Borgeson / Maximum Motorsports Steering Shaft Evaluation and Questions

WhiteCobra95

Mod Dude
May 2, 2006
562
143
74
My solid steering shaft just arrived on Thursday. I decided to go with the Borgeson one with the vibration isolator since most of my driving is on the street.

The Borgeson shaft looks pretty stout especially when compared with the factory steering shaft. The U-joints are pretty big and look like they’re a lot better quality than the factory joints. The collapsible sections of thick D-wall tubing look quite a bit stronger than the factory stamped/rolled pieces.

I read somewhere that Maximum Motorsports uses Borgeson shafts and just welds them completely instead of using the through-bolt/set screw combo that Borgeson uses to build them. After seeing how the bolt setup works, I think either method should hold tight without any concerns. Unfortunately Borgeson doesn’t have any installation instructions for their shafts, so I’m using the MM instructions to put it in. This instructin are critical since it's really not a direct R&R part and some special steps are required.

The two things that I’m a bit disappointed with are:

1) the shaft only comes with some sort of rust-proofing chemical on it, it’s not anodized, plated, or painted. The MM instructions suggest painting it to avoid rust. This is sort of a let-down on a $350 part.

2) According to the MM instructions, you have to pry to the black plastic sleeve off of the stock shaft (the part that acts as the inner race where the shaft passes through the firewall needle bearings) and RTV it to the upper portion of the solid shaft. I slid the black plastic sleeve over the solid shaft the fit is loose with maybe 10+ thousandths play. This is a little bit troubling since I bought this part to eliminate play in the system and improve the on-center feel of the steering.

I will probably finish the install later this weekend, but before I go ahead I would appreciate feedback from anyone who’s running either the MM or Borgeson shafts. Do you like it? Is it too harsh for the street? Did it fix that terrible dead spot feeling our cars have at highway speeds? If this isn’t a huge and very noticable improvement over the stock steering shaft, I’ll probably just return it and put my $$$ into something else.

Also, I would appreciate any installation tips you might have to offer.

Thank you =)
 
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I've been running one since '06. I bought it from MM but it wasn't welded or any different than the Borgeson one, which I was a bit upset because I paid $25 more for the MM modified one than a standard Borgeson one I could have gotten locally. MM said that the modified welded ones were new and that mine must have been old stock they still had (even though it was advertised on the website as being modified). I was a bit upset about it, but anyway....

I got it mainly to clear my longtubes. I was able to extend it out further from the firewall then angle it to the steering rack unlike the stock piece. I did spray paint mine with a zinc type metal paint before installing. The plastic bushing/collar that goes through the firewall does fit loose, but I used a bunch of RTV down in it and it holds it on pretty firm.

It feels good while driving, but my steering wheel was a bit off when going straight. I solved that by turning the tie rods in/out a few turns per side depending on the way it was off.
 
I have a MM steering shaft as well. The black plastic collar seems to mainly be a way of sealing the hole in the firewall, to keep road noise and such out of the passenger compartment. The MM instructions say to use a ton of RTV, which eliminates any play between the collar and the steering shaft.
 
Thanks a million for hte replies. I really appreciate the info.

Did you guys notice a huge difference or improvement in the steering feel compared to the factory steering shaft?
 
Well, the bushing on my stock steering shaft was worn and had a noticeable amount of play in it so I don't know if I can make a fair comparison. After the swap, the steering felt much more precise. I did have to grip the wheel a bit harder, since without the bushing some bumps will want to pull the wheel a bit more. However, that was easy to get used to and I do like the improved road feel.
 
Thanks again for the information! This is great input.

I know exactly what you mean about the bumps pulling the wheel around. I guess that's part of the fun in having a relatively light car with big tires. The MI roads here are not kind for that. I've got 255's all the way around the tram-lining is terrible here.

My car had it's original steering shaft with 14k miles when I started messing with it. I replaced it with a new 2003 Cobra sterring shaft, which helped a little, but did not resolve the dead spot/poor on-center feel I get at highway speeds. I've since replaced the whole front suspension with new parts ('03 Cobra A-arms, C-springs, Bullit struts, AGR steering rack, '00 Cobra R tire rod ends) and put new tires on it which all helped quite a bit, but still doesn't feel like the sports car steering that it should have. This is why I bought the Borgeson steerign shaft, hoping that it would be the final piece of the puzzle. I'll post my final results/evaluation if I decide to keep it.