How much HP by going with a manual rack worth

5spd GT said:

Yep, go for it...

dragnazz - If you want to delete go for it, but a new pump might help you out, or bumping your idle up a bit, it might be a little low.

Click to expand...

the idle is about 800 rpms and the pump is in good shape. but my rack leaks and the fluid is blacker than night. ive flushed the fluid many times and after about two days its right back to being pitch black. so im just gonna delete it eventually

You'll drop a decent amount of weight when you think about the lighter rack, the lack of the pump itself and all the lines, and the weight of all the fluid that's pumped throughout the whole thing. Also the HP gain is kindof backwards thinking...you're not MAKING hp you're FREEING hp that's being consumed through parasitic drag from the belts. Although the pump may not be doing anything untill the wheels are turned, there are 2 factors that still matter.... 1) when you go down the track, you're never at the point where you are perfectly going straight....you will steer ever so slightly in either way (it only takes the slightest tough to start the pump up) and this will cause the pump to cause drag, and 2) the shortest distance between A and B is obviously the straightest and shortest line, and this also applies to the routing of the belt itself. every turn the belt has to make around pullies creates drag on the whole system and takes away a little more HP. Some guys use those kits when removing the AC that replaces the AC with an idle pully and leaves the PS where it is...but this doesn't eliminate that pully and they're not gaining anything from having a shorter belt..


Now, all facts aside....i wouldn't do it if it freed up 50hp. If you've never driven a manual rack car with nice wide 17 inch rims up front, or even a manual rack Chevette for that matter, you don't know what you're in for. You do get used to it but all your attention will be on turning when you're not going in a straight line, so no more fiddling with the radio while steering with one hand, no more talking on the phone and steering with your palm, and when you start playing around doing burnouts and your car starts jumping ditch-to-ditch, you're in for a hell of a workout. Even the majority of autocross and road course racers keep their PS because it's faster and easier to drive and the gains from going manual aren't that great.

I just cut the hoses off the power steering rack and ran a hose between the pressure and return port of the rack and added a little fluid for a cheap manual steering setup. So far it is working good but I only drag race the car on weekends.