I did a search for the rack and pinion swaps and it doesn't seem to be the best setup. Yet?

That leaves the recip ball setup.

My goal is to get really good steering feel and feedback, with the least amount of parasitic loss from the engine.

I have 2 questions.

1. What mods can be done to the stock box to enhance feel and steering 'effort'?

I think that the aluminum boxes for their price are not worth it. Weight can be removed elsewhere.

The S10 box swap seems popular but that looks more for a drag setep. Any manual boxes on an AutoX or road race car?

2. Is there any alternatives to the stock steering pump?

I am looking into the electric power steering pumps, or getting a smaller pump from another vehicle. Honda or something like that.
Possibly hooking up a speed controlled motor to the smaller pump...

I want to decrease the pressure and the flow, to achieve the better feel. Is a smaller Honda type pump give too little flow?

I also don't want to create a system that aerates the oil really badly from too much demand.

The bottom line is that the stock pump/reservoir setup just plain looks bad.

Any experiences and thoughts?


Art

man if you ran a manual box on an auto X course you would be dead tired half way through. shurely its not that much weight difference is it?

I tryin' to see how the manual boxes were on a course. I tink you just answered that question though...

I would want to run a 275 tire on 17s as well which would compound the problem.


Art

I've heard the stock pump works OK for road racing auto-X. There are some mods you can do to beef it up a little. You could add a cooler and or a reservoir. I've heard there are some additives that really cut down on the areation too.
The stock PS pump does not weigh much, an aux. setup would probably weigh more. If your going to be racing you can put on a smaller pulley because your rpms are going to be up whenever your turning anyway. This will cut down on parasitic loss.
If your really want to cut down on weight focus on the steering box, it's the heaviest part. If you don't have the money for aluminum, there isn't much you can do.

Final thought, I've heard of people swapping to pumps from late model caddys, probably be better than honda parts. I don't think you'll get much better feel from such a smaller pump. YMMV.

Ben