Fun with manual racks!!!

[R/T]

Just "finished" the manual rack conversion in RacinNathan's 88 Shadow;
observations to share:

1. Of course we did'nt have the manual coupler so that ment machining / welding the PS coupler onto the manual rack steering shaft.

2. Manual rack is narrower, so they make up the difference with "longer" tie rod ends.

3. Longer tie rod ends have a "thicker" taper to them, and DID NOT fit into the holes in the steering knuckles on the car.

4. It ment drilling, grinding, cussing to get them to fit into the knuckles.

5. All this to save about 12 to 15 pounds of weight.....

Anyone know how much HP this saves??

I would feel better about myself if I had a factual HP savings....

And the steering ratio is much slower.

Just thought I'd share......

[turbovanman²]

I really believe manual racks should be for racing only, and thats 1/4 mile stuff,

Dammit, Wera forum's are down,

[zin]

Anyone know how much HP this saves??

I would feel better about myself if I had a factual HP savings....

And the steering ratio is much slower.

Just thought I'd share......

If you have MPH @ the old weight, you can run the HP calculation to get the HP for that MPH, then run the formula with the weight reduced by the 12lb and the difference is the HP "gained".

Mike

[R/T]

If you have MPH @ the old weight, you can run the HP calculation to get the HP for that MPH, then run the formula with the weight reduced by the 12lb and the difference is the HP "gained".

Mike

'DOH, What I ment was how much HP saved from the pump drag.....

[ShelGame]

For reference: DIY Manual Rack Coupler

[turbovanman²]

'DOH, What I ment was how much HP saved from the pump drag.....

Not worth the hassle,

I bet its around 5 hp, big deal, turn it up another .3 psi to compensate,

[R/T]

I really believe manual racks should be for racing only, and thats 1/4 mile stuff,

Yea Boyeeee!!!

[tryingbe]

I drove three cars with power steering and then again with manual steering.

I prefer power due to more precise control, faster correction changing, and more confidence that the car won't out turn me.

[zin]

'DOH, What I ment was how much HP saved from the pump drag.....

The formula still works, HP freed up will be reflected in the change in MPH, regardless of where it came from. The weight savings would be additive in the 1/4 as the power to weight ratio would be better so it would show a slightly higher HP gain if the new weight wasn't taken into account, as opposed to a straight dyno test where the car could be run with and without the belt on the pump, giving you just the HP gain from elimination of the pump drag.

All that said, I'll agree with Simon, it's not likely to be more than 5HP max.

Mike

[shelbyconcepts]

How much better is the rack?..... What if you just looped the power steering lines together and drove it like that? It's a quarter mile only car right?...

BTW, Flaming River (street rod company) sells Omni Racks new... I was at Autorama this past weekend and they had one on their display...

Tim

[J&H Ryan]

If it was a 1/4 mile car only, why not just take the belt off to save pump drag? Against the rules to have an inop power rack maybe? I drove a car for a long time with no PS in college. Was a premium trim lebaron coupe, so it wasn't light either.

...sorry I just scrolled up and saw shelbyconcepts wrote about the same thing...

[shelbyconcepts]

Found the flaming river catalog..... and went to the web page too

Racks... Lil Pricey....

http://www.flamingriver.com/index.cf...rod/prd231.htm

U joint's are hard to figure out

Omni manual lists as 9/16- 26 spline
Omni power lists as 9/16- 36 spline

FR1701 9/16- 26 spline 3/4 shaft
FR1709DD 9/16- 26 spline 3/4 shaft DD
FR1708 9/16- 26 spline 3/4 shaft-36
FR1737 9/16- 26 spline 3/4 shaft-48

Tim

[cordes]

For reference: DIY Manual Rack Coupler

Did you experience the same problems as Terry? I need to put a new rack in the shadow and I was thinking about converting to a manual rack.

Are you guys using manual racks out of Neons?

[ShelGame]

Which problems?

[cordes]

Which problems?

He stated that he needed to modify the knuckles for the different tie rod ends.

[Vigo]

Uhh.. those omni racks are not for dodge omnis.

[Mopar318]

Uhh.. those omni racks are not for dodge omnis.

True that.to be used with Mustang II spindles. Sounds like a street rod application to me.

[ShelGame]

He stated that he needed to modify the knuckles for the different tie rod ends.

No, I used a manual rack from a K-Car in my Daytona. Not a Pinto rack...

[cordes]

No, I used a manual rack from a K-Car in my Daytona. Not a Pinto rack...

I see. What year K cars were available with manual steering?

[ShelGame]

I see. What year K cars were available with manual steering?

Not sure. But that's what it was advertised as being from...