BMW E30 E36 E46 Steering Rack Swap Guide ( Z3 Rack, E36 M3 Rack , E46 Purple Tag , E46 Yellow Tag )
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ค. 2023
- It's a tough decision to choose which steering rack would best fit your application or know how they feel before purchasing and installing. The only option is to buy all of them and see how they compare! This series will have a few parts to it, starting with an overview of each rack and a quick test.
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![Best E30 Steering Rack Swap [Z3 2.7 vs Purple Tag Rack] BMW How-to Conversion Guide | 039](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0nMKFGFm9Zc/mqdefault.jpg)
Weights of each rack
E46 yellow | 13lbs 10oz
E46 purple | 13lbs 10oz
Z3 16lbs | 7oz
Z4 12lbs | 10oz
E30 17lbs | 1oz
E36 m3 95 | 13lbs 9oz
E36 m3 96+ | 13lbs 11oz
Haven't even pressed play yet and I already know this is going to be a video I'll be returning to, thanks
Appreciate it🙏
I can imagine this video was a lot of work to make, swapping racks and stuff.
But very helpfull !! thanks for that :)
Just what I was looking for! Thanks
awsome video mate . thanks for the info
Upgraded to z3 rack few years! Absolutely sport style rack! Forgotten the e30 truck rack👌
Great video. Thanks for sharing
Sweet video! Really interested to see the e46 video, didn’t think there was little difference going from the blue (3.2 turns) to purple/yellow (3turns). Curious to hear whether or not there’s enough of a difference to make it worth doing this when my rack isn’t in need of repair/refurb
Not the man we asked for but the man we needed
Lol
You're the goat bro I've been going back and forth between which to pick getting told this one is best then this one is best but never any reasons why
There is no "one is best", everything is personal opinion. Everyone is going to say something is better than the other but that doesn't mean it's the best for you
@The Masked Driver yeah you're right it's my first car so I've just been trying to ask friends with them for advice but I've noticed we're building them with very different intentions but I appreciate u helping me make a decision
No problem! Asking friends or asking the community is great and one of the best tools for learning...besides youtube lol...if your friends will let you drive their cars with different racks that would be the best option to feel the difference rather than someone saying one is better with no explanation or saying because it's 2.8 lock to lock its better than 3.2 lock to lock but you might like the feel of thr 3.2 lock to lock more than the 2.8 lol
Awesome, great video! Thanks for putting the time/effort in to fit and try each rack.
I'm planning to do a similar swap on my E30 soon and really its between the Z3 and the Purple tag rack for me. I've had a purple tag swapped E30 before and liked it, an amazing upgrade versus stock.
On paper the Z3 rack seems like a small improvement on that if you want as quick a rack as you can get.
I'll be interested to see your thoughts on these racks when they're hooked up to a pump, I have a suspicion they'll vary again in how they feel. Cheers!
Since my e30 is still going to be a little while before it's up and running. I'm currently looking for another e30 to buy to do the testing. I didn't plan on hooking them up to power steering but ill consider it when it comes time to test them all
nice video. I just put a BMW E46 in a BMW E30 steering rack and new gargastic steering stem.
How do you like your e30 after the swap?
Great video! Still Debating if I should Rebuild the rack on my 328 E36 or upgrade 🤔
I have a purple tag in my 330ci and a green tag in my M3. I definitely notice that the Purple tag is quicker to turn on centre. Which I initially preferred to the M3’s. But after taking both on track, I think the Green tag is better, at very high speeds, the purple tag is very twitchy in comparison to the green.
Appreciate the opinion!
Dedication right here. I have a z4 in mine as it was non assisted from the factory being a Spanish market car. I guess that is common over there. Anyway you said it was lighter than the other racks? I thought it would be the opposite.
Yes I wouldn't say it was the lightest of all of them but different up there. It all has to do with the ratios in the rack.
I had a silver tag in my e46 when I bought it, way over boosted. i put a yellow tag in, way better.
This must have taken you awhile to make. Thanks.
That it did...that it did!
Excellent comparison, thanks for your work @themaskeddriver actually demonstrating the differences! Curious though, does the yellow tag 712 rack have a slight detent on-center? Perhaps is that the 'sweet-spot' you're referring to? I've got one sitting on my workbench cleaned up and ready to go into my M3, and I noticed that when moving by hand it feels like there's a slight notch in the motion when on center. I cleaned the grease off and shined a light down the side closest to the pinion. You can clearly see the pinion turning, and then right at center the torsion bar moves toward the pinion maybe somewhere between 1 and 1.5 millimeters. You can see the thrust bushing/spring moving down a little as well (as it's spring tension pushes from the backside of the torsion bar). I've marked the distance where the mating area is on the bar, and there aren't any visual anomalies or differences tooth pitch in that area. This MAY be normal.. I'm just not sure. The rack feels tight otherwise with zero play, but wanted to confirm before installing.
