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I'm also very interested in your quick rack, Jason.
I'd potentially be interested in a RHD manual quick rack, depending on price and shipping to Australia.
What is the difference in ratio, and does it make the steering too heavy for a dd (with tyre width between 175 and 205) ?

made once did a group buy never to be made a gain, there are the odd used ones floating around

What about the upside down LHD E46 rack conversion? How many turns lock-to-lock does this give? What else is needed for this conversion?

I'm sure Jeroen could help with sourcing LHD racks & we could help with the RHD ones.

Stay back! If there are any LHD kits still around, I've called it already!

-bj

Hello guys, the conversion lhd z3 steering rack to rhd e21 is pretty simple.

If somebody from the UK wants to trade a z3 rhd steering rack for a lhd steering rack with lock to lock ratio of 2.8 instead of the normal 4. Please contact me, so we can trade and both enjoy the pleasure of a quick ratio rack! I have one on the shelf.

Aldo wrote:the conversion lhd z3 steering rack to rhd e21 is pretty simple.

I thought it was the E46 rack. What's the difference? I would have thought E46 rack would be easier to get a hold of than Z3 racks.

What's involved in the conversion?

You need to make an adapter and fit different steering linkages and inner tie rods to create the correct overall steering rack length.

The z3 simply has the best ratio. But availability might be a problem. Still wanting to trade;)

Can you not flip the rack upside down?

What do you mean flipping it upside down? That doesn't change the direction. You will be ending up with a car steering to the wrong side when you turn the wheel.

he means rotate a rhd *not* upside down but so the pinion is on the other side of the rack... lol

as soon as new year is out of the way, im going to get my spare front subframe re-done so that i can mount a mk1 escort rack to it. easy

its probably 50 quid to weld a bracket to the actual subframe. and escort racks are £100 and you can chose a 2.2 / 2.5 /2.7 lock to lock to suit your driving

nas80 wrote:mk1 escort racks are £100 and you can chose a 2.2 / 2.5 /2.7 lock to lock to suit your driving

They won't be power assisted though?

I've just had a Citroen DS3 loan car which had really fast & direct steering. I should have had a grovel underneath to see what the installation was like.

I'm guessing we need a car with similar front track to the E21 7 & a rack that mounts on the forward side of the crossmember.

Escort rack isn't power assisted indeed. By rotating a z3 steering rack (lhd rack on rhd car) you also change the direction and the problem is solved with the issue of having your steering rack in front or behind your subframe. The z3 rack is power assisted and has the best displacement, 53.5mm each steering wheel revolution compared to the 36.5 of the e21. 146% improvement. I still hope somebody wants to trade a z3 RHD steering rack for my LHD steering rack. The guy who trades with me will also receive drawings of mounting adapters and information about tie rods as a bonus .

Hey nas80,

I'm looking at MK2 racks. Do the tie rods attach in front or behind the center line on the MK2. What I'm trying to determine is if I need a RHD or LHD MK2 rack to use on a LHD E21.

Thanks,
-bj

I cant say. But i do know that the esc rack sits forward of the subframe.