My vette has not been driven in a long time (18 years). Over the past few months I've rebuild suspension/steering/brakes, installed a TKO-600, had the motor built by a local race shop (530hp/505lb).

Have to preface my compaint.... My son started racing karts several years ago. While I don't race, I do have a 125cc Rotax kart that I drive when we go out for practice. I've gotten very used to the quick steering (basically 1/2 turn lock to lock and you don't actually use full lock unless you've completely lost it).

So, Friday I take the vette out for it's first drive in forever. Power is great, will light the back tires up without the clutch and without getting the secondaries open. Brakes are fair, stops better than my 4 ton daily driver (truck). But the steering sucks!

Does not seem to be anything wrong with it, but having to crank the wheel just about a full turn to keep the back end in check is not a lot of fun.

I think this is the 'quick' steering box (it's about 3.5 turns lock-to-lock), but in practice is not much better than my truck which is about 5 turns lock-to-lock.

I hear talk about not wanting too quick a box as it makes the car jittery on the highway, but in the karts it's normal to be inches from other karts at 60-70mph and I've never hear complaints that the steering is too sensitive (on karts that can adjust steering rate, I don't recall ever seeing one that was set for least sensitivity).

Does anyone have a truely 'quick' steer setup?

Thoughts?

 

I see your suspension was done so that's not an issue, but a lot of times the rag joint can get overlooked and if it's worn it'll loosen everything up.

Another possibility is that the box just has a lot of slop and needs to be rebuilt. NOT just adjusted...usually this will get you into more trouble. It needs to be rebuilt...I can suggest someone...and you will again have tight steering.

First, determine if it's the rag joint or box. Pop the hood, and watch both the shaft and the wheels and have someone go back and forth on the wheel.

If the rag joint is the issue you'll see the shaft turning at two different ratios above and below the rag joint. If the joint is fine and the box is sloppy the shaft will have a tight turn into the box where the energy is lost and the wheels don't seem to respond.

Check that out and get back to us. Oh, and post some pics...we love those here.

 

I replaced the rag joint when I did the rest of the work.

I don't think the box is bad. A small turn of the wheel does have a immediate (but small) effect. There is no noticable slop around the middle. That's not to say it should not be rebuilt, it is 30+ years old! But that is not going to appreciably change how much I have to crank on wheel.

I suspect it's more of an expectation issue. I've not driven a sports car in years, but do drive the kart regularly. The vette is a whole lot closer to my 4 ton truck than it is to the kart is driving experience.



First, determine if it's the rag joint or box. Pop the hood, and watch both the shaft and the wheels and have someone go back and forth on the wheel.

If the rag joint is the issue you'll see the shaft turning at two different ratios above and below the rag joint. If the joint is fine and the box is sloppy the shaft will have a tight turn into the box where the energy is lost and the wheels don't seem to respond.

Check that out and get back to us. Oh, and post some pics...we love those here. [/QUOTE]

 

Here are a couple of pics

 

See I think the steering is fine and tight. My box is in good shape, as is my rag joint and suspension both front and rear. When I turn the wheel it's fast and responsive. At the same time, when I track straight on a highway at a high rate of speed it's very stable and the rear stays right where it's supposed to.

If you feel it's loose, and trust me these cars can handle quite well, then I suspect either suspension either front or rear, rag joint, or box.

You say you replaced the rag joint but was it was a high dollar quality part or a cheap import part?

The box, if it has a lot of miles, will probably have some slop.

The front suspension is the worst at affecting stability, but the rear is often over looked. If any of the rear components are worn you can get some ill affects to your handling.

When was the last time you had the rear end aligned?

 

It doesn't feel loose, it just takes too many turns on the wheel driving around town and keeping the nose headed the right direction when you step on it.

The alignment is close, but not spot on. I do need a couple of items (tools) as not all of my racing stuff will work on the vette.

The rag joint came from one of the normal vendors. The hardware was got as good as the original, so I used the new rag with the old hardware.