Steering Quickeners...Is there a Too Fast?

We ran an Afco 1.5:1 steering quickener in a VW rabbit with very good success.

would the 2.0:1 be too much for our next vw with the same rack ratio? I loved the ability to flick the car quickly with the 1.5:1, yet I still had to pull my hands off the wheel to go lock to lock. I think I'd be quicker with a one turn lock to lock....

any opinions or experience here?

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
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Tom B Wrote:
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> We ran an Afco 1.5:1 steering quickener in a VW
> rabbit with very good success.
>
> would the 2.0:1 be too much for our next vw with
> the same rack ratio? I loved the ability to flick
> the car quickly with the 1.5:1, yet I still had to
> pull my hands off the wheel to go lock to lock. I
> think I'd be quicker with a one turn lock to
> lock....
>
> any opinions or experience here?
>
> Dr. Dick | Fine Tuning | Bow Wow | DemonRally
>
> I spent 90% of my money on good whiskey and
> women..........the rest of it I wasted...

Hey man greetings from China!
I think the typical GpA power rack is between 1,9 turns (like my 4x4 Cossie rack) and 2,O.

I'm hoping to be able to do a short run of VW power rack guys here with a quick ratio so no adaptors.

you actually getting started on the MkIII?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

stock ratio for the VW power steering racks is something like 2.7 turns, / 1.5 = 1.8 turns. That seems about perfect to me . I know newer evo's are like 1.7-ish stock and that was really fun when you got into massive over correction

I am waiting with baited breath a quick actual power steering RACK from John though, as the quickener works but its complicated. gotta get all weldy and mount shit and cut up a perfectly good steering column, blah!!!!

(hehe)

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------------------------------------

http://www.ckrally.com

Well I sold my rabbit's column/quickener because I was smart and made it to work in a stock car. So with the proceeds I need to line up a new setup for the next car.

I figure I better get my ass in gear if'n I'm going to make it to DooWops...Golf III or Golf II I need parts to make it happen, and pretty much everything interchanges. I'd like to have almost everything here so I can mock it up prior to the install, so why not buy now?

China huh? whooda thunk thay found the internets down there, Al Gore is smart.

So when is this power steering rack set going to happen? Anytime before doowops or are we looking at the next month or so? 2020? rough retail estimate?

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
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cblakely Wrote:
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> stock ratio for the VW power steering racks is
> something like 2.7 turns, / 1.5 = 1.8 turns. That
> seems about perfect to me . I know newer evo's are
> like 1.7-ish stock and that was really fun when
> you got into massive over correction

Many moons ago a thread ran on SS.com for pages about steering turns on VWs with guys answering well I can check on Vortex and I heard from a buddy whose sister once dated a fellow who thought....and apparently nobody could walk out to the garage and check their own cars.
Gotta lurv the Inter-snet

Stock PS is like 3.2 or so.
>
> I am waiting with baited breath a quick actual
> power steering RACK from John though, as the
> quickener works but its complicated. gotta get all
> weldy and mount shit and cut up a perfectly good
> steering column, blah!!!!

Well gotta find out how much interest...... I don't know or want to wade thru too much crap online to find interest so if somebody was Inter-snet savvy and a VW guy and started talking.......
>
> (hehe)
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
>

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

what would be the advantage of a quick rack other than weight? long term reliability?

I can put together a column in a mkII or III vw within a day with beers, the quickener and associated parts run around $150 BRAND NEW....I can't see a quick rack gear set being more cost effective than that...?

Being a VW dude, I could definitely see some interest in this, but most people pull the power steering to go to manual for the "power gain." I'll test the waters and find out what some of the differences in the racks are...

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
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Tom I went with a 2.0 and it's probably too quick. With the stock MKIII 3.3 turn it ends up being about 1.5 turns.

Dave Clark didn't like it (too quick).

I haven't driven on it, so not really sure how it's going to feel.

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-Jason

We installed a 1.5 quickener from Howe in the Focus. Now it's running around 1.7-1.8 for lock to lock. My only issue was how tight the install area was. Very little room under the dash. After the fact, I think I would've rather bought a complete column, linear bearing, etc. and just built one from scratch. But then that would've included a quick release hub for steering wheel, which adds another $300+ in cost

golves have a bunch of room in the right areas for a quickener install, this is how my first one went:

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
Spitfire EFI | Product Apparel | JVAB Imports | NLS | AP Tuning | USRT

Add us on Facebook | Next Event: 2013 Olympus Rally June 22-23 Olympia, WA

Tom B Wrote:
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> golves have a bunch of room in the right areas for
> a quickener install, this is how my first one
> went:
>
>
>
> Dr. Dick | Fine Tuning | Bow Wow | DemonRally
>
> I spent 90% of my money on good whiskey and
> women..........the rest of it I wasted...


Wow, tht is almost exactly what mine looks like too. 'great minds think alike' or 'fools seldom differ'?

Chad

A quicker steering ratio:
- gives the wheels more leverage against you; if you hit something and the wheels kick out of line, then you will have more problems holding the wheels where you want them
- puts more stress on the steering wheel, falnge, shaft above the quickener, etc.

Mark B.

starion887 Wrote:
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> A quicker steering ratio:
> - gives the wheels more leverage against you; if
> you hit something and the wheels kick out of line,
> then you will have more problems holding the
> wheels where you want them
> - puts more stress on the steering wheel, falnge,
> shaft above the quickener, etc.
>
> Mark B.


"I've" had guickeners on power steering and racks get the oil so hot it boils and is so thin it does not work ... A cooler on power steering would be a must for "me" if I used one ...But "I" have never needed one ... I'm a RWD sort of guy .."I" steer the car from the rear wheels and correct the car for the steering wheel ... But I have no uses for e-brakes eather to steer a rally car..But alot like the guickeners...

But I can see were a guickener would be needed on FWD...




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2008 04:04PM by Haztoys.

John VanLandingham arranged for the quick guts in my Volvo's rack. 2.5 turns lock to lock with power steering. I love it. I have on occasion wished for 2.0 turns but not enough to justify doing anything different.

Power steering is the way to go.

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JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

Haztoys Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> "I've" had guickeners on power steering and racks
> get the oil so hot it boils and is so thin it does
> not work ... A cooler on power steering would be a
> must for "me" if I used one ...But "I" have never
> needed one ... I'm a RWD sort of guy .."I" steer
> the car from the rear wheels and correct the car
> for the steering wheel ... But I have no uses for
> e-brakes eather to steer a rally car..But alot
> like the guickeners...
>
> But I can see were a guickener would be needed on
> FWD...
>
Dave,

Glad to see someone else say this. If you're drving RWD right, IMO, you don't need a quickener; or, at the least, it is a significantly lower priority. The range of wheel motion is so small, 'cept in hairpins. Now I DO us ehte handbrake in tight corners; it's IMO a much better investment of time and $$ for RWD.

Regards,
Mark B.

Funny, I'd go the other way on the front vs. rear drive thing. Sure, in a perfect world, you don't need to go lock-to-lock to stay on top of the car as it grabs ruts, releases them, finds new ones, etc., but if we raced in a perfect world we'd all be road-race weenies.

I also almost never use the handbrake, unless all kinds of things are going wrong and every other way to make the car rotate has failed. I finally put a hydro brake in two rallies ago. I think I use it on average less than once per stage.

just goes to show, none of us knows how to drive...

-D