bob westphal Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 I have finished installing a Cavalier rack & pinion in my P-15. I shortened the steering arms by moving them forward on the spindles. It works well but the turning radius is a little lacking. I'm wondering if changing the Ackermann by bending the steering arms slightly toward the center of the car would help decrease the radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Bob......how much turning radius are you lacking?............and by how much do you want to bend the arms?......1/4" at the tierod end should increase it quite a bit I'd think, tho' how are you going to do this?...........andyd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregarious13 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Do you have enough room to shorten the steering arms more? The best way to increase steering angle with the least affect to bump steer is to shorten the steering arm on the knuckle. You will also have slightly quicker steering. I wouldn't move the steering pivot point in or out from stock, this will induce lots of bump steer. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 Greg.........I think what Bob has done is mount the steering arms forward on the stub axle, see the attached pic........when I built my car back in the early 1970's I had the steering arms shortened 1" by an automotive blacksmith, he cut then reforged them...this brought the tierod hole closer to the kingpin axis and with the rack I used allowed the racks throw to have a greater effect resulting in a reduced turning circle.........however a few yrs ago I saw on this site a pic of what a fellow aussie had done, he had mounted his steering arms forward as the pic shows and ended up with essentially the same effect as I had but in a much more user friendly manner..........this is what Bob has done as far as I am aware............andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregarious13 Posted January 26, 2018 Report Share Posted January 26, 2018 I figured just as well but was hoping there may be a little more to shorten. Looks like the tie rod end is close to the caliper in that picture already without much more room for movement. Of course the other issue with shortening the tie rods is you can end up steering over center and the wheel wont return, just locks up. I suppose a quick and reversible test of changing Ackerman would be to space the steering arms from the knuckle, effectively moving the tie rods closer to center. If it turns out terribly and you have a bunch of bump steer then you can go back without any ill effects. Maybe you are already suffering from bump steer after the rack installation and this will make it better. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob westphal Posted January 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 I am still using the original drum brakes. I essentially did what Andy 's picture shows by fabricated a plate bolted and a spacer between the spindle and the steering arms. The plate has three holes spaced the same distance as the spacing of the steering arm mounting holes. The steering arm bolts to the forward hole in the plate and the forward boss on the front spindle boss and the aft hole to the rear spindle boss. This moves the steering arms forward the distance between the holes in the arms. The only way to bend the steering arms is heat and bend them and re-tempering them. Since my car is lowered 3 1/2" in front, I already had a small amount of bump steer. Since I installed the rack, the bump steer seams to be gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregarious13 Posted January 27, 2018 Report Share Posted January 27, 2018 Hmm... Well no bump steer is good but probably means you'll have bump steer return if you change the Ackerman. How much steering travel did you loose after the rack install? Can you get a set of spare steering arms in case the bending makes things worse? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltYergens Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 A while back I drew these diagrams. andyDodge’s solution looks like it might help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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