Steering Upgrade Sugestions Needed

[Jomart95]

Hello All...

I'm in the need of some suggestions surrounding steering upgrades on a g-body.

My daily driver is a '11 335i BMW and though I never expect my '87 t-type to feel identical to my BMW, I do expect it to handle and feel better than a 30yr crown vic.

Understandably, I need to replace all of the steering linkage. However, if I go that route which steering box should i consider purchasing? Or, should i got to a power rack and pinion setup? I want the performance feel that newer model cars provide.

I currently have 2" drop spindels, coilover suspension, tublar upper and lower control arms in the front and double adjustable uppers from BMR in the rear and upgraded lower control arms from BMR out back as well. The front control arms are not the best that money can buy and I would be open to changing those out as well as the spindles....however, the spindles will need to provide some drop over stock to keep my ride height.

Thanks for your input!
John

[Jomart95]

Bueller?????

[wayward]

If a rack is available for your car you can not beat them.

For most of us it's steering boxes, and with that you have ratios and effort that provides the feel.. You will want a higher effort box but to much and you might as well have a manual box.. You will also want the small box as it has better internals.

I would recommend calling a power steering company and chat with them to figure out the effort your looking for on your car.

Mfg... Lee, sweet mfg ,& CJR all are premium blueprinted and dyno based boxes. I'm sure there are others but those are who all the big race teams use that I'm aware of.

The suspension parts are to accomplish the correct geometry throughout articulation and keeping the tire flat on the ground.

[Jomart95]

Thank you wayward! Spoke to cjr this morning. They're going to do a rebuild for me and guaranteed a corvette feel when it comes back. I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again

[killer69]

STAY AWAY FROM THE RACK CONVERSIONS!
the geometry is not ideal the install is not ideal.
get a good 14:1 box from Lee and then the REAL answer is the AFX spindles and steering arms, they FIX the issues with bump steer, Ackerman and is a 1" drop at the same time.
let us know if we can help

[mc84_zz4]

I highly suggest a Lee Performance 670 series steering box.
http://scandc.com/new/node/246
I cannot express how well this changes the feel of the car, it feels like the car lost 500 lbs, it is faster responding, and is truly amazing if you saw hard side to side.
An imaginary emergency lane change is very predictable, and a blast, it is easily one of the best updates I have made to the car.
You will be looking for better seats to keep you from sliding around.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/02/1353550_IMG-1.jpg

[NOT A TA]

Jeep steering shaft upgrade?

[Nothingface5384]

670 lee box is best for your buck
Only way.id go rack would be with a uni steer r&p with stock steering arms and stock ball joints along with L &H Kustoms stock height drop spindles
Or stock spindles with tall upper bj. Stock lower bj ..stock steering arms
If you have a afx spindle you'd get double the corrections since the afx has bumpsteer and camber built into the spindles itself where as the L & H Kustoms only has csmber biilt into spindle while their matching steering arm has the bumpsteer corrections
Rack and pinion has bumpsteer built in so use stock arms

[wayward]

Thank you wayward! Spoke to cjr this morning. They're going to do a rebuild for me and guaranteed a corvette feel when it comes back. I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again

They are outstanding in product and service!

[wayward]

STAY AWAY FROM THE RACK CONVERSIONS!
the geometry is not ideal the install is not ideal.


Blake, is the issue the conversion? The rack itself is an outstanding option, is it not?

[71RS/SS396]

Blake, is the issue the conversion? The rack itself is an outstanding option, is it not?

The problem with retro-fit rack kits are they try to package it within the confines of the existing chassis and not to optimize the geometry which would involve cutting up the crossmember in most cases.

[71RS/SS396]

STAY AWAY FROM THE RACK CONVERSIONS!
the geometry is not ideal the install is not ideal.
get a good 14:1 box from Lee and then the REAL answer is the AFX spindles and steering arms, they FIX the issues with bump steer, Ackerman and is a 1" drop at the same time.
let us know if we can help
The AFX spindles work very well, I have those on a 86 El Camino with SPC upper arms,Spohn lowers that also have some built in drop in the spring pockets and the car handles really well considering the tire size limitation.

[killer69]

The AFX spindles work very well, I have those on a 86 El Camino with SPC upper arms,Spohn lowers that also have some built in drop in the spring pockets and the car handles really well considering the tire size limitation.

What ^^^^ Tim Said. except I would use the Speedtech Control arms!! lol

[Nothingface5384]

Pretty sure just about all rack and pinion conversion kits simply have wrong geometry making the car no better or worse then factory ontop of the 1200-1600 price tag
Only company That I know made the correct provisions is UMI Performance
But you'd need to have one of the 2 setup I mentioned so you dont end up with 2x of the same provisions..
but for fraction of the cost, cant beat a LEE or DSE box

[wayward]

Pretty sure just about all rack and pinion conversion kits simply have wrong geometry making the car no better or worse then factory ontop of the 1200-1600 price tag
Only company That I know made the correct provisions is UMI Performance
But you'd need to have one of the 2 setup I mentioned so you dont end up with 2x of the same provisions..
but for fraction of the cost, cant beat a LEE or DSE box

Do you know who makes the DSE box?

Doesn't about any suspension change, require bump steer adjustments as well? What geometry falls out with the racks?

[Jomart95]

BTW….I've got the upgraded steering box and new TC PS Pump installed from CJR products. I must say that their craftsman ship is fantastic and the feel of the car is completely different. It feels just has good as any late model muscle car on the market today. Well worth the money spent. In total, I spent roughly 600$. They reconditioned the stock steering box and I bought a remanufactured TC PS pump from them along with a their pulley. If you're running a BBC, like i am, I highly suggest getting the PS Pump bracket from DSE. Thanks Wayward!