Steering rack

[mr.aaron.person]

So our steering rack is mounted on the floor and pushes the bottom of the uprights. The problem? The steering is so damp that it feels like my old truck. I've decided that I want to eliminate one of the U joints (we have two),but I cannot find one with a sufficient enough range of angles to be useful. Any suggestions?

[,4lex S.]

If by damp you mean compliant, there are a number of potential problem areas. Ours gets most of its compliance from poorly designed mounting, and previous systems had issues with questionable gear and bearing design.

As for U-joint options, I have used the 3/4" Apex Joints from Pegasus Racing at angles up to 35 degrees. I wouldn't suggest it because based on a screwed one I cut open, they start to have metal on metal wear around 35. The MIL spec says they will do 30 without issues though. We also have some old Borgeson joints lying around, but I haven't looked into them.

There are a few teams that use bevel gear sets to get around big ugly angles.

[Sormaz]

Before you ditch it, remember that the second u-joint may not only be offering added angle allowance
Think about why we do not refer to u-joints as 'CV' joints

[Bemo]

In my experience a lot of teams using two U-joints get a lot of compliance in their steering because the shaft between the joint isn't supported by the chassis.
You can check that very easily. Just turn the steering wheel and watch that shaft. It shouldn't move except the turning motion of course.
If the shaft is moving anywhere sideways you should consider supporting it by brackets which are attached to the chassis. Otherwise there will always be part of the motion of the steering wheel which goes into the movement of that shaft instead of turning the wheels.
That would be by far the better design than just ditch one of the U-joints. I have to second Sormaz here. Think about why usually two U-joints are used...

[Dash]

I'm curious, do the double-cardan joints also need to be supported? I've seen some that have basically zero place to hold them.

[mr.aaron.person]

I like the idea of a bevel gear instead of two joints, definitely something I want to look into. Also, would it help to eliminate the long middle section by replacing it with a double cardan joint instead?

[SNasello]

A double cardan joint is the same thing as two cardan joints and will need to be supported in the middle. I would suggest doing some research on cardan joints and the moments that they generate when run at an angle.

The short answer is, yes you need to support it in the middle.