot its load all over Argos car park yesterday

[Brianmoooore]

Less turns lock to lock. No great advantage in normal driving, but better when manouvering, and almost essential when discovering the meaning of oversteer.

[cubic]

will keep my C2 2.7 standard then as shes my baby and gets treated as such however my 2.7 e30 conversion likes it hard so gonna give it crack! as over steer sucks and claimed the life of my long lost jenny (tec 2).
cheers for your knowledge, couldn't be more pleased to find out less turns lock to lock, will any e36 rack do or is there a favorite

[kevo]

hiya mate the e36 m3 rack is best as it offers 25% reduction in turns a standard e36 rack offers 12% reduction and a z3 rack is slightly better than them both with apparentlya better feel and the least number of turns. they are supposed to pretty much bolt in but require a few spacers to be made an all.
kev

[DRIFTBOY]

Having fitted an E36 rack myself I, personally, think I should have gone for the (generally more expensive) Z3 rack as I'm still not too happy with the amount of wheel twirling needed in big sideways moments! It is a good improvement though.

[ian332isport]

hiya mate the e36 m3 rack is best as it offers 25% reduction in turns a standard e36 rack offers 12% reduction and a z3 rack is slightly better than them both with apparentlya better feel and the least number of turns. they are supposed to pretty much bolt in but require a few spacers to be made an all.
kev

The M3 Evo used the same rack as the rest of the E36 range. The 3.0L M3 had a variable rate steering rack that was actually slower overall than the standard E36 rack. Z3 is approx 2.7 turns lock to lock and is the quickest available.

Even a standard E36 rack is a good upgrade on an E30.

Ian.

[cass1_5503]

will the z3 rack go on all e30s because i heard someone say that it wouldnt fit on the 4 pot

[ian332isport]

will the z3 rack go on all e30s because i heard someone say that it wouldnt fit on the 4 pot

Z3 and E36 racks are exactly the same externally, so no problem fitting either to the car. The problem is clearance between the steering column and the exhaust manifold. On 4 pots, the manifold gets in the way (it's bloody close on 6 pots).

I'm sure it will fit with modifications to the manifold/downpipes, but not as standard.

Ian.

[cass1_5503]

cheers dude so i aint going mad then looks like im going to have to modify woooooooooot

[cubic]

WoW! what a response A BiG tHAnkS to all for the help. Z3 the way to go then, do you know if my 6 branch manifold will cause me problems
and do i still use the combination of e30 / e36 steering linkages... cheers guys

[ian332isport]

do you know if my 6 branch manifold will cause me problems

Almost certainly. I'm not aware of any 'off the shelf' 6 branch manifolds that will clear the steering column.

Ian.

[schuey]

Z3 rack is the way, my 4 pot IS conversion was done tonight,well until the pipe I had just fitted flew off and sprayed everthing in reach f*****g b*****d thing!
However fitting the rack was simple enough,no hassle with the manifold,I just need to sort a better pipe arrangement!

[cubic]

cheers ian... jay

[cubic]

hi schuey good to hear the jobs a good'en well almost but ya get a bit of that!!! did you use the e30 / e36 linkage conversion??? with the Z3 rack

[schuey]

Used the standard e30 joint all the way!
I dont know what the score is with the 6 pots as I have never looked,manifold must get in the way as everyone seems to use the modified joint......

All I need that isn't an original part is the pipes

[bigdek]

schuey where did you get your rack and what sort of money do they command

[schuey]

www.gcdbreakers.com

I paid 100 sheets

[cubic]

cheers schuey let use no how you get on with the pipes... jay

[cubic]

hay you guys check out the prices of reconditioned racks at buypartsby.co.uk and the best bit is they do recon drive shafts as well

[cubic]

hi ian here's a pic of that manifold mate

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4666 ... 001hc9.jpg

[ian332isport]

hi ian here's a pic of that manifold mate

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4666 ... 001hc9.jpg

That's still using a standard column joint and E30 steering rack though. The main difference between the standard E30 rack and the E36/Z3 rack, is the angle of the pinion shaft. On the E36/Z3 rack, it's closer to the engine block and therefore closer to the manifold. This is what cause the problems and why off the shelf manifolds don't normally fit.

