This pilot came with stiletto products rack n pinion steering setup.See how far the steering wheel has to be turned to turn the wheels.Are they all like this? Or is it installed wrong? Can any adjustments be made?

1 more pic

Rarerat had a rack and pinion on his pilot previously and might be able to shed some light on the subject. If the steering wheel turns that much, it looks like it will hit your knees. A stock setup might have about 45 degrees on each side that the steering wheel moves. Yours looks to be 90 degrees.

Have you ridden it yet?

Is it a problem?

You steer with the throttle man!

Ive got about 3 minutes of seat time in it,so not a problem yet! Engine is being rebuilt right now

Yeah my Pilot came with a rac on it when I bought it but it's a different style. Honestly I don't know if "Rac & Pinion" would be the correct name for mine but the steering was instant. You did not have to turn the wheel any more than normal from lock to lock. I pulled mine off last year & went back to Tie Rods because mine is worn a bit and takes a little more effort to turn over the stock set up + I picked up a pristine set of Tie Rods. However after riding it a few times with the stock Tie rods back on it, I think I will go back to my Rac when I have time because there was ZERO kick back in the steering wheel with the rac and there is some with the stock set up & my aluminum wheels.

Looking at your pictures, my guesses are, one it's probably just not the right ratio for a Pilot, or two it's damaged. :(

Nothing looks bent or damaged so I would say not the right ratio for a pilot,if I wanted to order another one have any idea what the right ratio is?
I see they have for sale a 12:1,15:1,and a 20:1 ratio
http://www.pro-werks.com/partlist/951/

Or they have a fast rack n pinion steering,6:4:1 ratio
http://www.pro-werks.com/partlist/950/

I had a pilot in my garage a couple weeks ago with this same set up, it took that same amount right and left, the one thing I noticed about it they were not using the pilot steering arms on the spindles but had welded tabs that moved the tie rod end even closer to the spindle its self making the turning ratio horrible. I don't understand why. Is yours done like this? Where is the outer tie rod end bolted? stock location or no?. I think you will find yourself tiring using the rack set up. Good luck

Yeah, Rats version is not a real R&P. Basically still go-kart steering, but it moves the pivots into a better spot. That thing is sweet, I have all the pics saved. Rat, you just have to figure out a way to reduce the friction inside that thing. Either remove some contact area or line it with UHMW plastic strips.

Red, Im no expert but I think I recall people using steering quickeners when going with an auto style rack. Try to figure out the ratio of yours and go from there. 6;4-1 still might be too slow.

Bullnerd,
I cant find any of the pics I took, but I want to get it back on. My biggest complaint with it was, if it wasn't pulled apart greased frequently it starts to get dry and can be a bitch to turn when not rolling. The extra play in the slider piece would only amplify to the problem :-(


Redskinman,
Honestly I have no idea what ratio you need, you might be money ahead to just build yourself a bump steer set up & ditch the Rac. The steering set up that was on the Toy Junkies LT Pilot worked really well and was really simple. Just a thought..

That looks like the High Performance ATV steering setup its a complete butcher job if you ask me, the Wheelman Pilot had it on his I was way less than impressed.

One thing I don't like about a rack and pinion steering is it requires force to steer it in one direction then also requires force to steer it back from that direction the stock steering setup is almost self centering and requires lots less driver energy to steer.

The completely wrong ratio was the other thing I did not like about High Performance ATV steering setup, my first impression when working on Wheelmans Pilot was "Rube Goldberg Steering"

Do you have long travel arms in front?

Im not sure? It def looks like it sits up higher than my other pilots.You can see in the pic almost 15"
Lower a arm is 17" from top bolt to ball joint.Shock is 16 3/4" long eye to eye

Since I have very little seat time in it hard to tell about how the steering was,but it wasn't hard to steer,but it did seem like it didnt want to go in a straight line{but that was hauling ass on slightly bumpy grass terrain}

The front setting up high is one of the major flaws in that suspension system you need weight on the front of a Pilot to make it steer, don't take my word for this do the test YOURSELF, take ANY Pilot for a drive then add 25 lbs to the front (pillow case with sand in the tub for example ) take it for another ride on the exact same path see if it steers better than without the weight, the front higher than the back usually indicates the spring rate is too high to allow the front suspension to sag when you let off the gas (it wont even sag setting their) the MORE a front suspension on a Pilot sags the BETTER it will steer as the weight shifts to the front, this was a fast and EASY test I performed with my FOX AIR shocks I adjusted my spring rates all over the place until I got the front to dive in a turn so it would plant weight on the front tires and make it turn like it was on rails.

