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| Corvette ZR1 power steering rack: next project? (Page 1/37) |
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Rickady88GT
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JAN 05, 02:06 PM
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I just got a Corvette ZR1 power steering rack and am planning on putting it into my next power steering equipt Fiero. So far it looks like a good choice. Almost the same travel as the Fiero. The Fiero has 5" of travel and the ZR1 rack has about .5" less. With wide tires this means nothing. And the ZR1 has 2 turns lock to lock were the Fiero is almost 3.5 turns lock to lock. The ZR1 rack moves 2.25" per turn of the steering wheel and the Fiero rack gear moves 1.5" per turn of the steering wheel. To put it in other words the ZR1 rack is like a GO CART  the steering ratio is VERRRRRRY FAST.
Has anyone done a Vette rack? I think I saw Rockcrawl do it before?
The 84-94 Vette racks are basicaly the same. the ZR1 or "sport" rack has 2 turns lock to lock. The rest have 2.5 turns lock to lock.
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 [This message has been edited by Rickady88GT (edited 05-03-2006).]
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sspeedstreet
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JAN 05, 04:02 PM
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Power steering: bah! humbug! GIRLIEMAN!! There, it's been said, no further such posts accepted. Crap, Rick. You're making my install obsolete before its started. Need a test bed? Neil ------------------
1988 GT, 5-speed, white, beechwood leather, 3.4 DOHC installation in process.
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Rickady88GT
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JAN 05, 08:45 PM
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So far the Vette rack looks like it will work better.
Sorry, my dig cam batteries are dead  no pics, yet.
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Formula88
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JAN 05, 08:51 PM
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If the ZR1 rack looks that close, does that mean all C4 racks are gonna be just as good (maybe slower ratio, but the same dimensions and travel, etc.) Looking forward to seeing this. I'm seriously considering power steering on my Formula.
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Rickady88GT
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JAN 05, 11:15 PM
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| quote | | Originally posted by Formula88: If the ZR1 rack looks that close, does that mean all C4 racks are gonna be just as good (maybe slower ratio, but the same dimensions and travel, etc.) Looking forward to seeing this. I'm seriously considering power steering on my Formula. |
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I don't know about the other Vette racks? I never got into the part numbers or when any changes were made between them. But I will do that because I wont put a ZR1 rack into every Fiero I drive. That FAST ratio might be kinda fast for a daily driver.
After I get this into a car and get it working I will buy several more Vette racks. As it looks right now I wont need to cut into the spare tire tub to clear the hydraulic lines. It looks like they will fit under the stock tire tub and allow for a spare tire to fit. One of the draw backs of the "F" body rack is that you cant fit a spare tire into the tire tub because of the placement of the hydraulic in put and out put lines.
The mounting points of the Vette rack are a breeze but the rack extension adapters are more complex. Take the good with the bad I guess?
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fieroguru
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JAN 06, 04:38 AM
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I believe all Z51 equiped C4's will have the 2.0 ratio rack. My 86 was a non-Z51 car, but had been upgraded with the 2.0 rack. Biggest issue is the turn signals may not cancel around turns due to the steering wheel not being turned enough. You might be able to swap the turn signal assy from a Z51 car to fix this though.
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Rodney
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JAN 06, 09:06 AM
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Make sure it is a front steer or turning the wheel left will make the car go right. We looked at Corvette racks when we did that steering rack R&D and I don't remember any Corvette racks look promising. Thay may not have had a C5 rack at that time. ------------------
PLEASE NOTE MY NEW ADDRESS Rodney Dickman's Fiero accessories
7604 Treeview Drive
Caledonia, WI 53108
(262) 835-9575 www.rodneydickman.com
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Rickady88GT
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JAN 06, 01:04 PM
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| quote | | Originally posted by Rodney: Make sure it is a front steer or turning the wheel left will make the car go right. We looked at Corvette racks when we did that steering rack R&D and I don't remember any Corvette racks look promising. Thay may not have had a C5 rack at that time. |
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All of the Vette racks are front steer. In fact the Vette rack looks like a cross breed between a Fiero rack and a Chevette rack. with a few other changes.
I only needed to make a new mount on the driver side. The pass side I used the stock Fiero mount. I used the Fiero rubber mount from the pass side and slid it onto the hydraulic cylinder of the Vette rack and was able to bolt it down with only a slight mod to the rubber mount. The Hydraulic lines come out of the cylinder straight up, so a front mount battery will be tight. The input shaft is the same as the Fiero and seems to be oriented the same direction as the Fiero, so there may be no need to index the steering wheel after installation. [This message has been edited by Rickady88GT (edited 01-06-2006).]
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Rickady88GT
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JAN 06, 01:13 PM
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| quote | | Originally posted by sspeedstreet: Power steering: bah! humbug! GIRLIEMAN!! There, it's been said, no further such posts accepted. Crap, Rick. You're making my install obsolete before its started. Need a test bed? Neil |
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I am always on the lookout for a better rack for the Fiero  Infact the best rack seems to be the Fiero rack with the power steering "stuff" from other racks to convert the Fiero rack over to power steering. BUT the problem is that none of the GM rack other than the Chevette rack has the same input shaft angle. So a custom rack and pinion will need to be machined $$$$$. So I keep looking for a conversion. I could use the Cylinder from the chevette and the steering spool from the Chevette and put them on a Fiero rack and convert the Fiero rack to Power assist, but it would still have a weak ratio.
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ryan.hess
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JAN 06, 01:30 PM
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So when you go to a quicker ratio, wouldn't this mean the already twitchy steering will get even twitchier? (is that a word?) Gonna need to be hyped up on something to keep you on the road at high(er) speeds... Am I right? btw- ZR1, sounds expensive.  [This message has been edited by ryan.hess (edited 01-06-2006).]
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