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Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 10:28 am
by JoshO
I have bit of a silly question. I recently replaced my steering shaft with an extended one. I have a quick release wheel with a Hex hub. I had a new hex hub welded on the new shaft. Everything is good except my wheel is no longer perfectly center when wheels are straight. Somehow I never thought of that problem ahead of time.

What are my options?

So far, all I can think of is to start over with new hub and somehow make sure the angle is exactly what it needs to be when welded on. Is this what anyone that puts on a quick release wheel has to do? It seems a little crazy.

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 10:37 am
by davep
Really easy fix. Center the steering wheel and lock it in position (vise grips on the solid part of the steering column/shaft and c-clamp). Reset your toe on the front wheels (0 each side to 1/16ths toe out each side).

That's it. :D

DaveP

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 11:49 am
by Racer X
You might also verify that your rack is centered first. If not, you can fix it there. The lower steering shaft has a spline that slips onto the steering rack. It can be removed and rotated so that the rack is centered when the shaft (and subsequently the wheel) is centered.
I'd point the wheels straight and then go full lock both directions and make certain one way isn't turning noticeably more than the other (turn plates make it easy but you could probably use toe strings as well). If not, then your rack is centered and you want to get the steering shaft centered on that.
Making toe adjustments will work, but I'd only do it in small increments. For instance if you have a quarter inch of toe I wouldn't adjust it all out there. :) You could end up with ackerman issues I believe if you don't have the rack centered.

So in short, I'd do this:
a) verify the rack is centered when the wheels are straight
b) center the shaft on the rack spline
c) adjust small variance out with toe

Hope that helps!
RacerX

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 12:14 pm
by LarryWinkelman
Oops... this apparently doesn't apply to spec racers. Finally looked up close and whaddaya know, no U-joint). But in case you ever have a car that does...
Josh,

One other consideration: Depending on the misalignment angle of the steering shaft (how much the U-joint is "bent"), the orientation of the U-Joint can make your steering uneven, i.e. 30° steering wheel clockwise turns the road wheels more (or less) than 30° counterclockwise. Ideally you'd have the clevises lined up horizontally and vertically, not offset. If you do end up replacing components (or removing and re-welding the hub), you might want to check that as well.

LW

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Wed May 13, 2015 3:43 pm
by JoshO
Thanks everyone for the speedy responses!

I was hesitant to go for alignment changes(worried about things were mentioned such as rack center, ackerman, ect). Thanks for all of the tips. I don't have a way to measure bump steer yet, so I'm trying not to touch the alignment more than i have to right now.

Larry, I'm not as clear on your comments, but I understand what you mean by left vs right input not being even at the wheels. I might get more details if I happen to run into you at mid-ohio in a couple weeks.

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Wed May 13, 2015 3:49 pm
by dave
I'm trying to figure out where the u-joint is... :)

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2015 1:37 am
by Ed Cavalier
JoshO wrote:Thanks everyone for the speedy responses!

I was hesitant to go for alignment changes(worried about things were mentioned such as rack center, ackerman, ect). Thanks for all of the tips. I don't have a way to measure bump steer yet, so I'm trying not to touch the alignment more than i have to right now.

Larry, I'm not as clear on your comments, but I understand what you mean by left vs right input not being even at the wheels. I might get more details if I happen to run into you at mid-ohio in a couple weeks.


Bump steer: unless you're moving the steering rack up or down with spacers or changing caster, you're not changing your bump steer (dynamic toe). Feel free to mess with camber and toe all you want. Also, while bump steer is somewhat important at the front, it's more important at the rear. Supposedly, there's an intelligent feedback loop at the front, but it's all mechanical at the rear.

Oh, and by the way, if you've got the normal outboard tie rod ends, you're only allowed to use the rack spacers from Enterprises that limit you to pretty coarse bump steer corrections. On the other hand, if you've spent the bucks for the new adjustable outboard tie rod ends, then you have essentially infinite bump steer adjustability. I'm not sure why that is considered "fair". When the new "easy adjust" toe link kit was approved, they should have eliminated the "only Enterprises" shim rule. Guess I should complain to the CRB about that.

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2015 12:44 pm
by breton
There are thin and thick Enterprises shims so you're not limited to just a "course" adjustment on bump at the rack and I've always been able to get bump within a reasonable range at the front within a fairly wide range of caster settings. That said, having the adjustable toe links on the front makes it easier to fine-tune when making caster changes (which has the biggest impact on bump steer) as well as speeding normal toe adjustments considerably. Ideally, you'd like to have the rack set so there's some range of adjustment at the outer link shims.

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 3:01 pm
by JoshO
I was able to easily get my steering lined up by removing the shaft and re-centering the rack(Thanks RacerX).

I have one concern however, I can't remember how far on the spline the shaft was when I removed it, but this is as far as I can get it on with the bolt in(picture attached). It seems secure, but want to know if this is the norm or if there is a trick to getting the shaft on the spline farther?

Re: Get Steering Wheel on Center

PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2015 3:54 pm
by Racer X
It's the bolt sliding through the groove on the rack spline that locates the steering shaft as I recall. If the bolt goes in easily, you're at the right depth.

RacerX