Someone spent THOUSANDS of dollars for that front suspension setup that IMO disables most the function of a Pilots handling and steering, most my complaints are probably not even noticeable in a large open area like the dunes or a desert but make you look and feel stupid trying to drive on trail systems, MOST are happy with that type setup because now they no longer bottom the front stock shocks every time they drive their Pilot.

Your going to have to drive this thing and try it to see if it will meet your needs before you make any changes, after playing with Wheelmans Pilot with the same front suspension/steering setup and the stock rear suspension it would be worthless on about 90% of the trails my Pilot has been used on, I had months to copy that design Wheelmans Pilot was in my shop I had most of it apart could have easily copied every detail, after seeing it in action then working on it, it was clear to me it was not worth my time, does not come close to fitting my needs.

Changing the steering will not be easy or cheap, they cut the end off the steering stem and adapt it to the rack and pinion, then your going to have to fabricate your own drag link setup and install this is usually a weld in modification I think andoh designed a bolt in setup on his? Pretty sure MassOdy had removed this entire front suspension from his Pilot (Wheelmans old Pilot) and went back to stock, perhaps he had traded his parts for stock, details are fuzzy now this was years ago.

You can clearly see RUST on everything you might need to take apart in the future, you need to go buy a can of PB Blaster and start spraying this thing down you should have been doing this the day you brought it home if you want to maximize your success of ever getting it apart without damage I doubt the previous owner assembled this "kit" with lubricating on anything.

Pretty sure those racks you posted links too in your previous post are physically 2-3 times bigger than the rack installed on your Pilot, I doubt you will ever make one work if those racks would fit a Pilot I think we would have seen them installed on Pilots or Odysseys many times by now.

If you add a ratio changer before the current box it will require more force to steer the Pilot than it requires now.

http://pilotodyssey.com/wheelman9.htm

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2613&start=0

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=119

Well hoser your just a blast of good news It is what it is,nothing I can do about it now.
I know I need to address the rust,my garage is small and cluttered,and right now all the parts I took off to get the Engine out are in the way also.Plus garage is unheated and the weather has just sucked.I cant remember a worse 3 month stretch of weather,and this is Tx! Once it warms up a little and I have some sunny days I will start on other problems.I did manage to get on new cv boots and fresh grease.

Once I get a chance I will crawl under buggy and see if there are any numbers on that rack,I can see it has a stiletto sticker on it so maybe theres a part # on it.

Also looking at the picks of wheelmans pilot and mine,the a arms and tie rods are not located in the same holes?
His makes use of the center hole while my setup does not? Whats up with that?

that's why I post the links to the other pics it looks like someone installed the tie rods in the wrong holes I would ASSume you install them in the hole that is in the tab they welded on the spindle I doubt they modified the spindles for no reason, you might try and contact hi performance ATV see if they are still in business and or get some instruction.

Sorry to be a bearer of undesirable news but as you know I am not going to sugar coat my assessments and will give my honest opinion so your aware of what you have, what I would do is research what you have and get it ready to be worked on in the future (PB Blast the shit out of it) get the Engine installed and tuned see if the steering meets your riding style.

You know how I know its Friday?? Because we got a couple of guys comparing pictures of their "rods" and then contrasting the different holes their rods are in!

Happy Friday, all!

Yeah I know,its ok
If I can get some decent weather on my day off I will pb blast the stuff and see if steering still works if I move the tie rods around like on wheelmans pilot

Before you adjust your rods measure the over all length and hole to hole, exposed threads what ever and record this measurement just in case you have to go back to where you are now who knows maybe the former owner was on to something by using the holes he used. Hopefully going to the other holes will reduce the amount you have to turn the yoke to get full lock on the steering I cant see using the throttle and brakes when the yoke is turned nearly 90 degrees.

Im with Hoser, Im just guessing but Id say they weld that tab on to move the pivot closer to the spindle to not only speed up the turning but also to increase the turn angle, all lost by the rack. This is what increases the effort at the steering wheel, now your tire has a larger "advantage" or more leverage over the steering wheel. Add the steering quicker and it will probably get even harder.

This is why I like Rats version, it just needs to be perfected. Or do whatever Dave-Co says to do, he sounds happy with it.

Rat, I have the pics on my work computer, Ill repost them here or you can pm me an email address..

Hi, why have you drilling your fender?

I'm going to let you in on an American secret,the holes in the fender make you go faster

I can make the steering pieces you will need if you decide to change, I don't understand the long travel(kinda) and stock rear suspension. The pilot I had here had tubes welded in the back for the funky shock mounts that set up had and a lot of plate welded around the rear hub assymble. The rear shocks mounted on the other side of the stock mounts. It looked like a lot of work to have the rear done by that company. Any idea what spring rate the front end has?. I see the spindles were done the same way. Extra travel up front over stock you will like untill the rear hits the same hole lol