[willem-jan]

Hi All,

I'm new on this forum (at least as a poster). Owned an E46 320d, E60 550i, E90 318d and now a F30 330d.

I have the Variable Sports Steering (VSS / 2vl) option and to be short: I hate it... My E90 also had an electronic steering rack (EPS) but was way better (both the E90 and F30 have an M sports suspension, the F30 has the Adaptive M suspesion with electronic dampers).

I already replace the Thurst Piece in the steering rack (the repair kit). That solved a bit of the knocking sound but the steering is still terrible. The issues that I have are (from mild to highly annoying):

- Way over-powered steering around the center (90 deg to left and right). I think this is because the VSS option has a low ratio around the center. It is better in sports mode but still not what it should be (in my opinion).
- The steering is very sticky around the center (-20 to +20 deg). I can set the steering wheel at an angle in the corner and it just stays there (both on winter and summer tires).
- There is a point when steering to the right (approx 10-15 deg) where the steering wheel seems to 'lock'. You really need to turn the wheel a bit back to the left to get it out there. This is not the case when steering to the left.

All in all the worst steering I ever experienced in a BMW...

I'm considering the following:

- Rebuild the rack
- Mount a normal EPS rack (not a VSS)
- Mount an M3 rack

My questions:
- Does anyone has experience in rebuilding a rack? Is this even possible?
- Can you retrofit a M3 / F80 rack on a F30 car and code the car accordingly? Did anyone successfully did this in the past? I cannot find any posts about.

Looking forward to your replies!

[Eschmacher]

I'm fairly confident you will not be able to retrofit an M3 rack as the two cars have different subframes. I'd recommend seeing if you can have someone do the EPS startup procedure in ISTA before replacing the rack.

[blumagic]

Mounting points of the f80 look similar, impossible to tell from me just looking at junkyard picks though. Expensive guess though. Haven’t seen this done, if you try it out update us.

[oopy]

Just so you are aware the M cars also use a variable ratio rack....

[Watsey]

The F80 has, amongst other things, a different track width so I imagine that an F80 rack is not a simple swap.

Unless you can get an F80 rack city down' i.e. shortened track rod ends, it may not align with the F3X hubs from a geometry perspective.

The alternative would mean a great deal of work -

Most likely :

Front and rear subframes.
Bushes.
Steering rack, which will then have to be coded to the car.
Hubs.
Calipers and rotors if the hub mounting points and dimensions/relationships between the components are different.
Anti-roll bar and drop links.
Modified exhaust ?
Possibly new undertrays.

Unless there's an easy answer I'd stay well away.

[willem-jan]

Thanks all for your feedback.

Going for a F80 rack does not make much sense then I guess.

I have ISTA-d and e-sys and perfomed the startup procedure. It does not help unfortunately.

Anybody ever tried to service a rack? E.i. disassemble, clean and rebuild?

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by Watsey

The F80 has, amongst other things, a different track width so I imagine that an F80 rack is not a simple swap.

Unless you can get an F80 rack city down' i.e. shortened track rod ends, it may not align with the F3X hubs from a geometry perspective.

The alternative would mean a great deal of work -

Most likely :

Front and rear subframes.
Bushes.
Steering rack, which will then have to be coded to the car.
Hubs.
Calipers and rotors if the hub mounting points and dimensions/relationships between the components are different.
Anti-roll bar and drop links.
Modified exhaust ?
Possibly new undertrays.

Unless there's an easy answer I'd stay well away.

In short - this is the most practical suggestion. This project doesn't have a prescribed and approved path forward which means it's trial and error. For safety reasons, perhaps it's best to refocus on other projects.

My 2017 440i GC has VSS as well. Is it perfectas all times? No. There isn't much one can do.

My short mod list right includes MPPSK, replacing OEM M Adaptive suspension with a better adaptive alternative, and Brembo or AP Racing brakes. In the words of someone wise, "there is no such thing as over engineered brakes".

[AudiEaterF30]

You said u did the steering rack repair kit? Are u sure u didnt tighten the yolk on the rack to much and its causing the steering to stick like that? I just did that repair on my car a few weeks ago. its easily possible to over tighten that cap or maybe forget to lube the new kit pieces?