Appreciate the kind words. The "sweet spot" is only a progressive rack thing as in the 95 m3 is progressive and has a "sweet spot" in the center while driving and harder to turn on the outside. The yellow tag is linear and feels the same throughout the whole rack. Unfortunately i didn't feel any "detent" in the center of the rack
@@themaskeddriver Well I ended up buying another 712 to compare against -- and both torsion bars seem to deflect a little bit coming off center. Basically, with your eyes-closed, rotating the input shaft by hand lock to lock, you can feel where center is on both racks. The first one I bought is just a bit more pronounced I'd say. This tells me that I'm probably over-thinking it and should just go with the rack that has the cleanest looking teeth.
Great video and super helpful! I wonder if these guys are better than Rack Doctor? Seems like nothing but negative reviews about Rack Doctor...
Recently I haven't heard anything great about the rack doctor but they used to be the best. J&J is semi local to me so I went with them
Great info thank you.
Do you do work on other E30s or just yours?
Mostly my own but sometimes I take in others projects
Also you can pair SLR or MRT quick steering kit with stock e36 or e46 rack. it should be quicker than z4 rack.
I have the slr version. E36 m3 racks are a little more lock to lock then z4 and e46. Z4 and e46 being the same lock to lock. I don't have the exact ratios for the e36 or z4 but it's possible. Lock to lock are the same but ratios might be different. Making one slightly faster than the other
Please, show us more about z4 manual steering rack. Can you compare weight of these racks?
Like actual weight of each rack?
@@themaskeddriver yes. it will be useful to safe 1-2 kilos.
I'll weight them and get back to you
I pinned a comment with all the weights. Should be the first comment on the video
I currently have a Z4 rack at my shop. The splined shaft for the steering shaft is larger OD than E46 and other racks. I'm curious, didn't you notice this? How did your steering shaft fit? I'm amidst a hydraulic steering conversion for a Z4, stuck on what steering shaft besides Z4M I can use.
Yes it is. I used a modified z4 steering linkage. Factory z4 linkage is too long but has the splines for the rack and the splines for the e30 column. The linkage needs to be shortened but I am working on an aftermarket solution
plese let me know, i want to upgrade my e30 with that rack! BTW great video!!
@@themaskeddriver
@@elia0390Installed a z4 rack in my e30. You need e36 tie rods, and you have to shorten the z4 steering linkage I also had to make a slit in the steering shaft from the car to get the bolt of the linkage trough. I can send you a picture of how long the shaft needs to be.
@@KneipeMeijer @elia0390 exactly what they said. I used e36 inner and out tie rods. The oem z4 steering linkage needs to be modified to make it all work. Working on a better solution than that but it's going to be a while
what inner and outer tierods are best to use ? don’t want to add camber or anything like that
I used e36 m3 inner and outer. But you can use e30 inner and outer or e46 inner and outer I believe. Tierods don't effect camber
What is the lock to lock number of turns for a standard 36 zf rack?
There is a few differences between all the e36 models.
95 M3 3.0 turns lock-to-lock
96+ M3/MZ3 3.2 turns lock-to-lock
Z3 2.8 turns lock-to-lock
325 3.4 turns lock-to-lock
328 3.2 turns lock-to-lock
Are this steering racks can fit into an old e36 96 sedan without any modification?? I wanna try the purple tag rack because my friend told me that the best rack for e36
Correct no modifications needed for install in an e36
what about E46 M3 rack?
im currently swapping my 330ci (with 712 yellow tag rack) with a complete E46 drivetrain, I was thinking about swapping the whole subframe assembly with engine, suspension, steering rack, spindles etc.
I am wondering if the M3 rack would feel any better or identical to my current 712 rack, or maybe should i just keep the 712 rack?
I also have in hand a yellow tag 312 rack laying around
@reda19891 e46 m3 is a down grade from the 712 rack and why I didn't include it on the list and most people will swap to a yellow or purple tag rack and get rid of their m3 rack
can you give me a length between the mounting holes. I am planning to fit this to a shelby cobra. i plan on using the z3 rack. thanks Jim
Mounting holes on the rack? Shoot me a message on Instagram and get that for you
@@themaskeddriver yes i need the length between the 2 holes on the rack. Cant find that info anywhere
How did you manage to instal the steering connector for the z4? My z4 rack seems too big for the one on my e36
You have to use the z4 linkage for the bottom. I have to double check if the e36 steering column uses the same splines as e30. Also work on a better solution than just modify the factory linkage
I just tried my e46 318 from 2005 and its 2,7 rounds...and ive been searching such rack for so long...and ive had one all this time... :D
i just have switch these two rack, faster to my race car e36, and slower to my daily driver.
how is this possible, i have bmw z3 rack in my small engine e46? 😮
It's possible someone swapped it in before you ownership
Hello , do 330i racks fit on to a 330xi? E46 haven’t been able to find anything thanks!
