Will a TT steering rack fit an S3?

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I've a 1999 S3 and I need a new steering rack as there is play in mine.

Does anyone know if a TT rack is identical so an S3 rack? So it fits, has the same turning distance, and feels exactly the same.

There's a company here selling TT racks that I'm thinking of going with AUDI TT 4WD 99 > 06 POWER STEERING RACK . Has anyone any experience with these racks in their S3?

I've read somewhere at a 225 TT rack of the same year car will be identical. Anyone heard this? So I'm wondering even if a 180 TT rack fitted, maybe it will feel sh1t handling wise - which is why I'm replacing mine in the first place!
 
Yes from a 225 version would be the same thing. leon cupra R or golf 4motion
 
I would stick with OEM, have also read on here the r32 mk4 rack provides better response compared to the s3.
 
S3KO4 said:
I would stick with OEM, have also read on here the r32 mk4 rack provides better response compared to the s3.
Click to expand...

OEM are about £700. I'd rather not pay that money :)

Do all R32 racks fit a 1999 S3?
 
S3KO4 said:
Yes from a 225 version would be the same thing. leon cupra R or golf 4motion
Click to expand...

So a 180 TT will definitely not fit? Or it will fit, but it'll feel sh1t handling wise? Or put another way....what's the difference between a 180 TT rack and a 225 TT rack?

What worries me about AUDI TT 4WD 99 > 06 POWER STEERING RACK is that they don't mention anything about the rack fitting a 180 or a 225 TT...so maybe I'd just end up with a 180 TT rack that would give me crap handling?
 
hint mk4, they should fit, I have also replied to your other question on your second thread, you can get a recon one from ECP for about £250
 
I did mine a while back off a tt for £90 from ebay.
 
S3KO4 said:
hint mk4, they should fit, I have also replied to your other question on your second thread, you can get a recon one from ECP for about £250
Click to expand...

So you're saying there's no difference whatsoever between a 180 TT and 225 TT steering rack?

I checked Euro Car Parts a few months ago...their Remy make steering rack has been out of stock all year.
 
No mate you asked about which R32! I replied mk4. as for the 180 and the 225, this will depend on the FWD or Quattro.
 
S3KO4 said:
No mate you asked about which R32! I replied mk4. as for the 180 and the 225, this will depend on the FWD or Quattro.
Click to expand...

Sorry, picked you up wrong there!

Ah right, just did a quick read on Audi TT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , it seems the Quattro was optional on the 180 TT, but came as standard on the 225. So if I get my hands on a rack from a 225, then it's guaranteed to fit my S3?

I just want to be sure that the turning circle is going to be the same and the handling isn't going to be looser than an OEM rack for an S3. As the reason I'm changing my rack isn't because it's leaking, it's because it's gotten a bit loose.

The refurbished TT rack here has 4WD in it's description AUDI TT 4WD 99 > 06 POWER STEERING RACK ...so I guess this will then fit my S3 also?
 
Prawn fitted a tt rack to his a3 which gave less turns from lock to lock. Id say a tt rack would most likely fit the s3. Not many people would have tried it though so i doubt you will find a guarentee
 
jesus, so much misinformation!

ANY rack from ANY mk4 based car will fit, a rack from a 1.4 golf will fit, and it will work.

You just need to make sure you get one of the quicker racks, or you'll end up with ligther steering and more turns lock to lock.

TT225, LCR, S3, and R32's all had the same rack with 2.7 turns lock to lock, as opposed to about 3.5 turns on the lesser cars. I'm not sure about the 180 TT's, although I think they had the quicker rack too

I fitted a TT quick rack to my old A3, and it made a brilliant difference.

if your S3 has ESP and you fit the wrong ratio rack, the steering angle input will be wrong for the difference in wheel speed, and the ESP will go mental.
 
Prawn said:
if your S3 has ESP and you fit the wrong ratio rack, the steering angle input will be wrong for the difference in wheel speed, and the ESP will go mental.
Click to expand...
woops! you answered one of my problems. i fitted a mk4 golf rack, (not sure wat engine size or owt)fits like a beaut and feels fine.... but my traction control kicks in whilst goin round a corner!! its fine when i turn it off. can i get the angle sensor calibrated?? i did this last week so going to get it four wheel alined will this solve it?
 
i think am guna need another rack arnt i??!!! bas*ard!
 
yup, you need another rack!

Basically, when you turn a corner, the inside and outside wheels are travelling on a different length radius around a curve, and as such, are going at different speeds.

For ESP to work properly it needs to know what these different speeds are from left to right for any given corner, so what it does it measure the steering angle input from the steering column, and calculates the allowable difference in wheel speed for any given input at the steering wheel.

By changing the rack for a different ratio one, the steering input does not match the wheel speed difference, so the ESP shits itself, usually on roundabouts at lower speeds. most annoying.

I'm currently trying to find out if it's possible to alter this at all, as I'd really like to fit a TT quick rack to my AUM engined A3
 
right, thanks for that dude. let me know if you find owt out. ****** now i'm on the hunt for another rack! do you know what racks have the same ratio? to work correctly with my steering angle input. there must be a way to calibrate it.
 
I think the calibration is all inside the ESP programming. I'm going to talk to Rtech about it when they do my stage 2 map, as they seem to be pioneering some extremely clever stuff lately.

As for racks that'll work, I know that the 225TT, LCR, S3, and R32 racks will all work, not sure about 180TT's though
 
Prawn said:
jesus, so much misinformation!

ANY rack from ANY mk4 based car will fit, a rack from a 1.4 golf will fit, and it will work.

You just need to make sure you get one of the quicker racks, or you'll end up with ligther steering and more turns lock to lock.

TT225, LCR, S3, and R32's all had the same rack with 2.7 turns lock to lock, as opposed to about 3.5 turns on the lesser cars. I'm not sure about the 180 TT's, although I think they had the quicker rack too

I fitted a TT quick rack to my old A3, and it made a brilliant difference.

if your S3 has ESP and you fit the wrong ratio rack, the steering angle input will be wrong for the difference in wheel speed, and the ESP will go mental.
Click to expand...

Cheers man, thanks for the detailed info!

All S3's have ESP as far as I know - but prefacelift S3's don't have a switch to turn it off.

When you say I need to make sure that I have the right ratio rack - do you mean it must have the correct turning distance i.e. 2.7 turns lock to lock? If that is what you mean, then am I guaranteed that a TT225 will have the correct turning distance and will be a quick rack?

So, based on your info, this rack here AUDI TT 4WD 99 > 06 POWER STEERING RACK must be a quick rack with 2.7 turns lock to lock?
 
that rack will be fine yea. You do definitely need a rack that's 2.7 turns lock to lock not the larger 3.5 turns on the lesser cars.

I can gaurantee 100% that a rack from a 225TT will fit perfectly.


On a side note, I thought the early S3's just had super primative ASR like the AGU A3's, and only the later cars had proper switchable ESP? I'd go nuts if I couldn't turn mine off!
 
jojo said:
Early 99 S3's didn't have ESP, later ones that have it may have been an optional extra, not 100% sure, facelift onwards all have ESP.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected :)

So basically if the car has ESP, it'll have a switch to turn it off?
 
Last edited:
i have a steering rack from a 99 S3 v reg - pm me if your interested
 
Prawn said:
TT225, LCR, S3, and R32's all had the same rack with 2.7 turns lock to lock, as opposed to about 3.5 turns on the lesser cars. I'm not sure about the 180 TT's, although I think they had the quicker rack too
Click to expand...

Im loving that you refered to your car as a lesser car.
 
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