E30 Steering Rack

[T89 Preparation.]

Hi All, another E30 question. I need a quicker steering rack for my '89 320i Touring. I have been told that E36 and Z3 racks fit but I'm not sure which is correct.

Z3 racks seem to fetch big money which I can't afford, E36 racks seem to fetch much less.

Will an E36 rack fit and will it be any quicker than the E30 rack? Also are there any other parts I need? And do I need to get a rack from a specific E36 or ar they all the same?

For instance, will this fit and will it give quicker steering?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

[E30M3SE]

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

[T89 Preparation.]

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

[obscene]

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

[agent006]

Don't fall into the trap of getting an E36 rack that has low lock-to-lock. A number of them have smaller lock angles, so give a lower l2l number but in effect just turn less.

[Shropshiremike]

obscene said:

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

It's actually 4.1 I believe on most

[Shropshiremike]

agent006 said:

Don't fall into the trap of getting an E36 rack that has low lock-to-lock. A number of them have smaller lock angles, so give a lower l2l number but in effect just turn less.

All E36s have the same steering ratio ( except the 3.0 M3 rack which is a variable ratio - 'slow' round the straight ahead but 'quicker' on extremes of lock ). I think only the 328 Sports and M3s have lock limiters because of the wide tyres.
An E36 rack is definitely a different ratio to an E30 one ( The E30 M3 is a higher ratio though than the normal E30 - about 3.6 t l to l ( or 19.6 vs 21.4 )
You can add lock stops to the steering to avoid arch scrubbage if you have wide tyres ( and vice versa )

[Pork_n_Beem]

E46 rack, its quicker and you can put the e36 arms on, thats what i run

[Shropshiremike]

Pork_n_Beem said:

E46 rack, its quicker and you can put the e36 arms on, thats what i run

Yep that is true - it's a bit quicker than the E36 one and a bit slower than the Z3 one.

[E30M3SE]

Shropshiremike said:

obscene said:

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

It's actually 4.1 I believe on most

Believe 4.1 is the correct number also.

Don't think it's so shocking for a car that hit the roads in 1982.

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 10th June 10:02

[Shropshiremike]

E30M3SE said:

Shropshiremike said:

obscene said:

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

It's actually 4.1 I believe on most

Believe 4.1 is the correct number also.

Don't think it's so shocking for a car that hit the roads in 1982.

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 10th June 10:02

They did do an even 'slower' manual rack at one point

[E30M3SE]

Shropshiremike said:

E30M3SE said:

Shropshiremike said:

obscene said:

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

It's actually 4.1 I believe on most

Believe 4.1 is the correct number also.

Don't think it's so shocking for a car that hit the roads in 1982.

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 10th June 10:02

They did do an even 'slower' manual rack at one point

Bet that was 'fun' back in the day......... be even more 'fun' today.

[Shropshiremike]

E30M3SE said:

Shropshiremike said:

E30M3SE said:

Shropshiremike said:

obscene said:

T89 Preparation. said:

E30M3SE said:

Here is a 'How To'

Also give you the different gearing/turns for the diffrent racks.

BTW, Z3 racks are the most expensive because they are the quickest at 2.7 turns stop-2-stop.

Cheers Man, quick question... if an E36 rack is 3.2 Turns LtL what is an E30 rack?

I believe it's 4 or slightly above 4. Shocking either way

It's actually 4.1 I believe on most

Believe 4.1 is the correct number also.

Don't think it's so shocking for a car that hit the roads in 1982.

Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 10th June 10:02

They did do an even 'slower' manual rack at one point

Bet that was 'fun' back in the day......... be even more 'fun' today.

You used to be able to get a manual quick rack from Griffin Motorsport down Swindon way. A friend bought one for his 325i Sport - I think that was about 2.7/2.8 turns from memory. Don't think they do them anymore though

Edited by Shropshiremike on Wednesday 10th June 20:45

[sniff diesel]

I've got a couple of E36 racks in my shed if you want one in return for a couple of beer vouchers. PM me if interested.

[T89 Track & Race]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thanks for the advice but the money has pretty much dried-up now. I set aside a grand to do the project and I have now hit that. I can afford a few small bits but £130 is way out of reach at the moment.

[T89 Callan]

Well that was a fking mission!

Needed to make some spacers as the E36 rack mounts are narrower than on the E30 and getting the pipes to match was a complete arse. I think I did the job to efficiently though as when reconected the flexi' pipe sections were way to long.

All I have to do now is work out why the bloody steering knuckle is fowling the exhaust.

Cheers to everyone who helped out.

[sniff diesel]

Glad to hear you got it on in the end, hope it makes a worthwhile difference to the steering.

[T89 Callan]

sniff diesel said:

Glad to hear you got it on in the end, hope it makes a worthwhile difference to the steering.

Thanks again mate, most appreciated.

It is now a turn less lock-lock but won't be able to try it properly until the fking coil'over turn-up in 4 weeks time.