zxrlocost
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 09:15 AM |
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HOW TO: Make your MK INDY self centre
hi
I put a bit of everyones info together to make My MK Indy self centre for its SVA
and here is how to make it self centre almost as good as a production car
snoopies advice first on the springs
this takes about 20 minutes and is not dangerous or any of that crap
take rubber gaitors of rack both sides and youll see the rack bar a knuckle then a few inches of bar again before it goes into the rack housing..
I got two old valve springs per side
the knuckle need undoing(right hand thread) with monkey wrench or whatever carefully then slides out put the two springs on the bar then put the
knuckle back on the springs will compress a little
do this both sides and put the rubber covers back on turn the steering wheel on the spot and youll see the wheel bounce back the wheel will be no
stiffer
I found this not enough when driving though
NOTE the springs will reduce your lock slightly which is not a problem as thyeve got way to much lock anyway like a london cab'
then set your wheels straight at the front
actually set them up if there not straight either
then now the other end of the rack by the wheel the track rods turn these out a few turns each not loads
the car will still handle adequate for the general drive to the SVA
and your steering wheel will fly back to the centre
also pump your tyres up to 35psi
hope that helps anyone coming up to it
if you start setting your toe out dangerously or looking silly the SVA bloke at shrewsbury now brings out loads of tools which are simple effective
ways of checking the angles of your front wheels etc
there logging onto it with MK's
so he knew there were springs in there
BUT big BUT he cant see them
ok ta
chris
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:03 AM |
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Many Many thanks,
been struggeling with this one for some time.
just need to find some old springs, the local ford dealer does not keep any new ones as they "never" need them. 
what sort of spring do you use and what is the best engine to get them off?
Ditch
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whitestu
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:06 AM |
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Pinto valve springs are perfect
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:08 AM |
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any idea where best to get them?
Ditch
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:09 AM |
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just some old valve springs from an engine shop he had some lying around and they looked perfect
mine slipped on just nice
probable an old montego engine or something
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whitestu
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:11 AM |
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I couldn't be bothered looking round scrap yards so I bought 2 new ones from Burton in Ilford - £4.50 each.
Cheers
Stu
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:22 AM |
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nor me thats why i just popped in to local engine shop
any valve springs mate
take your pic was the answer
took an handful out of box and left donation
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 10:30 AM |
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guess what i'm upto then this weekend. it beats laying paving slabs
Many thanks
ditch
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ditchlewis
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 11:45 AM |
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just ordered some zetec E springs from burtons for £2.50 each.
ditch
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whitestu
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 04:07 PM |
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Be careful - they may not fit.
I tried some from a 16 valve motor [k series] and they were too small - the Zetec is also a 16v so you may have the same problem.
Stu
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stevec
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 04:13 PM |
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I agree Zetec ones are very narrow diameter.
Steve.
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Hammerhead
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 04:18 PM |
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I used land rover valve springs £3.25 delivered for 2 off ebay. Fit nicely.
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Mave
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| posted on 24/5/06 at 04:37 PM |
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MK just send me some springs for me to try, but one the steeringwheel side (left, in my case), it seems to get stuck in the steeringrack, and I
can't steer to the right anymore. Hmm. How can that happen??!?!?!? And how can I solve this?
Sigh....
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Mave
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| posted on 27/5/06 at 09:31 AM |
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It turned out that both springs entered the rack, and one of them got stuck in such a way that the rack just blocked. I've now made some
spacers, so the springs actually press against the rack-housing, and now the problem is solved. It does limit the steering angle a lot, and I
haven't tried the self-centering yet.
By the way; using a lot of negative camber will also help self centering, right? The dutch distributor told me to have the top of the front wheel 2 cm
inwards, compared to the bottom. I'm gonna give that a try also.
I did measure the caster angle, and if I'm correct, it is 7.2 degrees. That should be more than enough for self centering, right? If so, what is
the limiting factor then?!?!
Does anyone know how much caster other seven's with Sierra uprights have? (Westfield SDV, DAX Rush, Raw Striker, etc.etc.). Do they suffer from
the same problem?
Marcel
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 28/5/06 at 09:07 AM |
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mate dont get to technical it works perfect and simple the way I explained
it makes things more hard work for yourself
the way Ive told you is all you need to do
and it does reduce lock but only gives you about the same as a normal production car anyway so no big deal
chris
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greggors84
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| posted on 28/5/06 at 11:20 AM |
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The lack of lock probably helps, as alot of people have a problem with the cycle wing brackets touching the flexis.
Chris
The Magnificent 7!
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Mave
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| posted on 29/5/06 at 04:28 PM |
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Well, I'm also looking for a solution that will give the car self-centering AFTER getting it through SVA. Coming out of a corner with
self-centering is so much more confidence inspiring than without (at least for me: I drove a self-centering Striker after driving my Indy, and I must
say the feeling of the Striker coming out of a corner was waaaay better). Maybe it just has to do with personal taste, but let's be honest;
it's not to annoy us that they want to see self-centering at SVA.
Of course, my main objective is to get it through SVA, but I'm really looking for an overall improvement also.
I do agree on the steering lock though...
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whitestu
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| posted on 6/6/06 at 08:51 AM |
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Quite a lot of powerful older front wheel drive production cars don't self centre under power due to torque steer - as long as you expect it
I've never found it to be a problem.
Stu
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Mave
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| posted on 22/6/06 at 11:19 AM |
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Yesterday I had the opportunity to look at a Dax Rush with Sierra uprights. They seem to have no problem with self centering, and I'm trying to
find out why. The castor angle seems to be larger with the Dax, so that at least one explanation for the difference. However, I also noticed that the
arms of the steeringrack are perpendicular to the wheel with the Dax (when looking from above), while at the MK they point rearwards. In other words,
the rack is mounted more to the rear in the Indy. Could that also influence the self-centering somehow?
Marcel
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matt.c
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| posted on 22/6/06 at 08:24 PM |
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Anyone got any pics of how to make the rack self centre with springs and how to fit them please?
matt
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mad4x4
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| posted on 2/7/06 at 10:00 PM |
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Am I doing something worng. Tried this and got about 10degrees of turn on the wheels - Hey it bounced back no probs.
But wouldn't like to drive it - it would have the turning circle of the titanic.
Scot's do it better in Kilts.
MK INDY's Don't Self Centre Regardless of MK Setting !
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phoenix70
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 09:18 AM |
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I had the same problem with mine, the amount of lock I lost was horrendous. In the end I cut one on the valve spring (on each side) in the rack in
half to give a little better lock. now I have about 1.5 turns lock to lock, and it passed the SVA without a problem (just don't tell Mr SVA
that what you've done)
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tks
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 11:25 AM |
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mhh
what would be the reason for illegalness of this solution?
i mean springs arent they reliable?
valve spring are very high quality things!
also they wanted self centreing not good angles per hub / design..
Tks
The above comments are always meant to be from the above persons perspective.
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zxrlocost
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 11:28 AM |
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with my 2 springs in each side I had about the same lock as a production car
even with less lock there still perfectly driveable
I did miles with mine
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phoenix70
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 04:07 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by zxrlocost
with my 2 springs in each side I had about the same lock as a production car
even with less lock there still perfectly driveable
I did miles with mine
Did you not find you had trouble parking, I find even with the shortened spring, I still have to take two shots at getting into a parking space (I.e.
turn, reverse, turn)
I'm interested to find out what springs people are using, as the amount of lock you lose in related to the compressed size of the springs.
The Springs I used were out of a cosworth engine, and I think they are just too beefy for the job, probably something with a lighter springs would
have been better.
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