Steering Lock Spacers

[adam10_1990]

but i go back to my post 1, commos are pretty close to scrubbing as it is, so i doubt youll get much extra without doing permanant unrepairable mods to your inner guards.

hope ive been of some help.

Has been a help, and i will test the extra lock by just disconnecting the tie rod and see how much more lock i can achieve (jack up my sway up till the wheels at its highest point)

As to sliding this vs, i have had it on track once, (with it in limp mode -.-) and my only issue was the lock to lock turning. Keeping the back out and linking is no issue at all and this is coming from someone who was a temporary Australian for the past 12 months (motorcyclist who followed the road rules, no lane splitting and no speeding/showing off)

 

[adam10_1990]

This is what i hope to make.

 

[Jxfwsf]

Well just had a look at the commodore rack sitting on the bench, you're not going to get 5mm out if it, 1 side you might the other side is much less before the pinion runs out of spots on the rack to keep moving, if it's run lock to lock like this it'll just #### it and wear out the gears/teeth.

Problem 2: The part of the rackend with the thread (housing the ball joint) and the rack itself are made of hardened steel, making this joint extremely strong, whatever you are going to be making these "spacers" out of is only going to be low carbon steel (by the time you source high carbon steel strong enough you are not going to be able to machine it without very very expensive machinery), not something you'll knock up on the schools metal work lathe....

If you also look on your car you'll most likely see there is stops on the steering so you physically can't move the wheel anymore.

You'll have more luck converting it to 4 wheel steering if you really want a better turning circle than making this safe with home made bits and pieces.

 

[adam10_1990]

Well just had a look at the commodore rack sitting on the bench, you're not going to get 5mm out if it, 1 side you might the other side is much less before the pinion runs out of spots on the rack to keep moving, if it's run lock to lock like this it'll just #### it and wear out the gears/teeth.

Problem 2: The part of the rackend with the thread (housing the ball joint) and the rack itself are made of hardened steel, making this joint extremely strong, whatever you are going to be making these "spacers" out of is only going to be low carbon steel (by the time you source high carbon steel strong enough you are not going to be able to machine it without very very expensive machinery), not something you'll knock up on the schools metal work lathe....

If you also look on your car you'll most likely see there is stops on the steering so you physically can't move the wheel anymore.

You'll have more luck converting it to 4 wheel steering if you really want a better turning circle than making this safe with home made bits and pieces.

1st Problem - I'm extending the length of the rack arms, so the rack and pinion gears wont be changed at all, the spacer goes in between the rack and the tie rod.

2nd Problem - I have access to many types of steel, having an uncle who owns a machining shop makes it quite simple. He has the cnc lathe and everything.

You'll have more luck converting it to 4 wheel steering if you really want a better turning circle than making this safe with home made bits and pieces.

As to this, It will be done in a workshop by people who all their engineering certs, I'll be the director of how I want it.

As it looks like it hasn't been done before on a commodore it will be a worth the effort to find out for future commodorians.

Also, I haven't been in school for the past 6 years, I doubt they would like it if i came to the workshop to work on my car.

 

[Jxfwsf]

1st Problem - I'm extending the length of the rack arms, so the rack and pinion gears wont be changed at all, the spacer goes in between the rack and the tie rod.

2nd Problem - I have access to many types of steel, having an uncle who owns a machining shop makes it quite simple. He has the cnc lathe and everything.




As to this, It will be done in a workshop by people who all their engineering certs, I'll be the director of how I want it.

As it looks like it hasn't been done before on a commodore it will be a worth the effort to find out for future commodorians.

Also, I haven't been in school for the past 6 years, I doubt they would like it if i came to the workshop to work on my car.

I never said anything about ratio's.......

1st problem: extending the the distance where the rackend screws into the rack is not going to change anything, the rack will only move left and right so far before the teeth on the rack (the middle part that moves, see the bottom picture that ari posted above) runs out and the pinion (bit the steering wheel turns) can't move it anymore, hence why it's called rack and pinion steering.
Forcing it to go past what it's designed to do will simply wreck it.
It is not going to move an extra 5mm both ways.
Btw the bit between the rack and the tierod end is called a rackend, this is what you are trying to space out......

Problem 2: Well this isn't a problem.


What is circled in red is what'll stop the wheels going any further lock to lock, now they're not large bits of cast metal, so grinding them down will be A) illegal B) dangerous if it fractures further and the bottom of the strut decides it doesn't want to be connected to the lca anymore, so essentially without heavy modification and an engineering certificate that will cost a lot of money for the average commodore driver to certify that it complies with the design rules for very little gain.... (if a car won't pass a roadworthy because the rear parcel shelf has had the holes for the speakers cut bigger in the metal to fit larger ones in then i can't see this mod being even remotely possible on a registered vehicle)

 

[royinthegreyshirt]

Bringing up an old thread but, would like to know the outcome. I'm drifting a vs manga Ute going up against hap cars with 70 degree lock and triple the power and need all the help I can get.

 

[adam10_1990]

Honestly never got round to doing anything for it.
I started to research putting in components from other cars (like a Nissan R or S chassis) but never got round to it.

I was thinking keeping my strut towers (I had coilovers Holden Commodore VR VS VT VX VY VZ Front Only Coilovers XYZ Racing Coilover KIT | eBay ) but then was going to use everything else from steering rack to the wishbones and a 5 stud hub.

 

[royinthegreyshirt]

So I'll be pioneering ****. Got a mate who mods knuckles on jap cars. Ill see what he thinks what I can do.

 

[adam10_1990]

I think the other issue I came across was the space in the well, I was going to have to cut out the guards (which is a normal import thing to do for extra lock) atm my mates import is at 89 degree lock.

 

[Jxfwsf]

Not really pioneering it.
See if you can find out what front suspension mods are done here (wouldn't be hard to do the same to VR/VS setup)

Got to be other commodores in the adgp to research.