Hi, unfortunately I'm not well versed in the e46 chassis like I am for the e30 and e36 so I can't answer that questions sorry.
Hey man I have a question I’m new in the BMW community and I’m planning on changing my steering rack on my e36 but I’m curious when you did the test of all the racks what steering shaft you used the same for all of them? Or did you swapped the shafts too?
So for your e36 you can use the factory linkage for all the racks. Only e30s do you need to modify the linkage. I did use an aftermarket linkage for the rack swaps in my e30
@@themaskeddriver thanks!!! because I ordered the z4 rack for my e36 drift on budget.
Oh and nice video info about the racks 👍🏻
So the z4 is the only exception to all the racks. I am working on a solution for that. You cannot use the factory linkage with a z4 rack. For the time being you will need to modify a factory z4 linkage to work. Like I said working on a better solution, hopefully available soon!
@@themaskeddriver ok I knew that the Z4 rack where the shaft goes is thicker than the other racks but I wanted to make sure with your experience,thanks again!!
Do the different racks need different knuckles to join them to the conection to the steering wheel?
All except the z4 rack have to same splines
@@themaskeddriver cheers man
Hey I was watching your older videos and I just finished a z3 rear end swap, I’m noticing that the wheels stick out extremely far, what did you do to tuck them in the fender
It's your offset of your wheels probably
There is a another option with e36 compact parts, i think the 323ti hub stands out the most if i recall correctly. There is a lot of stuff about 5 lug swaps here in germany
Yup the 318ti hubs or 323ti is another way of doing 5 lug
that e46 yellow...im about to buy suck rack but three last numbers are 713...not 712. is it same?
I read a forum that 713 was racks rebuilt by bmw but not really sure and the forum didn't go anywhere. I wouldn't risk it depending on price better to get a rack that is correct that is 712
What are the specs on the z3 rack needed, off of what z3 is it come off of?
There is a few parts numbers that work...not just based on a specific model. Although most people say they come from 1.9 z3
I’m so hard watching this!!! 😂😂
Which should i get for an e36 m3 evo ?
Now my first question is, since I'm in the US, did yours come with a 3.2ish turn lock to lock rack? Most e36 people when they go to change the rack usually upgrade to a e46 yellow or purple rack
so just to be clear, the only good about these, are the fact that they have lower lock to lock? what about driving, like do they make the car feel better handling wise compared to the normal, lets say e46 steering rack?
@Victor-xy7dq I now have videos going over in detail every rack on the list. Go to the Playlist tab on my channel and you will find them
@@themaskeddriver i got u, both just to be clear, they racks dont add any better handling to the car?
@victor-xy7dq Please define handling because of course lock and lock and how heavy a rack feels will definitely effect handling
@@themaskeddriver i mean does it make the car turner better, while spirited driving? And is it better as a daily. Fx shock absobers are a good investment and while driving. So i thought, will a different steering rack add better driving?
Hobe it makes sense, sry if i dont. :)
@victor-xy7dq yes a steering rack will greatly improve driving experience and handling
E46 Yellow tag racks is best for your E36 M3, yeah?
So such thing as "best". Every rack has different characteristics. E36 m3 96+ might be preferred over a e46 yellow or purple tag. But yes a yellow or purple is a great upgrade if your looking for something more
Which should i buy for an m3 e46 folks ?
most e46 m3 folk go from their stock rack to either a e46 purple or e46 yellow rack
What about the TWR Rack?
TWR racks? Like the brand? They are not oem racks
@@themaskeddriver from what ive read they are same as 712 yellow tag from ZF
Twr is a brand/manufacturer. If your about a specific rack. Shoot me a dm on Instagram and I'll take a look
@@themaskeddriver pmd
Where u from mate, need some work on my e30?
I'm in California
@@themaskeddriver thx mate but I'm in UK...
hi
what is Z3 rack ref ? tx
ref? you mean part number?
@@themaskeddriver yes ! I Have Standard no assisted E30 rack and i Have E36 non m3 oil assisted rack. I m interrested into this Z3 rack
Part #1092031
the 96+ e36 m3 rack is the same as on every E36 so not a m3 specific part.
That is correct