Z3 rack & pinion on e30?

[ye12]

I read somewhere that a rack & pinion steering off a Z3 will fit on E30's with spacers. It's 3 turns lock to lock versus 4, so it would be great if if is true. Anyone know about this?

[MrM3]

yes its true. i have a Z3 steering rack on my e30, and its actually 2.7 turns lock to lock. you need various parts including spacers, modified steering link, e36 high pressure hose, and e36 tie rods would be nice. i bought a conversion kit from zionsvilleautosport.com and it comes with everything you need for a direct installation.

[gotKRAUT]

Z3!!! thats what its from...som while back someone was asking about steering racks...werd thanks MrM3 you always have the answers :P

[TeamM3]

you have to be carefull, lock-lock does not necessarily mean that one R&P is quicker than another.

You also have to compare the lengths of the tierod-spindle lever arms to get a true picture. They are not necessarily the same length, which influences lock-lock just as much as the R&P gearing. The longer the lever arm the more the rack has to travel to get to the same wheel turning angle as a shorter lever arm.

but yeah, Zionsville sell the E36 rack conversion kit

[ye12]

Originally posted by MrM3@Aug 27 2004, 11:05 AM
yes its true. i have a Z3 steering rack on my e30, and its actually 2.7 turns lock to lock. you need various parts including spacers, modified steering link, e36 high pressure hose, and e36 tie rods would be nice. i bought a conversion kit from zionsvilleautosport.com and it comes with everything you need for a direct installation.

Thanks MrM3, I went to the zionsvilleautosport.com site and they describe the converstion using an M3 rack. I have these questions:
1. Is the rack from a Z3 or M3?
2. How have you found the 2.7 L/L for street use?
3. Did you install the conversion yourself? If so, how difficult was it?
Thanks for you help!

[MrM3]

since the z3 is based on the e36 chasis, z3 and e36 racks are interchangeable for the most part, depending on years. i wont say theyre the exact same because my z3 rack looks slightly different than the 95 m3 rack, but you get the idea. i was in contact with zionsville for over 6 months trying to get a e36 M3 steering rack conversion kit since they wont sell the conversion pieces by themselves and rarely have the racks in stock. i was finally able to get a hold of a Z3 rack, but didnt have the time to install it since it was getting close to the time to go back off to school and i had alot of other things to take care of; including a bunch body parts to install. so i took it to my local mechanic and followed the progress closely; i didnt tell him he was doing a conversion becuase he was giving me a good deal on labor. anyway, it fit perfectly and is awesome to drive. it really tightens up the steering feel and makes the car a million times more enjoyable to drive through parking lots or low speed maneuvering. its real snappy though, and is almost dangerous to steer with one hand through turns, but that may just be becuase it feels completely different and takes time to get used to. it feels alot more like a e46, which is what i was hoping for. it's very stable at high speeds (100+), probably more stable than the e30 rack. the 2.7 turns lock-lock is perfectly street-able, the new 997 porsche 911 is 2.68 from what ive read, and there's thousands of z3's using the same rack. TeamM3 is right that the number of turns lock-lock doesnt determine the quickness of the steering alone, but i think its a ok standard to go by when comparing e30, e36, e36m, z3 racks, etc, just so you know what your getting. hope that answers most of your questions, in the end i'm glad i got the z3 rack over the 95 m3 rack because the z3 racks are generally in better condition from comming off newer cars.