Steering Rack Limiter

AVANTE · November 21, 2019

Has anyone removed their car's steering rack limiter? Those things that look like a piece of cut PVC pipe that's hidden inside a rubber gaiter on the front axle?

I know it's there to prevent the wheels from rubbing against anything. But I'm just toying with the idea of removing mine because in my area, it's hard to do a u-turn/park sometimes (in a compact hatchback, doing a 3-point u-turn just kills the whole point of a compact car). The swift runs on 14 inch 185/70 tyres on all four sides. But there's tons of space in there that even a bit more of turn angle wont hit anything. You could start a tiny coconut plantation in there.

But even if it were to rub, at slow speeds a tiny rub won't kill anything and if I can get used to the steering position which misses the 'rubbing' by a tiny bit, i'd be alright.

Right?

Edited November 21, 2019 by □AVANTE□
Typo

Hyaenidae · November 21, 2019

Why does the Swift has a turning radius of 5m? It's exactly the same turning radius of a much bigger Lancer ex

ajm · November 21, 2019

I think it also protects the steering rack from out-of-specified forces during turning.

Shorter turning radius is a feature which depends on rack design.

Therefor even a Merc E-klass can have same radius as a cheaper hatchback, but at higher cost.

PerfMad · November 21, 2019

3 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

Why does the Swift has a turning radius of 5m? It's exactly the same turning radius of a much bigger Lancer ex

Knowing Swifts are prone to have rack issues by its design, i would suggest you not to go ahead. However, at the end of the day its ur vehicle and ur money which is on the line. If you have enough money to replace it, then why bother

AVANTE · November 21, 2019

5 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

Why does the Swift has a turning radius of 5m? It's exactly the same turning radius of a much bigger Lancer ex

2 hours ago, PerfMad said:

Knowing Swifts are prone to have rack issues by its design, i would suggest you not to go ahead. However, at the end of the day its ur vehicle and ur money which is on the line. If you have enough money to replace it, then why bother

Might as well just sit still & surf through AL lol

AVANTE · November 21, 2019

5 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

Why does the Swift has a turning radius of 5m? It's exactly the same turning radius of a much bigger Lancer ex

Just reminded me, I drove a rover mini few months back. And compared to the swift, its radius was only slightly better..by slightly, I mean slightly, by around a feet or two, though that thing is nano compared to the swift.

So what I have learned here is size is not directly proportional to turning radius, agreeing to @ajm's explaination.

Also checked gooexchange. Lancer has a 2.6m wheelbase & 5.9m radius, swift has a 2.3m wheelbase & 5.2m radius. So its pretty normal then? Also the swift is classified as a 'supermini' in the UK so I guess I can't complain about the turning radius.

Time to practice more on those 3 pointers...here we go!

Edited November 21, 2019 by □AVANTE□
Slightly

tiv · November 21, 2019

The feel of your wheel rubbing in the arch is nothing subtle,

will be like you are driving on a railroad, bumping up and down with a large racket, also can damage the brake lines and abs wires, unplanned forces and torsion on the ball joints, you can damage or even disengage the cv joint from inside and damage the rack itself,

further you can warp an alloy,

id say do a 3 point turn.

Hyaenidae · November 21, 2019

2 hours ago, □AVANTE□ said:

Also checked gooexchange. Lancer has a 2.6m wheelbase & 5.9m radius, swift has a 2.3m wheelbase & 5.2m radius. So its pretty normal then?

Nope. Check this out

https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/showroom/lancer/specifications/pdf/specifications.pdf

"Minimum turning radius" means curb-to-curb turning radius - usually this is what the manufacturers call the "turning radius". "Maximum turning radius" means wall-to-wall turning radius, according to my users manual the wall to wall turning radius is 5.4m

Edited November 21, 2019 by Hyaenidae

AVANTE · November 21, 2019

So gooexchange is over-rating?

Hyaenidae · November 21, 2019

17 minutes ago, □AVANTE□ said:

So gooexchange is over-rating?

No idea... but the manufacturer knows best neh

AVANTE · November 21, 2019

38 minutes ago, Hyaenidae said:

No idea... but the manufacturer knows best neh

VW emissions team agrees..

Meanwhile suzuki newzealand's website spits out a 4.8m minimum radius. Meh, not gonna lose sleep over this.

Hyaenidae · November 21, 2019

10 minutes ago, □AVANTE□ said:

VW emissions team agrees..

Meanwhile suzuki newzealand's website spits out a 4.8m minimum radius. Meh, not gonna lose sleep over this.

Meanwhile I found the perfect 3 point turn video for you to watch before practise