Flaming River Manual Quick Ratio Box

[HYRDGOON]

Has anybody installed this quick ratio box and any experience to share? Most of the reviews I'm seeing say it is a proper direct swap as advertised and I think it would bring me from about 24:1 to 16:1

I've been bouncing back and forth about going rack and pinion because one of my biggest fears is quick recovery after sometimes the car going a bit sideways around corners

http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c0011/s0008/FR1540

 

[747mopar]

Hmmmmm, guess I misunderstood your message earlier...... it's a gear box not a rack! That's a simple enough swap.

 

[slepr1]

I was looking at them but lost faith in Flaming River after getting their steering column and steering wheel. Both had quality and finish concerns (for the money). In regards to the manual steering box, I was worried about the ratio being too hard to maneuver a 4000 pound car. I have a manual 20:1 in it now which was a good compromise. I think Flaming is the only one left with a smaller manual box.

I have the rack and pinion in my cuda. Happy with it so far and I would make the swap again but would opt for a power quick ratio instead. It really cleans up the undercarriage.

 

[HYRDGOON]

Hmmmmm, guess I misunderstood your message earlier...... it's a gear box not a rack! That's a simple enough swap.

LOL yup! Figured you don't listen to anything I say! hahaha!

I was looking at them but lost faith in Flaming River after getting their steering column and steering wheel. Both had quality and finish concerns (for the money). In regards to the manual steering box, I was worried about the ratio being too hard to maneuver a 4000 pound car. I have a manual 20:1 in it now which was a good compromise. I think Flaming is the only one left with a smaller manual box.

I have the rack and pinion in my cuda. Happy with it so far and I would make the swap again but would opt for a power quick ratio instead. It really cleans up the undercarriage.

I'm not counting out the rack yet but this seems like an easier compromise that wouldn't interfere with my already having 2" Primary headers. I've got a few "Irons in the fire" as they say before a decision is made but this one seems feasible although I can appreciate it's going to be tougher to maneuver around a parking lot. I don't think power steering is in the cards for me once I have a hair dryer mounted to the front of my engine so I'll look at any option possible

 

[lewtot184]

a 16:1 would be like power steering with no power assist. i have a friend who has a fast ratio manual steering gear on his corvette and it's hand full. i can't imagine what it would be like with 300lbs more weight on the front.

 

[747mopar]

Well.... having met Goon, the cars either going to turn or the steering wheel is gonna twist off!

 

[HYRDGOON]

a 16:1 would be like power steering with no power assist. i have a friend who has a fast ratio manual steering gear on his corvette and it's hand full. i can't imagine what it would be like with 300lbs more weight on the front.

Thanks that is more food for thought. I want something that solves my issue but not something that ruins an aspect of drivability

Well.... having met Goon, the cars either going to turn or the steering wheel is gonna twist off!

LMAO I'd sure as hell try!

 

[Vermont Rock]

I have a 70 Road Runner with non-power steering. It had the 20:1 and it was really difficult to drive in small areas. To pull into a parking space, I'd have to stop the car in order to turn the wheel enough. Yes, it was easy to turn, but terrible to control. I installed the Flaming River 16:1 and it feels great ! Stiffer steering in small areas, but how often do we do that ? Much better & responsive on the open road. The 16:1 is what will give you the more precise control you're looking for, but you'll have to decide how much parking lot driving you'll be doing.
I would never go back. Try finding someone on this Forum who has the 16:1 and try it for yourself. Rocket

- - - Updated - - -

I have a 70 Road Runner with non-power steering. It had the 20:1 and it was really difficult to drive in small areas. To pull into a parking space, I'd have to stop the car in order to turn the wheel enough. Yes, it was easy to turn, but terrible to control. I installed the Flaming River 16:1 and it feels great ! Stiffer steering in small areas, but how often do we do that ? Much better & responsive on the open road. The 16:1 is what will give you the more precise control you're looking for, but you'll have to decide how much parking lot driving you'll be doing.
I would never go back. Try finding someone on this Forum who has the 16:1 and try it for yourself. Rocket

 

[HYRDGOON]

I have a 70 Road Runner with non-power steering. It had the 20:1 and it was really difficult to drive in small areas. To pull into a parking space, I'd have to stop the car in order to turn the wheel enough. Yes, it was easy to turn, but terrible to control. I installed the Flaming River 16:1 and it feels great ! Stiffer steering in small areas, but how often do we do that ? Much better & responsive on the open road. The 16:1 is what will give you the more precise control you're looking for, but you'll have to decide how much parking lot driving you'll be doing.
I would never go back. Try finding someone on this Forum who has the 16:1 and try it for yourself. Rocket

- - - Updated - - -

I have a 70 Road Runner with non-power steering. It had the 20:1 and it was really difficult to drive in small areas. To pull into a parking space, I'd have to stop the car in order to turn the wheel enough. Yes, it was easy to turn, but terrible to control. I installed the Flaming River 16:1 and it feels great ! Stiffer steering in small areas, but how often do we do that ? Much better & responsive on the open road. The 16:1 is what will give you the more precise control you're looking for, but you'll have to decide how much parking lot driving you'll be doing.
I would never go back. Try finding someone on this Forum who has the 16:1 and try it for yourself. Rocket

