Need More Lock On R32

[GTS4WD]

Hey guys!

I have an R32 GTS4 - Yes.. I know.. strange choice for drifter.. dont worry.. ATTESSA is going to be stripped out soon.

Now, I need more lock on the thing! I find myself hitting full lock very often and not getting that sideways.

I have a couple of questions,

1) Is the GTS4 and GTST steering rack different? I find that my GTS4 has the turning circle of a truck. Would it be worth tracking down a GTST steering rack?

2) What steering racks have poeple swapped with the R32 rack for more lock?

3) What products (steering rack spacers, tie rod ends, lower control arms etc.) have people used to gain more lock? Any feedback? Whats good? Whats crap? Prices? Where can I find them from?

Any other feedback on what people have done for more lock would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

[Hydroxinol]

I would also be interested to hear the answers to your questions.

I find the turning circle of my 32GTS-T to be pretty bad, not unbearable just worse than most normal cars on the road.

[Beer Baron]

it's nothing to do with rack. it's to do with the fact that your car is 4wd and as such has front driveshafts. imagine the driveshaft angles!! that is why you cannot get much steering lock on any awd car, front driveshafts.

the only way out is remove the drive shafts, weld up sump etc. but it's a shitload of hassle. would be far easier to just start with a 2wd car. plus with your current car you still ahve extra weight of transfer case and any other awd associated bits.

[GTS4WD]

Thats all well and good.

ATTESSA will be stripped soon enough.. rip out the front diff and use a RWD sump.

But once thats happened.. what can i do for more lock?

[snappy_]

I'd like to know aswell.

I got some shit turning circles, would it be cause I've got 17x9s at the front?

[nisskid]

Thats all well and good.

ATTESSA will be stripped soon enough.. rip out the front diff and use a RWD sump.

But once thats happened.. what can i do for more lock?

well first it's good to know exactly what's restricting lock. the steering rack only moves so far, the knuckles have a stopper which corresponds with a little tab on the LCA which stops lock, the tyres can foul against the chassis rails, and the knuckles start binding past a certain amount of steering angle.

so first things first, u can put some steering rack spacers which allow the rack to move further. from here the knuckles will start to stop on the LCA's, so u will need to modify either the tab on the LCA, or the stopper on the knuckles. around the same time u will have issues with tyres fouling on the chassis rails depending on what tyres/wheels ur running. if the tyre is big enough and offset is high enough u will have issues. for example i scrub with 5mm rack spacers, 17x9 +24's with 235/45's. few things u can do to stop this, either go lower profile, thinner tyre, or lower offset. u can also go longer LCA's like R33 ones which push the wheel out a bit further.

from there u will start experiencing binding issues on the standard knuckles, so then the next step is new knuckles or cut and shut ones. this can change things like ackerman angle, length of the knuckle, shape etc etc, which not only provides more lock, it reduces binding and changes the feel in the steering, as well as the turn ratio.

[Russman]

Interesting that you scrub with that offset stewy?

I have installed the 5mm rack spacers in my 32 gtst and the increased lock is quite massive.

I am running R33 GTR wheels 17x9 +30 with 235/45/17 tyres and it doesnt scrub on the rails. I definitely couldn't get more lock as the wheels nearly hit the castor arms at the front. I have noticed that the tabs on the LCA are now doing their job and stopping it there. That's a good thing!

My only problem now is that my solid brake lines on the caliper are now pushed onto the rim at full lock. Not a good thing! I'm investigating braided lines now.

[nisskid]

yeh, i should note however i had extra lock due to the tabs on my LCA's being dented in a good 4mm from hitting the lock stops drifting over time. i keep forgetting about that haha. when i put R33 LCA's in with undented tabs, they gave me a few cm of clearance from the rails. but they did pull the wheel out a bit due to being longer.

and it was very minor scrubbing, in fact i didnt even notice it drifting on full lock, it was only when doing a u-turn or something at full lock on uneven ground (up a curb or something) it was just touching the rails.