For the record, the joint is modified because of the length of the E36/Z3 pinion shaft being longer. You need the modified joint as it's shorter to allow for this. It's not modified for manifold clearance. Some people seem to be getting away with using the standard joint, but fitting the rack in the outer set of mounting holes, but I'm not sure if there is really enough strength in the metal as they are very close to the end of the mounting tabs. There's also sump clearance to consider if you mount the rack in the other holes. I certainly couldn't use the other holes on my car as it would hit the sump.

Ian.

[cubic]

Armed with all the above who could go wrong with this conversion i certainly feel confident now, so a final big thanks for all the knowledge guys and Ian mate you truly are a legend... cheers pal

[schuey]

I used the front holes mainly because when the rack was in the original holes the pinion shaft (which is the same length give or take a few mm )but a different angle was catching on the engine mount and generally being awkward to fit. The rack clears the sump but the sump makes it hard to get the rack off.

The job would be dead easy (as in 30mins easy) with the engine out

I am going to weld a strenghtening plate in across the tabs to counter the possible weaker area.

[LKTe30]

Does anyone know how fitment of a z3 rack would be on a left-hand drive e30? Also, if the left-hand e30 had a m30 in it how would the fitment be?

thanks

[schuey]

I reckon it would be easier since then engine tilt and manifold will still be on the right so using a lhd z3 rack should be fairly easy since there isn't really anything in the way. I think?

[cubic]

OK just a quick thought the standard 325 power steering pump is 110bar does any one know the Z3 pump pressure

[schuey]

nope.... but if the standard pump pressure is 110 bar (1500psi) ish,then that will be why my pipe bodge didn't work.
Got my new pipe,built to withstand 4700psi-that won't be coming off any time soon,will fit it as soon as I am allowed out of the house,I'm like fookin cinderella

[cubic]

hello schuey could be risky as 4700psi = 108bar there abouts mate don't mean to put a downer on it for ya mate. have you got pipe bending tools as looking at this conversion it seems to me it might pos to make the original ones fit

[schuey]

Without wanting to be pedantic isn't 1 bar 14 psi?(ish)

110 bar would be 1540 psi.........

It works anyhow I just finished
I used my pipe bender for plumbing pipe but I think my pipes were just fooked,you could prob bend them tho.

My new pipe is rubber which helps with fitting coz its a total ba d to get the high pressure pipe on as its all a bit fiddly!

Will be putting some more pics on the other thread when I get chance,taking car to work tomorrow to get tracking done.

The difference is huge-you can feel a lot more through the wheel,and manouvering in to my drive didn't involve taking my hands off the wheel unlike normally when its 2 turns each way!

Like i said in another post-the job would be dead easy with a ramp,and even easier with the engine out.

[Brianmoooore]

110 bar = 1595 psi.
Don't know the pressure of the Z3 pump specifically, but E36 and E34 are the same pressure as an E30, IIRC, so I'd be surprised if the Z3 was any different.

[cubic]

1bar = 14.5psi so 4700psi = 324.14bar really sorry about that that's the second encounter of brain rot ive had today must be that birthday ive got coming up.

really good to hear there's a big improvement and all went well how much did the pipes set ya back

[schuey]

Ԛ£10 a few tense moments when I started it after the previous disaster,all was cool tho! If I get bored I will overbraid all the pipes to make it look a bit nicer but I have Uprated brakes and quickshift to fit as well as sorting my ice out so its a bit easier to remove for track days etc

It was nice to hear it run again after not driving it for over a week,I will get some one to film me cocking about in it when its tracking is done, so you can see how little arm twirling is required

[Andy335Touring]

Get some picies up then dude

[schuey]

there are some on the other thread will add some more tomorrow!

[bottlecapE30]

Does anyone know how fitment of a z3 rack would be on a left-hand drive e30? Also, if the left-hand e30 had a m30 in it how would the fitment be?

thanks

much easier then the right wingers have it you still need the hybrid joint, you will have to bend some of the high pressure lines. fitment with the m30 is similar really no issues. i have have both one with the z3 rack on my 2.7 and the m3 on my m30 swap the z3 is world better.