16 replies to this topic

[Chris p]

Hi guys

 

I appear to have a bit of play in my steering rack so I’ve been looking at what my options are but I still have a few questions.

 

Firstly do people rate the quick racks or shall I just refurb my standard one (just shy of 100k on it). I mainly use the car for spirited driving, the odd track day and occasional nurburgring trips so think it could be a nice addition?

 

Also with the aftermarket quick racks that reduce bump steer will I end up over compensating if I also have the riser plates fitted, there's very little bump at the moment but still a little (the cars running 100mm ride height at the front)?

 

And lastly any recommendations on which one to buy. The Elise shop one and the vx220 parts one are roughly the same price and look to be the same. The seriously lotus one is a little cheaper but doesn’t mention anything about bump steer and is a little unclear whether the bronze cups are included or not.

 

https://www.elise-sh...a66094a7ac28b83

 

https://www.vx220par...ning-quickrack/

 

https://www.seriousl...eering-rack-519

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

[turbo boy]

Hi Chris,

I run the Eliseparts quick rack and asked the same questions before I committed. I got lots of controversial answers but the common consensus was that the standard rack is best for road work.

However, I like to take this kind of necessity to my advantage and decided to go with the upgrade anyway.

I personally really like it. Quick to get the nose turned in bit it does make you concentrate a bit harder at speed on a motorway for instance .

Be warned that it does also depend on the adjustment in the rack and also on your geo as to it’s effecriveness.

Definitely worth getting it fitted and set up by a specialist on this one in my opinion 👍

[chris_uk]

You could but spitfire hub carrier arms which have additional holes in so you can speed up the rack.. i have them on mine and they are ace.

If you didnt like the extra speed you could just put them back.

[Johnboyhgt]

Jon seal has some for sale at the moment.

[Spitfire Engineering]

Hi guys

 

I appear to have a bit of play in my steering rack so I’ve been looking at what my options are but I still have a few questions.

 

Firstly do people rate the quick racks or shall I just refurb my standard one (just shy of 100k on it). I mainly use the car for spirited driving, the odd track day and occasional nurburgring trips so think it could be a nice addition?

 

Also with the aftermarket quick racks that reduce bump steer will I end up over compensating if I also have the riser plates fitted, there's very little bump at the moment but still a little (the cars running 100mm ride height at the front)?

 

And lastly any recommendations on which one to buy. The Elise shop one and the vx220 parts one are roughly the same price and look to be the same. The seriously lotus one is a little cheaper but doesn’t mention anything about bump steer and is a little unclear whether the bronze cups are included or not.

 

https://www.elise-sh...a66094a7ac28b83

 

https://www.vx220par...ning-quickrack/

 

https://www.seriousl...eering-rack-519

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

Any quick rack is only going to give you a single ratio (usually around +17%) which you may or may not feel is ideal as it's personal of course.

 

The adjustable steering arms Chris mentioned jump over this restriction with several settings from -4% to +21%, changing the ratio is carried out on the arm.

Bump steer is also catered for with coarse/fine bump adjustment also carried out on the arm quickly and easily.

 

The arms give another 4.5mm of camber and are also much lighter.

They also come with a long life bearing assembly so you don't need to muck around with TRE's and having to reset the geo afterwards anymore.

 

The only downside is they are hard anodised you may not like the colour!

 

They are also cheaper than a quick rack

 

Gaz

[Exmantaa]

And besides all the above they will also increase steering lock angle.

[Spitfire Engineering]

And besides all the above they will also increase steering lock angle.

 

Correct, assuming you prefer to have this facility of course. I cannot honestly see how it is enough of an advantage to mention unless you have a very restricted parking access etc, as you would only be in a maximum lock situation at very low speeds obviously. But thanks for pointing it out anyway.

 

If you do not wish to increase the maximum lock then there are spacers available for the rack to restrict the maximum steering angle to OE or to any other limit you may wish to impose upon yourself  

I'm not sure if anyone will ever fit them and nobody to date has asked for them so I guess that probably tells you all you need to know. But the option is there.

 

 

[FLD]

The arms give another 4.5mm of camber ....
 

Gaz

Hi Gaz
Does the extra camber facility cause any issues with the hub carrier bolts? My thought is this: If there's extra camber facility there may be a need for several more shims. Does the number of shims affect the bolting force (for want of a better description) of the hub carrier bolt between hub (shims) steering arm?

I'm sure there's a proper engineering description of this and subsequent calculation / rationale etc but I'm a chemist so I'd appreciate someone with more knowledge explaining it to me please

[quimbles]

you checked the UJs?  can get a bit of play in these also

Edited by quimbles, 29 March 2019 - 12:05 PM.

[Spitfire Engineering]

 

The arms give another 4.5mm of camber ....
 

Gaz

Hi Gaz
Does the extra camber facility cause any issues with the hub carrier bolts? My thought is this: If there's extra camber facility there may be a need for several more shims. Does the number of shims affect the bolting force (for want of a better description) of the hub carrier bolt between hub (shims) steering arm?

I'm sure there's a proper engineering description of this and subsequent calculation / rationale etc but I'm a chemist so I'd appreciate someone with more knowledge explaining it to me please

 

 

Hi, Good question

There are two potential issues, bolt length and reduced shear resistance.

Bolt length is easy as this is already calculated for you, all is needed is that you simply follow the fitting instructions ... (though this is possibly the bigger issue   ).

Basically, if you need more than 5mm of shims you need longer bolts which we have of course, this also applies to the OE setup BTW!

 

The other issue is shear resistance, this is a potential problem when using a large number of 1mm shims in a stack which can slide over each other allowing a greater bending force to be applied to the bolt. It's actually a combination of forces but this is a simplified explanation.

The main solution to this is the bolts themselves which are uprated to 10.9 as per the Lotus bulletin, these have two effects. Firstly the clamping force is much higher so the friction between all of the possible sliding components is increased and also the bolts themselves are much harder and have a greater resistance to bending.

Even so, I don't like to see lots of shims as a matter of principle so we have ordered 3mm shims which should be here soon.

We would expect most owners to be using some of the extra camber available so obviously the shimming will be less than 4mm anyway and similar to OE shimming.

 

 

[FLD]

Thanks Gaz. It's always good to know the hows and whys of these things.

[siztenboots]

the titan racks are not the greatest , I will change back from the QR to standard. I've got three in the shed waiting to finish rebuild them.

[Tommess]

the titan racks are not the greatest , I will change back from the QR to standard. I've got three in the shed waiting to finish rebuild them.

Not the greatest? Why that? 

 

I'm thinking on getting a new steering rack with 2,36 turns to lock. Which one would you recommend?

[Pidgeon]

Sizten's post needs clarification, as there are Titan factory racks and Titan aftermarket QRs.  I have the QR, it had to go back almost immediately for a warranty rebuild as it developed play.  I guess it's now covered 50K miles and play in one side was reported at MOT time, so needs another rebuild.  Overall though, I like it a lot.

[siztenboots]

I have the Titan QR from Eliseparts and yes play after one french frolic trip , about 2000 miles there and back.

I find it makes a poor road / camber worse than oem.

[chriss]

I have the Titan QR from Eliseparts and yes play after one french frolic trip , about 2000 miles there and back.

I find it makes a poor road / camber worse than oem.

Where is the play?  Inner / outer tie rods or the rack itself?

My rack has play in the pinion and rack and I am looking at a new quick rack but 2000 miles is nothing. 

[Duncan VXR]

I loved the QR I fitted to my old vxt 120 years ago and fulfilled my wants as a daily with track extras

But agree personal preference

DG