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Steering Rack Porn!
nitram38 - 10/7/07 at 05:58 PM

Just got my rack from Titan Motorsport to fit the MotaLeira.
It is 1 1/2" lock to lock and will be mounted in the centre of the car.
It cost £225 delivered with the mounts and gaiters.
It is custom made to fit the ball joints exactly with my top inboard pivot mounts.
The rack and upright will run parallel to my top wish bone.

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t.j. - 10/7/07 at 06:10 PM

Too bad it's in the middle.
If you mount it in my car you'll get a lot of steering problems.

So i'll keep my own old dirty simple escort MK2 rack

[Edited on 10/7/07 by t.j.]

billynomates - 10/7/07 at 06:13 PM

Looks like good vfm to me.

DRC INDY 7 - 10/7/07 at 09:11 PM

looks like the 1 on our formula ford

ChrisGamlin - 12/7/07 at 11:49 AM

Nitram, does the £225 include the design fee or whatever they call it? IIRC you HAVE to submit your own design to them which then will not be used by anyone else, and that there is an additional £80-100 one-off fee involved somewhere along the line which you only have to pay for the first rack made.

nitram38 - 12/7/07 at 03:33 PM

I just got a shock, they took £466.50 off my card!
Apparently it was £275 for the rack and they charged me £75 for a drawing charge plus brackets/gaiters and VAT!
All they did was write in the dimmensions I gave them!
I bought a rack 3 years ago and it was only £250 delivered.
Looks like another supplier to avoid

ChrisGamlin - 12/7/07 at 07:00 PM

I did think £225 all-in sounded rather on the cheap side for a Titan rack, but £466 is more than I thought it would be

I priced one up with them a couple of years ago with a few friends who would have identical designs (so sharing the "drawing" costs), but was put off by their cloak and dagger type secrecy. Theyve made racks before for various Westies but were unwilling to offer any help/advice on some of the less obvious dimensions / specs, so we didnt bother in the end.

I can understand the secrecy if making them for things like F1 and touring cars etc, but when its blatantly obviously a fairly bog-standard item for something like a Westie, its a bit of an odd approach to doing business. If they designed racks themselves suitable for common cars like Westies and Caterhams etc, they'd make a lot more money out of flogging standard items off the shelf than they do at present

Chris

[Edited on 12/7/07 by ChrisGamlin]

gttman - 13/7/07 at 08:08 AM

quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
I just got a shock, they took £466.50 off my card!
Apparently it was £275 for the rack and they charged me £75 for a drawing charge plus brackets/gaiters and VAT!
All they did was write in the dimmensions I gave them!
I bought a rack 3 years ago and it was only £250 delivered.
Looks like another supplier to avoid


I was just about to reply saying 'bloody hell thats cheap'. I paid £300 for my bespoke rack from Them but I collected and supllied the drawings and had a batch of 3 made.

But being twice the price is one hell of a lot, did they quote your first?

NS Dev - 13/7/07 at 04:49 PM

GB engineering, 150 quid (might be 160 now) 1.5 turn, yes its steel so a tad heavier but very well made

Uphill Racer - 14/7/07 at 10:17 PM

HOW MUTCH!!!!!!!
A late mini rack is easily modified, here is 1 I made earlier (do I get a Blue Peter badge) .
Total outlay £20.00
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/uphill-racer/?action=view&current=Rack.jpg

nitram38 - 15/7/07 at 03:12 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Uphill Racer
HOW MUTCH!!!!!!!
A late mini rack is easily modified, here is 1 I made earlier (do I get a Blue Peter badge) .
Total outlay £20.00
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i187/uphill-racer/?action=view&current=Rack.jpg


I doubt that it is only 457mm between ball joints (first inboard) and a central take off though.

NS Dev - 15/7/07 at 01:04 PM

also doubt its 1.5 turn as well!

Uphill Racer - 15/7/07 at 02:58 PM

Correct, not 457mm, its 350mm centre to centre of ball joint. Short steering arms make it "quick".

nitram38 - 15/7/07 at 03:21 PM

350mm or not. It would be unsuitable for my car as I would not fit within the wishbone arc as required. Also it is gear ratio of the rack and pinion that determines how "quick" it is, not the length of the steering arms.
My steering arms will be around 400mm long each.

[Edited on 15/7/2007 by nitram38]

gazza285 - 15/7/07 at 03:31 PM

quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
Also it is gear ratio of the rack and pinion that determines how "quick" it is, not the length of the steering arms.



Both influence the quickness of the steering.

Uphill Racer - 15/7/07 at 03:50 PM

quote:
Originally posted by nitram38
350mm or not. It would be unsuitable for my car as I would not fit within the wishbone arc as required. Also it is gear ratio of the rack and pinion that determines how "quick" it is, not the length of the steering arms.
My steering arms will be around 400mm long each.

[Edited on 15/7/2007 by nitram38]



It was a mini rack, you cut it down to the size required. Steering arms are the sticky out bits on the upright that the tie rod connects to.

gazza285 - 15/7/07 at 03:53 PM

I think he's confused track rods and steering arms.

NS Dev - 16/7/07 at 12:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Uphill Racer
Correct, not 457mm, its 350mm centre to centre of ball joint. Short steering arms make it "quick".


Yep, on my grasser I use short steering arms AND the 1.5 turn rack, which with lockstops fitted to stop steering before the trackrods go overcentre with the uprights gives me 0.8 turns lock to lock, good for the old arm muscles!

NS Dev - 16/7/07 at 12:18 PM

Here you go, all £150

short (375mm) centre steer rack:




long (480mm) centre steer rack:




lefthand version:




RH version:




All off the shelf from berrisford, 1 turn = 145mm of rack travel, come complete with alloy rack clamps.