another?
thats the only negitive in my opinion....
and not much of one either...its really kind of a non issue...
its not a big deal...

look...i realize that this system (or any other system, for that matter) is not for everyone...
i was asked for my input and i gave it...
personaly, i will never again own a C3 without it...but thats me...
you dont like it and thats fine too...i could really give a rats azz...

i have installed it and i have driven thousands of miles with it...
you dont have it nor have you, to my knowledge ever even driven a car that has it...
nuff said...peace...

 

please don't be upset at me, i'm not trying to antagonize anyone. I'm playing devil's advocate because this is an upgrade i would consider doing but want and need to have a robust system. One of the main reasons to have power steering is to be able to manuver in tight spaces.

I'm just trying to decide in my own mind if PRECISION steering is all its cracked up to be. Or can i negotiate my car around a road course just as well with the stock system with inherit slop and all?

 

Could you use one of those circle track ratio changers. It makes the steering up to 50% sharper. also are the corvettes steering boxes 36 spline?

 

I have the Steeroids conversion and am very pleased.

One problem with the install:
The heads on the 5/8-18 bolts that hold the rods to the rack bracket would hit my lower a-arms at full lock. The direcions say take the lockwasher out for additional clearnce. Still hit. Solution: got 2 grade 8 5/8-18 bevel head bolts, chucked them in a lathe took 0.125 thou off the bevel at the end of the threads then took another 0.125 thou off the outer diameter effectivly turning them into thin head allen head cap screws. The Pilot/Motorcycle road racer in me couldn't stop until they were saftey wired with 0.032 stainless lockwire.

The feel and feedback is awesome compared to stock. I will be rebuilding my steering column as the play in the system is due to visible radial slop in the column.

 

well I guess I'll add my 2 cents:

I've had Steeroids since soon after it was first introduced.. about 2 years? or so.

The install was something like Cali described... grind this, cut that etc.

But other than that is was pretty straight forward. I could not have done any rack and pinion other way, I don't have to skill to make my own kit, and I can't afford the labor involved to have one made.

At first the steering was too light. The simple fix was to replace that gigantic '68 steering wheel with something smaller. After that the feel was just about right. I later added a hydroboost brake system, I think this causes more steering effort, but it's not a problem, and much easier than manual steering.

I really like the feel now. It is VERY tight. I don't think there is any play in the steering.

I recently had Guldstrand completely rebuild my suspension. I told them I didn't want any compromises- the suspension had to be perfect.

I also asked Dick to evaluate the steeroids system. He is always concerned about any after market kit. Especially something as critical as the steering system. In the case of the Steeroids kit he didn't see any apparent dangers. He did however replace the heim joints. He felt that the ones in the steeroids kit were not of high enough quality to trust with your life. He replaced them with much more robust ones, and added a large washer to keep them together in case of failure.

He siad that the Steeroids kit does eliminate bumpsteer, he said that someone must have known what they were doing.

Overall he seemed to like the system, but I think he would prefer a stock manual system. The stock power assist causes the sloppy feeling we hate so much.

A WORD OF WARNING: check you're u-joints!! I found a few loose set screws after a few thousand miles! I since have drowned them in locktite and torqued them as tight as I could without stripping them.

Steeroids plus the bazillion dollars I spent at Guldstrand make the car a real joy to drive. The 5-bar rear end is awesome... almost worth the small fortune it costs to have it installed

I would say that the sloppy stock system almost cost me my life on one occasion, and the Steeroids may have saved it on another.
But I'll save those stories for another thread!

~Jay

 

"He siad that the Steeroids kit does eliminate bumpsteer, he said that someone must have known what they were doing." Now that is a useful bit of info I have not seen before JayM.

One of the reasons I am changing to Steeroids is to get much better feel and from what you and Signguy say, it's the best move and getting rid of bump steer is a huge handling bonus!!

Graeme

 

FYI: From what I have observed in various posts, the Steeroids install seems to go easier on later models than earlier ones. Don't know why.

I'll be the first to agree that Steeroids isn't for everyone...it ain't cheap and not everyone is going to like it. That said . . . I personally think it's great!

 

what is "bump steer"

 

Bump steer is toe changing/steering input without turning the steering wheel, it happens when the suspension goes into bump/rebound and the steering geometry does not match the suspension geometry/linkage. The suspension geometry has a virtual "hinge point", this is the point where the lines drawn through upper and lower contol arm intersect. The tie rod has to point to that same virtual center and the arm has to be set so that the pivot point is inline with the cross shaft plane (draw line fro upper through lower cross shaft)

Here's a pic, it will explain it. This is for an end take off rack but a center take off can do the same with a bracket that is set up for the proper positions.



Oh, here's a nice article:
http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=13