The Lethal_vr4 manual steering rack is a converted stock hydraulically assisted rack. The rack is disassembled and all ports, fittings, and internal components specific to the hydraulic system are removed. Then the rack is greased and resealed, and new tie rods are fitted. The end product is exceptionally simple and clean. Installing the rack is more of a tedious process than a difficult one. The supports running from the front to rear crossmembers of the front subframe must be removed to swap the rack, as must the downpipe, transfer case, and front sway bar. At the time of my install, solid bushings were not available so the stock rubber pieces were reused. On 3/S with all-wheel steering (AWS), the signal lines to the valve for the rear rack will have to be disconnected.

I find the rack to be manageable during regular street driving and a worthwhile tradeoff for the benefits at the track. Effort at very slow speeds is high, which is to be expected, but it is not oppressive. I can fairly easily turn the wheel with two hands while the car is not moving at all, and though I wouldn’t want to parallel park regularly, it is not impossible. Palming the wheel or making significant one-handed changes to wheel angle at speeds below 5mph, however, is a thing of the past.

Above 10 mph effort to make normal turns in the road is acceptable. I certainly feel the weight of the rack, and the transition between the weightlessness of the center dead spot in our cars to the heaviness of an actual steering input is noticeable and dramatic. However, I was able to make these turns with one hand. However, I found that the effort required to make a tight turn—through an intersection, entering a parking lot, and anything else that requires greater than 50 or so degrees rotation of the wheel—was much higher than expected. This is absolutely a 2-handed process. Specifically, it is not the effort required to turn the wheel that I find to be higher than I expected, but the effort required to maintain that wheel angle. I think that this is partially due to my specific wheel/tire and suspension setup: I have Tein Flex with SCE’s camber caster plates. When I originally installed the plates a few years ago, the front wheels would return to center more forcefully (this is a product of increased caster). Further, I run 275s on 9.5” wide rims with a +36mm offset. The rims are fairly heavy. Even with power assist, steering effort was higher with these wheels and tires. I have not been able to reinstall my old camber plates or use alternate wheels/tires, so I cannot quantify the effects of my current setup.
At highway speeds the car almost feels as if it has assisted steering. The dead-spot transition I mentioned is there (no escaping that), but otherwise I can drive very easily on the highway with one hand—not that I do this normally. Lane changes are quick and easy.

In general, I think the benefits of this product outweigh the drawbacks, provided one is aware of them. Those of you who drive often in cities or who see your cars as comfortable weekend cruisers may not wish to purchase this. But if you are like me and take your somewhat daily-driven 3/S to track days, it looks to be an excellent modification. Not only does it drastically simplify the engine bay, the manual rack significantly increases feedback through the wheel. Bumps and imperfections are smoothly transmitted. My favorite part, I think, is that I can now feel how much the front is loaded up through the steering wheel. The hydraulic assist deadens most of this feedback; with the manual rack I can feel the steering effort decrease before I perceive the front unloading. I can’t wait to get this to the track.