2015 STI Steering Rack in an 818?

[FFR-ADV]

Has anyone put a 2015 STI Steering Rack in an 818 yet? 13:1 steering ratio (2.5 turns lock to lock) price ~$587

Part Number is 34110VA120: Subaru 2015 STI

Several threads in IWSTI and NASIOC
http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-suspension-handling-stiffening/268436-swap-2015-rack-into-earlier-sti-parts-update-post-1-a.html
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2601789

Might be an interesting upgrade, especially if it is a drop in upgrade in an 818.

Looking forward to news from SEMA...

Cheers!

[FFR-ADV]

Here is an interesting video comparison of older STI to new STI rack:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh6FY9Tq5Jo

Cheers!

[13dgmwrx]

So there is no confusion, apparently the 15:1 car is a 2011 STi with the stock rack. And the 13:1 is a 2009 STi with a 15 rack in it. Because both of those cars are 08-14 models.

[ssssly]

Do it. I want to see the results.

[FFR-ADV]

Just saw that someone documented an upgrade to a 2015 STI steering rack to a 2002 WRX on NASIOC.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2601789&page=15

I have a quite a few other upgrades ahead of this on my list. Foremost is the Hardtop!

Merry Christmas!!!

[Zach34]

Very glad you posted that. Thanks!! Now I'm leaning heavily toward ordering a 2015 rack for my R. I'm also leaning heavily toward keeping the power steering - I think the quicker rack will benefit from it more. I drove my Roadster with a de-powered rack for years until I started autox. When I restored the power steering it was MUCH easier to drive around the autox courses, and the car felt lighter and easier to control on the road, too. I can't imagine the 818R being that much different. My end goal is road racing with the 818R. Granted power steering benefits autox more than road racing...

Sure would be nice to have an electric power steering pump mounted up front with the rack. It looks like the only options for that are retrofitting MR2 or Mini pumps. I can't believe nobody in the aftermarket has made a universal pump.

[billjr212]

Cool idea to upgrade the rack. Regarding the power steering, remember the roadster would have had around 1,100 pounds resting on relatively wide tires and the 818 will have around 800 pounds resting on narrower tires, so the comparison won't be exactly the same. Haven't driven my 818 yet, but just turning the wheels in the garage seems much easier than it was with the manual rack in my roadster.

[C.Plavan]

Very glad you posted that. Thanks!! Now I'm leaning heavily toward ordering a 2015 rack for my R. I'm also leaning heavily toward keeping the power steering - I think the quicker rack will benefit from it more. I drove my Roadster with a de-powered rack for years until I started autox. When I restored the power steering it was MUCH easier to drive around the autox courses, and the car felt lighter and easier to control on the road, too. I can't imagine the 818R being that much different. My end goal is road racing with the 818R. Granted power steering benefits autox more than road racing...

Sure would be nice to have an electric power steering pump mounted up front with the rack. It looks like the only options for that are retrofitting MR2 or Mini pumps. I can't believe nobody in the aftermarket has made a universal pump.

There is no reason to have a power steering in an R.

[FFR-ADV]

I agree that no power steering is required and this gets rid of the pump, bracket and fluid line weight and allows the simplified alternator mount. Add lightness is the 818 moto! The purpose for this upgrade is the slightly faster rack which was just released for the 2015 STI. It will still be desirable to remove the power steering valve torsional spring. Metalmaker is currently doing this by welding the shaft and is providing this as a service to the community as far as I know. This modification is likely more important than the faster rack, but is not required as it is small free-play. This is a nice upgrade option, but as I stated earlier, there are other upgrades ahead of this on my list. But as they say. In the end build the 818 you want not what someone else wants. I am very glad to benefit from the builders who are blazing a path ahead of me. Thanks to those contributing.

Happy New Year!

[Zach34]

Well, there's certainly a lot of experienced dudes in favor of non-power steering. Maybe the thing to do is de-power/weld my donor rack and just see how it steers. I can always upgrade to the 13:1 with power.

[Hindsight]

Maybe the thing to do is de-power/weld my donor rack and just see how it steers. I can always upgrade to the 13:1 with power.

That would be my vote. I'm in the "don't need power steering in the 818" camp, but it would be nice to have the tighter ratio rack. It would be a very easy thing to upgrade to later since the rack is very easy to remove and replace.

[vrumpsh]

I am in the process of trying to make it fit....will post pictures soon. Comparing the 06 rack to the 15 rack immediately yields some issues.
First issue is that the driver side mounting points are not flat, on the 15 rack the back bushing/mount is about 3/4" further up.
Second issue, made worse by the 1st, is that the pinion shaft is angled more towards the bottom / (back of the car)
Third, about 10mm needs to shaved off of the inner outter tie rod threads.
Fourth, the fittings that need to be looped for depowering are on opposite sides of each other. This racks seems easier to take apart than prev years so I may do a full depower, but not sure how much I want to commit on such an expensive item just yet.

I only did a test fit with both racks. On the driver side both boots were very close the LCA mount (could be just the way mine was welded), but the 15 was touching. I think with some minor massaging it can be done. I can stack washers under the 15 rack to fix issue one to try to angle the pinion to a better angle. However when I do this the boot gets closer and closer to the LCA mount on the drivers side.

On the positive note the pinion / quail does not seem to have the 1/8" play in it...yaaay...

[vrumpsh]

Just picked up a free used 08 rack from a friend that upgraded to the 15 on his road race wagon. I wanted to test out fitment on it before I started chopping up the 15 rack. they are identical in shape and mounting points. After some cutting I can confirm it fits without rubbing and all the angles are almost the same as our donors. Will post pics and measurements after I transfer the modification onto the 15 rack. pm me with questions It will probably be a while until I post it up on a build thread.