[GTS4WD]

This is a stupid question..

But what are steering rack spacers?

What do they look like?

How do they work?

Are they similr to some sort of shim?

How do you install them?

[_Ryan_]

This is a stupid question..

But what are steering rack spacers?

What do they look like?

How do they work?

Are they similr to some sort of shim?

How do you install them?

http://www.gktech.com.au/products/?ID=160

[Hydroxinol]

I have wondered about installing steering rack spacers on my car. The thing that I am not sure about is that if these spacers allow your wheels to travel further, wouldnt you run into problems with the wheels rubbing on the front sway bar and castor rods? My wheels are already rubbing the sway bar and castor rods at full lock. I have 17" wheels with 235's, car has been lowered slightly.

[nisskid]

stolen from ns, nice and simple:

[Hydroxinol]

Thanks for that Nisskid. I understand how spacers allow the wheels to travel further, but am I still right to be concerned about extra rubbing as a result? See my attached picture (I apologise in advance for how crap it is).

With the further travel of the wheel, wont it now rub on the castor rod + front sway bar (the pink bits on my pic)? As my wheels already do this when at lock I am wondering if spacers will even do anything for me. IE: having extra travel isnt go to do anything if the wheel is already stopped by other suspension bits.

Sorry for stealing thread a little but hopefully we can all benefit from this

[GTS4WD]

What offset are your rims Steve?

The lower the offset.. the less chance of rubbing

Thanks for all the help guys!

Edited August 24, 2009 by GTS4WD

[nisskid]

yes more scrubbing, but id be worrying about chassis rails first. apparently when modifying ur knuckles, when going lower ackerman the scrubbing turns to ur caster rods.

[ZOKU]

My R32gtst has s14 rack (more lock) and spacers (more lock again) and does not rub on anything. 6.5 caster, 3 deg toe out, 2inch lower than standard ride height. I run standard wheels with 205/50 tyres. hope it helps a bit.

I noticed the GTR racks a re totally different to GTST. it was as if one side had a different knuckle geometry to the other. one tie rod was longer than the other..also you can buy AM tie rods with integrated spacer and comes with thinner spacers (washers) to give you max lock.

Cheers

[GTS4WD]

Any other ideas?

Any one know where i can get steering knuckles from?

I should just bloody sell the 32 and get a sivlia.. but that would be too easy

[dori34]

nigel on ns.com makes it for s13/14/15 not sure if he does skylines, send him a pm chris

[nisskid]

yes he does skylines too, ill be getting mine done soon.

[_Ryan_]

well first it's good to know exactly what's restricting lock. the steering rack only moves so far, the knuckles have a stopper which corresponds with a little tab on the LCA which stops lock, the tyres can foul against the chassis rails, and the knuckles start binding past a certain amount of steering angle.

so first things first, u can put some steering rack spacers which allow the rack to move further. from here the knuckles will start to stop on the LCA's, so u will need to modify either the tab on the LCA, or the stopper on the knuckles. around the same time u will have issues with tyres fouling on the chassis rails depending on what tyres/wheels ur running. if the tyre is big enough and offset is high enough u will have issues. for example i scrub with 5mm rack spacers, 17x9 +24's with 235/45's. few things u can do to stop this, either go lower profile, thinner tyre, or lower offset. u can also go longer LCA's like R33 ones which push the wheel out a bit further.

from there u will start experiencing binding issues on the standard knuckles, so then the next step is new knuckles or cut and shut ones. this can change things like ackerman angle, length of the knuckle, shape etc etc, which not only provides more lock, it reduces binding and changes the feel in the steering, as well as the turn ratio.

So as a temp measure for someone with 33GTR wheels and tie rod spacers whos wheels are hitting something on full lock, (235/45/17 KU36, sounds like rim hitting LCA or chassis), could I fit a spacer on the front until i can get knuckles? are knuckles a proper fix for this and more lock?