[project] The Ultimate Track 205

[the matt 13 2 Cars]

Sweet mother of Mary, I'd forgotten about this thread....just had another read through. Looking very good Cam, very good. Entirely envious of your build skills!

[davenport 51]

Righteous!!!!

[Rams_gti6 12 1 Cars]

Impressive stuff

[Crocksy 0]

It's taken me all day to read through this, absolutely amazing work mate. Cant wait to see how the rest of the build unfolds.

[Cameron 16]

Thanks.

 

I've been working on the steering column this week, getting the upper part in place. I machined a housing that has two small Oilite bushes pressed into it with an aloominum spacer between. Then turned down the stub for my new Lifeline boss and used a bit of spare T45 and my old steering wheel & Lifeline boss to mock everything up. The shaft is 3/4" and will be T45, but of a slightly thicker gauge than what I've used for mockup. It'll weigh sod all and will take me hanging off it quite easily.

 

 

 

 

It's a really really nice driving position! The only thing I'd change if I could would be to move the seat inboard as the A-pillar support restricts the view a little, but it's the best I could do with the limited space I have.

[the matt 13 2 Cars]

Noobie question here.....maybe not relevant to the blue book/track use, but does the steering column have to be collapsible an ting? Collapse dem

[mike174 9]

Looks good Cam

[grandos 16]

Quick question for you but how far forward of the front of your car is the steering rack going to be with shaft at that angle??

 

Seriously though will you need to run a uj at a tight angle?

[Cameron 16]

There's no reason for the column to be collapsible. I think if the frame crushes up that much in an accident then a steering wheel in my face will be the least of my worries.

 

The rack sits in front of the front axle. That piece of tube is just for mock-up so ignore the length, the UJ will actually be fairly close to that bearing so the angles aren't too bad.

[Weser 30]

Whats it turn like? I know oilte bushes can have quite tight tolances and because your using tube and not a machined bar just wondering if you had any issuses?

 

Loving the build still.

[Cameron 16]

It's a bit notchy at the moment as there's a slight bit of play in the angle of the column. I'll be adding another bearing further up towards the driver which should control that and make things a lot better. If the wheel were closer to the bearing I don't think it would be such an issue, but with the amount of column sticking out it definitely warrants a second bearing.

[Weser 30]

Ahh fair enough I did think there was a fair bit of tube from the bearing housing to the wheel for the lenght of the beaing housing. Bit of trial and error sometimes. Hopefully adding another beaing further up wont be too much of a faff!

 

I don't know if you know about these:

http://www.igus.co.uk/default.asp?PAGE=IGLIDUR

 

I quite like them as an alternative to oiltes sometimes. You probably already know about these but if not thought I would mention it. They are great little bushes

Light and very low friction and long lasting. I use them at work quite a bit.

[Cameron 16]

Hmm.. That might be a good idea but navigating their site is impossible! I'll see if I can find an English translation.

 

Edit: Found it.. awesome. I think I might go for those instead as they'll be far more replaceable than my machined bushes, as well as a bit lighter. Requires re-making the column mount but it'll be worth it.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Cameron

[welshpug 1,622]

I'd be more inclined to use something like this

 

 

 

 

http://www.bearingboys.co.uk/HK1816_Drawn_Cup_Needle_Bearing-5823-p#

[Weser 30]

Cool glad you like them. I thought they might suit your needs a bit better.

 

Get the brochure it is soooooo much easier to understand. Also they provide cad files which we all like. Ah I have just remembered they also do coat ally bar that works amazing with some of their bushes that you can then machine to how you want - might be useful to you somewhere down the line?

 

Welshpug for this application there is no need for a needle bearing. You would be amazed at how good these little bushes are. Also the tolerance you would need on the tube to fit in the needle bearing would have to be pretty percise.

[Cameron 16]

I went for the ones that are a bit thicker and less sensitive to misalignment, as I think having the alignment spot-on between the upper and lower bearings will be almost impossible.

 

A needle bearing would have required a ground raceway to be welded on to the tube, so that would have driven a larger and heavier housing. Plastic bearings should work very nicely and be much less sensitive to any distortion of the housing when it's welded up.

[alexcrosse 124]

I'd put a spherical in there. Make alignment so much easier, and if you have really tight tolerances you might find the steering locks over hard bumps.

[Cameron 16]

A 3/4" spherical is going to be massive though! I'd also have to run two of them and I bet they aren't cheap either. I think these plastic bearings will be the best bet in terms of cost / weight / performance, I got a pack of 10 for £18.

[alexcrosse 124]

Pretty cheap actually, you just always look in the wrong places lol, and they wont be that big either. Remember they don't have to be good quality, no loads going through them in the way they're designed. Plus ptfe lined sphericals will allow movement in the chassis, but also give a very metallic feel, zero play and bugger all wear. Hate plastic bushes & joints. It'll end up like the ball in my gearstick I need to convert to a spherical.

 

Bought from mcgill before, good stuff.

http://mcgillmotorsports.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=299

 

...unless £6.15 is blowing your budget? lol

Edited August 30, 2013 by alexcrosse

[Cameron 16]

Yeah I see what you mean, but the OD on those bearings is 36.5mm so I'd need a housing OD of at least 42mm and I only have 35mm bar stock at the mo. I'd rather have smaller housings and a skinny little plastic bearing with 24mm OD and save 250g or so.

[alexcrosse 124]

Your car lol. Id rather not use plastic bearings anywhere.

 

Just get some bigger stock and turn something out of ally like I did my bearing housing on my bulkhead, bare motorsport blad.

[rallysteve 22]

They do housings for those bearings too, have used a few myself on some offroad-gokart steering columns

http://mcgillmotorsports.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=294

 

Steve

[welshpug 1,622]

now then, that's be ideal to weld onto some standard arms

[the matt 13 2 Cars]

I've used Iglidur bearings before (not on cars, but on some AC stuff) and was happy with them. I had a stainless beam, alloy bearing block, Oilite top hat bushes and a stainless tube pivoting in the bush. Loads of issues on an inherited design by someone else. Differential metals were the main issue for me, so I swapped for Iglidur to solve it...worked a treat. Not at all relevant to your shaft though Cam.

 

Sphericals are a good shout though.

[Rippthrough 98]

You might have to watch that column, collapsible columns and/or wheels are creeping into a lot of regs these days, and with good reason.
I've see the result of a steering column through the chest, and it's not at all an experience I ever want again, and that was on a car with a much more substantial cage than yours.

And yes, if you're using those bearings, make sure there's enough clearance that they don't nip up the first time the chassis flexes a little from a kerb impact...
Igus do plastic self-aligning sphericals in bolt on housings which are ideal, and cheap, if that's the way you are going.
Personally I prefer a roller bearing I can set preload and which is also self aligning, because any stiction can be a bitch for filtering out steering feedback, but that is a bit of a heavier solution.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Rippthrough