I recently purchased the s2k steering rack from nsxmugen and wanted to give my feedback to help anybody who has been contemplating this modification.
Background:
Since I purchased the car in 2016, I had always found the steering to be incredibly slow. it was sometimes annoying on the canyon runs where i would have to steer hand over hand. Moving to lighter weight wheels, a momo monte carlo wheel and installing the steering rack knock bushing as well as the steering rack bushing kit from SOS helped me enjoy the steering more, but it was still really slow.
I had been following this thread http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/205188-S2k-rack-on-NA1/page7?highlight=steering+rack since it started and messaged RYU about it in 2019 after he installed it on his car. After a year of contemplating, I traded emails with nsxmugen about the kit and since my primary goal was a quicker ratio over power assist, the s2k rack was a better choice for me than the accord rack. I was very worried about losing the feedback of the manual rack but decided to try it out.
Results:
It took a little getting used to, but after logging 30-40 miles, I got used to it. I often read reviews for modifications that state "the car should have come this way". While I agree with that, I find that the revised steering feel for my type of driving is great - and that "the car could have come this way". At higher speeds I still have all the feel I was looking to keep - what a relief! At low speed, the assist isn't overpowering - its easy to point the car and you stop thinking about it - similar to how I don't often think about the steering in a modern car. The turning radius is also noticeably quicker which was a nice bonus. Similar to the S200's I have owned, I do feel a degree or two of muted response when the wheel is on center. However, some of that may be my alignment which I need to dial back in following the install. I may adjust to zero or near zero toe out and play with that.
Recommendation:
who is this rack for? I would say anybody that "notices" the slow steering speed and those looking for a significant improvement in low speed drivability - this rack is probably for you. I drove my friends nsx and mine back to back last night just to make sure i wasn't imagining things and the difference was night and day. At speed in the canyons, I could still feel what was happening under the front end - but it just required a lot less effort on my part (in both steering angle and force). If you are worried this will take some of the character out of the car, I would argue strongly that simply isn't true - it "modernizes" it.
Shout out to nsxmugen - he made himself available for a couple of calls during the install and provided great support for the questions I had. The rack and cross member are very well put together - and the wiring feels solid - like the OEM harness. it bolted right up and did not need any modifications to mount the rack to the chassis. I am not an expert when it comes to wiring and had a friend install at his shop - the controller was placed on the passenger frame rail - just as the instructions recommended. This has greatly improved my enjoyment of the car - i'm absolutely thrilled with this modification.
some pictures:
Background:
Since I purchased the car in 2016, I had always found the steering to be incredibly slow. it was sometimes annoying on the canyon runs where i would have to steer hand over hand. Moving to lighter weight wheels, a momo monte carlo wheel and installing the steering rack knock bushing as well as the steering rack bushing kit from SOS helped me enjoy the steering more, but it was still really slow.
I had been following this thread http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/205188-S2k-rack-on-NA1/page7?highlight=steering+rack since it started and messaged RYU about it in 2019 after he installed it on his car. After a year of contemplating, I traded emails with nsxmugen about the kit and since my primary goal was a quicker ratio over power assist, the s2k rack was a better choice for me than the accord rack. I was very worried about losing the feedback of the manual rack but decided to try it out.
Results:
It took a little getting used to, but after logging 30-40 miles, I got used to it. I often read reviews for modifications that state "the car should have come this way". While I agree with that, I find that the revised steering feel for my type of driving is great - and that "the car could have come this way". At higher speeds I still have all the feel I was looking to keep - what a relief! At low speed, the assist isn't overpowering - its easy to point the car and you stop thinking about it - similar to how I don't often think about the steering in a modern car. The turning radius is also noticeably quicker which was a nice bonus. Similar to the S200's I have owned, I do feel a degree or two of muted response when the wheel is on center. However, some of that may be my alignment which I need to dial back in following the install. I may adjust to zero or near zero toe out and play with that.
Recommendation:
who is this rack for? I would say anybody that "notices" the slow steering speed and those looking for a significant improvement in low speed drivability - this rack is probably for you. I drove my friends nsx and mine back to back last night just to make sure i wasn't imagining things and the difference was night and day. At speed in the canyons, I could still feel what was happening under the front end - but it just required a lot less effort on my part (in both steering angle and force). If you are worried this will take some of the character out of the car, I would argue strongly that simply isn't true - it "modernizes" it.
Shout out to nsxmugen - he made himself available for a couple of calls during the install and provided great support for the questions I had. The rack and cross member are very well put together - and the wiring feels solid - like the OEM harness. it bolted right up and did not need any modifications to mount the rack to the chassis. I am not an expert when it comes to wiring and had a friend install at his shop - the controller was placed on the passenger frame rail - just as the instructions recommended. This has greatly improved my enjoyment of the car - i'm absolutely thrilled with this modification.
some pictures:
