in my 5th gen hatch with manual rack, i find that i have do the "hand over hand" technique even in some of the slalom parts. do any of you other guys have this problem?

i don't think i am as smooth as i could be because of this. is there a steering rack i can put in that has a better ratio so i don't have to crank the wheel so much? or, is power steering the solution to my problem?

 

Shuffle steering is your friend. Quicker and smoother than hand over hand.

 

i've used the shuffle method too, but i don't want to have to move my hands on the wheel at all. is this something i just have to live with?

 

You can replace you arms with Gumby arms. Or you can go to a elementry school playground and find one of those structures with the fake steering wheel and practice being quick with your hands

 

You have to shuffle steer to be fast at autox.

Deal with it, or deal with being slow.

 

haha... i re-read my post.... yeah, i suppose gumby arms would be needed

what i meant to say is that i'd like to not have to move my hands on the wheel while going thru a slalom. obviously on hairpins i will have to no matter what steering rack i have.

i saw the thread on converting a power rack to manual, i think i'm going to go that route

 

Changing steering racks bumps you into a very difficult class but I know what you mean. I drove my car an an autox then I jumped into a Boxster and the steering ratio was so much better. I never realized how busy my hands are in my car.

The only simple solution is to go with a smaller diameter steering wheel (class permiting). You still have to rotate the wheel x number of times but you shoud be able to do it quicker.

 

True, but the smaller diameter steering wheel will require more effort to spin the wheel. I haven't driven a FWD car without P/S to know how the steering effort is but... with the RWD car I've driven with 285s on the front, autocrossing it requires some serious forearms.

 

Two other things before you take the arduous task of changing out steering racks.

1) Make sure you aren't turning more than you have to. Examine your line between the cones and make sure you are turning the least amount possible while BARELY touching the cones. I was amazed how much steering input I could eliminate. Not to mention it's MUCH faster.

2) Stiffen up the front end. I have the same problem (15" dia. wheel and it's molasses-geared). I just set my shocks one notch stiffer and the car transitioned noticeably quicker, more sure-footed, and required less steering input from me.

My $.02

Andy

 

i'm already in SM, i'm sure that mod would be legal as just about everything is.

maxQ, thanks for the idea, I will try that


[Modified by DOHC-DX, 12:41 AM 9/21/2002]

 

Hmmm. My buddy has an EG that I have taken out a couple of times and I have never had any problems. Haven't ever used te shuffle meathod, never had to? Before I go into a sharp corner I put my hands on the wheel as if I had just turned the opposite direction then I have a lot of room to play with.

 

if you are in a honda....either you shuffle or you lose....that simple. especially civics. for some reason honda engineers put a rack more suitable for a minivan in civics, including the Si. I noticed a difference after nationals where I drove a manual rack 84 RX-7 with 8 inch slicks in EP, but I'm used to movin my hands a bunch