This came up in another thread so I thought it might be interesting for others ...

If I understand Ackerman steering correctly, moving the steering rack towards the rear of the car (which uses Cortina uprights) will introduce more Ackerman steering effect. This reduces tyre scrub at slow speeds - something I have noticed when turning on gravel coated drives.

So if the track rod ends are 'kinked' like the one below left, will it have the same effect as moving the rack rearwards?
Rescued attachment Track Rod Ends.jpg

No effect -- it is the position of the centre lines of the innner and outer track rod balls joints that has the effect.

Hi Raz, the following link albeit for radio controlled cars explains Ackerman really well. http://www.rctek.com/handling/ackerman_steering_principle.html

Best wishes

John

Excellent link John - I think I get it now.
While trying to get my brain around the principle I created a little diagram in Corel Draw to test the theory and I think it demonstrates it quite well.
Here are two identical racks positioned on the same car - one behind the other. You can see how the toe of each wheel is affected when the rack is positioned further back, effectively allowing inner and outer wheels to follow a different radius.
Rescued attachment Ackerman Diagram.jpg