Steering/Quick rack - Z3?? Advice pls............

[miniblob]

Right then, got a little leak from my steering rack, so wanna get one with less turns lock to lock.

Has anyone else on here used a Z3 rack?
Got any experience of one?
Advice/Do's/Dont's/Tips/Suggestions etc?

I've noticed a few people on here have used E36 racks.
Not sure whats better (the less turns the better in my book!).

What're your views people!!

Btw, car is a 325i touring (power steering).

Cheers.

[Avner]

E36 rack got 3.25 turns lock to lock, compared with 4 on the E30.

[Templ8e30]

The Z3 rack has the same steering ratio as the E36 rack but has less travel giving less lock.

I'd just use the E36 rack, I managed to get one to fit my 2.7 even with the btb 6 branch

Cheers,

Iain T

[dazleeds]

The Z3 rack has the same steering ratio as the E36 rack but has less travel giving less lock.

I'd just use the E36 rack, I managed to get one to fit my 2.7 even with the btb 6 branch

Cheers,

Iain T

yeh on the second attempt

lets not mention the first eh

[miniblob]

Forgot to mention i have the btb 6 branch on there!! I take it that gets in the way a bit then?
Does something have to be modified to make it fit with this manifold?

I've had a quick read of the guide in the 'articles' section - it says they used the E36 M3 rack.
Is the M3 rack better than any others or are all e36 racks the same??

Cheers guys.

[Templ8e30]

yeh on the second attempt

lets not mention the first eh

Best keep that one quiet mate

Forgot to mention i have the btb 6 branch on there!! I take it that gets in the way a bit then?
Does something have to be modified to make it fit with this manifold?

I've had a quick read of the guide in the 'articles' section - it says they used the E36 M3 rack.
Is the M3 rack better than any others or are all e36 racks the same??

I removed the subframe and cut the steering rack mounts off then re-welded them back on 10mm further over to give clearance for the steering coupling. This means you need a lockstop on the passengers side of the rack to avoid having the drivers side tyre catching on the inner arch

The E36 M3 rack is the best one to use, it has the least number of turns for the same amount of travel. All other non-M3 e36 racks are the same.

Cheers,

Iain T

[ian332isport]

There appears to be a lot of somewhat iffy info in this thread. Just to clarify a few points, I'm posting up some info that a guy (Pooky) on e36coupe.com posted up a while ago. Hopefully this will clear things up a bit.

As there has been a lot of hearsay going around about the various steering rack ratios fitted to the E36 and the M3s I have spent some time doing some measurements (and have used some of M3 Compact's measurements) plus confirmed the data direct with ZF (I know someone who works there who can access drawings on their system).

The standard way ZF quote on-centre (straight ahead) ratio is in mm/rev, which is the travel in mm of the rack bar per revolution of the hand wheel. The higher the mm/rev the faster the rack.

M3 3.0 - 39 mm/rev- the slowest available rack. This is a variable ratio but it is slower than standard until 200 deg hand wheel angle

M3 3.2 and standard E36 - 45.5 mm/rev- the M3 3.2 rack has restricted lock.

Z3 rack - 53.5 mm/rev- by far the quickest rack you can fit.

E46 compact rack - 50 mm/rev- apparently this also fits the E36

Because the M3 3.0 has a variable rack it has the smallest lock to lock at 3.0 turns but donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t be fooled it is the slowest by a country mile. A worthwhile upgrade for any 3.0 M3 would be to fit a standard E36 rack which is what I did a year ago with a noticeable improvement.

Cheers,

Ian.

[stuartgallafant]

good info there ian. i myself am looking for the Z3 1.9 rack

[tregzybmw]

my steering rack is on its way out....will getting a garage to fit an e36 be more expensive/work than a normal e30 one?

[bottlecapE30]

i had the m3 on my (now totaled) 335i and the z3 on my 325 2.7. I liked the z3 rack way better feels like a race car i never cross my arms when autocrossing and just a all round great road feel. The M3 rack felt dead and disconnected when crusing or when going through long slopping turns but when you get into a turn it would jump and feel responsive. i didn't like the inconsistancy of the m3 rack i would recommend the z3. just my $0.02.

[Jhonno]

ive fitted a normal e36 one.. not driven it yet, but its nice and light and much faster than the e30 one from pushin the car about

[miniblob]

I'm fancying the Z3 rack then at the moment!!!!!
Are all Z3 racks the same or should i be looking for a particular one?

Hope your getting ready to have a crack at fitting one Stu

Anyone know a good place to get one - I'm assuming the dealers would want silly money, but would be interested if you could find out Stu!!

[ian332isport]

Are all Z3 racks the same or should i be looking for a particular one?

I think they are all the same except for the MZ3 versions. These used the standard E36 rack for some strange reason.

Ian,

[Jhonno]

it might be to do with the extra speed.. higher speed and the steering is more sensitive

[ian332isport]

my steering rack is on its way out....will getting a garage to fit an e36 be more expensive/work than a normal e30 one?

It's not a straight swap, so will cost a lot more than fitting a standard E30 rack.

You need to modify the steering coupling and hydraulic pipework. There are also issues with the steering coupling fouling on the exhaust manifold depending on what model you are looking at, and what type of manifold you are using.

Ian.

[Jhonno]

m40 doesnt work with the conversion. downpipes are in the way

[miniblob]

Z3 rack can be had for Ԛ£194.25 from euro's!! No idea if that's good or not!!

I'll be ringing round to try and find a cheaper one when i get back from me hols!!

[Martinaston]

That will be with an exchange unit from euro's.

I may be able to find one for you

[miniblob]

Let me know!!!

PM me if ya get some info - though i'm away for a week or so from tomorrow!!
If not, i'll have a proper search around when i get back!!

[Chris-W]

Let me know if you need a Z3 rack.

Cheers,
Chris

[miniblob]

May well be in touch in a week or so mate!!

Cheers!