Thanks a Lot. An opinion with real world experience is precisely what I'm looking for. As far as how often I'm in and out of a tight space in a parking lot, I do frequent a lot of cruise nights where the cars can be bunched together and essentially what you described your car was is that my car is now... Just sit in one place and keep cranking the wheel around till I'm aimed the right way lol. I'm also not a small guy 6'4" 265ish and in my mid 30's so I don't mind muscling through it a little

 

[uwss]

I rebuilt my front end on a 69 GTX; the gear box was dry so I cleaned it out and refilled it. Took her out for a spin and I can't believe the difference.
Steering wheel turned much easier. So, instead of two hands muscling the wheel; I can use one. Thats my two cents plus a quarter.

 

[Darter6]

HYRDGOON, I installed the Flaming river in a 72 GTX Big Block with wide tires......Wrong move, unless you got massive upper body strength. With wide tires unless the car was moving faster than 10 mph it was tough to steer.It also leaked all the gear oil out of the bottom seal.After I ran into my lift and denting the front fender I installed a factory Mopar manual box.I hear that many have the 20 to 1 box from Firm Feel that works very well.

 

[747mopar]

Power steering is wonderful :headbang:! You sure there isn't a way to fit a pump on that thing? I've seen pumps with remote reservoirs that might help free up space. I understand if you like the manual feel but man is it nice steering into a parking spot with one finger.

 

[HYRDGOON]

Power steering is wonderful :headbang:! You sure there isn't a way to fit a pump on that thing? I've seen pumps with remote reservoirs that might help free up space. I understand if you like the manual feel but man is it nice steering into a parking spot with one finger.

Where there's a will there's a way. But a rack might make more sense
Looks like I'm still on the fence

 

[HYRDGOON]

HYRDGOON, I installed the Flaming river in a 72 GTX Big Block with wide tires......Wrong move, unless you got massive upper body strength. With wide tires unless the car was moving faster than 10 mph it was tough to steer.It also leaked all the gear oil out of the bottom seal.After I ran into my lift and denting the front fender I installed a factory Mopar manual box.I hear that many have the 20 to 1 box from Firm Feel that works very well.

Thanks Darter I'm having a look at the 20:1 Firm Feel. Looks like you can just buy the worm gears and rebuild kit which is nice

 

[Jeremiah]

I LOVE the 16:1 box on my 4-speed equipped '66 Charger. It has skinny tires on the front but I can't imagine it would be that much worse with a wider 15" tire. Well, maybe if you ride a desk for a living it could be a problem lol.

 

[HYRDGOON]

I have 245's up front but I wouldn't say I ride a desk for a living lol

 

[Jeremiah]

I'd go 20:1 with 17's unless you want to autocross the car. I'd agree that 16:1 manual steering might get old if you negotiate into tight parking spots. In any case, if you are going to run the car hard go 16:1.

 

[HYRDGOON]

I'd go 20:1 with 17's unless you want to autocross the car. I'd agree that 16:1 manual steering might get old if you negotiate into tight parking spots. In any case, if you are going to run the car hard go 16:1.

Thanks Jeremiah, The goal is a car that handles like an Autocross car but I do drive this thing like a daily in the summer so it does see tight parking spots especially at local cruise nights (which I can find daily) and regular parking lots and car shows. My driving force behind wanting a correction here and why I had started by looking into a rack setup is currently when I'm doing some "enthusiastic" driving and throwing the car sideways around a corner I have to work like a Mofo to correct and there's been a few times it scares the **** outta me. Manual steering plus high ratio plus bench seat can make things REAL interesting! lol

 

[747mopar]

I imagine that would be sketchy especially with the bench!

 

[Cranky]

Keep in mind that with fast ratio steering, some have a tendency to over correct while others take to it like cake. My 71 Cuda had the T/A setup with 2.5 turns lock to lock and it was my first fast ratio set up and had a little bit of a learning curve with it but it wasn't long before I had a handle on it....no pun intended. Had a 5.2 Dakota SWB and standard cab and 3.90 gears and it was also kinda quick on the steering. That thing was tail happy if you over used the throttle and had bad under steer if you didn't use the throttle but you could always count on the throttle if you needed it to swap ends! Had two big block race cars that used the stock manual steering (not sure of the ratio) and both were easy to steer but both had front runners. One of them was a 9 second car and drove real nice until you got into someone's water or oil. Got pretty crossed up with it one night and I guess the ratio worked in my favor because I didn't over correct at all when it got sideways just after going into 2nd gear. Also, front end alignment will dictate how hard it is to steer at low speeds. The more caster that's dialed in the harder very slow turns will be but I'd rather have the caster and deal with the steering. Besides, who moves slower than 10 mph when parallel parking anyways!?