Who Is Running A Manual Rack? What Ratio? Pros/cons....street Only
- Thread starter killer5.0
- Start date
I have a hate/hate relationship with power steering. I will always have a manual rack. This is with a turbo 351w (lots of weight) and 245 wide tires up front. I don't mind the extra effort.
I have a manual rack in my race car. I got the 20:1 ratio version. The 15:1 version really makes steering at slow speeds a bear. If you are going road racing, then maybe a 15:1 would be fine, but for on the street stuff the 20:1 is a lot easier to turn. Something like 4 turns lock to lock instead of 3 turns lock to lock.
I had the " non-sport" rack on my red car. 4.6 w/ AC...
245 tires up front.
As mentioned...it's all about parking the car at the Wal-Mart.
Everything else is live able, until you gotta park the car...then it's hand over hand, " Yank! Yank! Yank!"
245 tires up front.
As mentioned...it's all about parking the car at the Wal-Mart.
Everything else is live able, until you gotta park the car...then it's hand over hand, " Yank! Yank! Yank!"
Depends on what you want out of the car. If you have pizza-cutters up front, I think a manual rack is a better option. Of all the cars I have driven, the PS in the Mustang is pretty darn good; good feedback, no glitches.
Don't be an idiot like me and add manual brakes though. It makes driving pretty exhausting when you are an old fart.
Kurt
Don't be an idiot like me and add manual brakes though. It makes driving pretty exhausting when you are an old fart.
Kurt
Gear grabber
Well-Known Member
- May 23, 2016
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As mentioned,tire size and weight has a great effect on how heavy the
steering will be. When I bought my car,the first thing was suspension
rebuild and manual rack. Full weight 5.0 with 235's,low speed was heavy.
Drag lites and vw radials was much easier (never trusted those tires)
The Dart block 427,alt. only,alum. rad,no real perceptible change. A few
months ago put bats in the rear and M/T sportsmans up front (rounded profile)
steering is pretty light for manual. Car is street driven regularly.
steering will be. When I bought my car,the first thing was suspension
rebuild and manual rack. Full weight 5.0 with 235's,low speed was heavy.
Drag lites and vw radials was much easier (never trusted those tires)
The Dart block 427,alt. only,alum. rad,no real perceptible change. A few
months ago put bats in the rear and M/T sportsmans up front (rounded profile)
steering is pretty light for manual. Car is street driven regularly.
Somewhere we have thread titled something like, "Mods you should have never done".
Manual steering was in the top 3 among AC and cat deletes.
Manual steering was in the top 3 among AC and cat deletes.
No kidding. I think I am going to put cats back on my car. The wife won't ride in it anymore because of the fuel smell.
Kurt
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
You will have a hard time parking a V8 with manual steering. There is not a lot of caster adjustment in these cars to make them steer easier. 3 degrees of caster is harder to steer than 5 degrees. I wish mine had no p/s either, but they steer like a tank without it. I did alignments for ford for 20 + years. I had a competitors car with a manual box. I tried everything to get it to steer easier. It would try to take your fingers off when you hit a pothole.
Pro's/cons on a street car.
Pros:
NONE
Cons:
You don't have power steering, parking lots are terrible.
The system doesn't weigh that much or draw all that much power.
I just see no reason to do it on a car that had factory power steering.
It really doesn't accomplish anything removing it.
Pros:
NONE
Cons:
You don't have power steering, parking lots are terrible.
The system doesn't weigh that much or draw all that much power.
I just see no reason to do it on a car that had factory power steering.
It really doesn't accomplish anything removing it.
It does accomplish ditching a leaking power steering rack that IMHO doesnt offer the best feel to begin with...if i could find a brand new 00 or 03-04 OEM cobra rack i would be all over it but im not in a habit of putting used parts in my car...my car has no a/c and all hvac and components have been removed etc...i show my car as well so cleaning up the engine bay has some benefits to me...that being said if anyone knows where i can find a NOS cobra rack please lmk
...the NOS dual contour fans were hard enough to track down...
...the NOS dual contour fans were hard enough to track down...
Nos racks long gone unless someone is sitting on one in their basement. I put in a cardone 22-2000 reman rack and love it. As close to manual steering as you'll get with full power assist. Still tight though at low speeds.
I remember when Ford cleared out their 00R racks and there was a run on them. I believe MM bought a few.
I remember when Ford cleared out their 00R racks and there was a run on them. I believe MM bought a few.
No doubt...i saw one guy who found a NOS last yr but of course he is using it lol....whats the oem part number for the cobra rack...i know SPR-ZM but whats the other main number? I have a few Ford dealerships i call that ive managed to find a few hard to find parts at and figured i give them a try...if not ill be looking into the Cardone unit
Interesting results in this thread here on Stangnet vs. your other thread on the same subject over on Corral. The thread on Corral had a more positive responses from people who own and drive street cars with manual racks. This subject is always a mixed bag of opinions. The thing is you could just go manual and see how you like it and the worse thing is you're out a few bucks and some hours of wrenching if you don't like it. I believe that a proper setup is key, i.e., narrow tires up front, 20:1 ratio rack, solid steering shaft from MM, etc.
For sure...my main thing is if i do something i would like to do it right to start with...if its more expensive then ill wait and save up but hate wasting money...your definately right abt maybe trying and see how i feel about it personally...im installing a MM k member this winter so i have some time to research a little more...if i can find a brand new oem cobra rack then ill go that route...if not ill probably be going manual....been looking at PS pump upgrades to incase i find a cobra rack (or decide to use Cardone)...anyone here use a KRC ps pump on a fox? Nice looking unit...and i prefer all -AN lines etc...
