As mentioned in my previous post I had a call from a fellow Torana owner asking for advice on poor car handling. After a brief discussion he advised me that he had fitted a power steering kit from another company. His complaint was when the car was driven on uneven or bumpy roads the car darted left or right and at times move across half a lane in the blink of an eye. He advised me of the rack brand he fitted, but I thought it may have been more likely a problem with the car. I asked him had it been wheel aligned properly ? he added he had it aligned after the kit was fitted and read out all the alignment setting. (seem to in spec). I advised him to double check the front end for movement, bushes, bearings, bent or misaligned components and if tightness in any components was noticed. He double checked everything with a fine tooth comb but no faults were found.
After more discussions and part number checks on front end components, it was found that HQ stubs and steering arms were fitted to this car. I advised that the steering arms were not compatible with the Torana geometry and the differences between A9X & HQ stub axles. The owner decided to purchase Harrop steering arms first and hopefully somewhat resolve some of the bump steer that I thought the owner might have been experiencing.
From the photos I have seen of this competitors rack I knew that it wouldn't have a very good bump steer curve, but the feed back I was getting from this owner lead me to think it may have been more of a problem in the car itself. After fitting the Harrop steering arms the owner reported that although he noticed a slight improvement, the car was still a pig to steer. The frustrated owner decided to purchase a power steering kit off me. I was a bit concerned that if he fitted one of my rack there might have still been an underlying problem with the car. ( I haven't seen or driven this car).
In the next conversation with the owner he asked could I have a look at the other rack and set it up to steer better, as he decided he could fit it to his other Torana as it was to be sold in the near future, and fit my rack on his favorite hatch.
The owner took the two hour drive to my place with the complete competitors kit now removed from his car. In the fitting instructions supplied in this oppositions rack kit it states that its a direct fit to the K-frame no mods needed.
My findings.
1) Although the fitting instructions stated no mods needed to the car it also said "minor removal of material may need to be removed from the drivers side engine mount plate on some cars." To get this rack to fit to any Torana a large amount of metal needs to be removed. Basically the entire metal plate that is welded to the K-frame which the input shaft of the rack passes through needs to be removed. Strength of the K-frame is reduced in this area in doing so. (not a good practice).
2) During my initial geometry checks before and during development of my conversion kit, I was very surprised by how much change in toe out on turns and induced bump steer change there was when the rack was positioned away from the original manual rack position. There is a sweet spot but I managed to improve on the original setup/geometry. When I did the check on this competitors kit I was shocked by how far the rack sits forward of the K-frame. And it got worse, the rack was also sitting way to low. When at ride height the rack end bars had a steep upward angle to the steering arm tie rod ends.
When viewed from the side the rack end bars pointed back towards the steering arms 1 1/2". It doesn't matter what ride height you have you will never fix this issue. To get this rack to fit on a Torana they have made the rack mount sit to low and way to far forward. The rack is just not suitable for a Torana conversion.
3) The supplied outer tie rod ends have Nylock nuts to retain them. I assume this is due to the fit not being correct in the Torana steering arms. When I checked the contact in the tie rod studs they were only half engaged in the original steering arm tapper. By using Nyloc nuts you don't have to worry about lining up with a castle nut and split pin hole. Maybe I am old but I still like to see a secure split pin to ensure the castle nut is tight and hasn't loosened. You don't get that with a Nyloc nut which are known and do move from time to time. I do not see Nyloc nuts to be as safe as a castle nut and split pin, that's why most manufactures still use the old tried and tested split pins.
4) I don't like aluminum used in hydraulic cylinders, yes aluminum is lighter but will suffer from ware and scratches in the bore very early in it is life cycle, and its a re sleeve or throw away. There are a few other things that don't impress me with this kit but I have only focused on the major issues.
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Summery,
As they say you only get what you pay for, but this kit is $500.00 more than my kit, so your not getting what your paying for in my opinion. The bump steer curve is of major concern to the point of being dangerous given the right conditions. I always say to people that it should be more about better handling with the added bonus of being easier to steer. Unfortunately the only feature of this rack is lighter to steer. I would think the people that put this kit together didn't have a basic understanding of steering geometry and its effects. Its also obviously this rack was suited to other vehicle conversions, but the same rack fitted to a Torana just will not give good steering and handling.
The feed back from the owner after fitting my rack was positive. He called me after fitting my kit and said it was a different car to drive and much better than the original manual rack and light years over the other brand, The car hadn't been wheel aligned yet but the owner said he car handled brilliant over any road surface or condition.
There is a second aftermarket kit now available which is $500.00 cheaper than mine, but going by the photos it will suffer with the same problems as the rack kit I tested. Both of these racks are just to big with incorrect dimensions to successfully fit to a Torana without cutting away most of the front of the K-frame. And that will cause so many issues to the fitter and engineering people.
I am not writing this post to promote my kits. I posted to better inform buyers of the pit falls. I know when my kits are fitted to a standard Torana they are a direct bolt on, no mucking around, no mods needed to the car. The only time I have the occasional call from owners is due to so many modification over the years. I try to keep on top of any areas of concern and the uni coupling I released recently was to allow for customers that require more clearance around extractors. I commonly see 1 7/8 extractors in engine bays these days, room in a Torana has always been at a premium in the engine bay.
I always ask the owner to send me there steering arms to ensure a perfect fit. I know for some owners it can be a bit of a hassle getting them off and sending them, but I think is a small price to pay to ensure a straight forward installation. Many of these arms are now over forty years old , i regally find arms they need squaring up. Around 65% of the arms I check need reaming or a quick clean up.
Happy driving,
Regards Lenny.
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