Finally got around depowering my steering rack. The bottom bolt on the PS pump bracket was a bitch and half to get out, but I managed without any screw ups
I looped the two lines on the rack and it looks decent.
Never thought the hotside could look so clean without the crossover tube and PS pump
pics soon

 

FM style depower? or just the looped lines?

 

just looped, couldn't be arsed to take the whole rack out

 

I read the tutorial on the FM website, but is there any advantage to make the depower process like they do it instead of just looping?

 

looking forward to pictures. Currently mine is drained with no belt.

 

so for I just looped the lines in the red circles, didn't have time for the blue ones as it was getting dark. do these need to be done too or can I leave them like that? they seem more of a PITA than the ones I already did.

 

Looping the blue lines is very important because if you don't preasure will build on either side of the middle seal and adversely affect effort and feel. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.



Nate

 

almost with the 'blue' lines, will take pics afterwards

 

Guys
I did mine the FM way after driving it looped for a while. The FM way removes the piston and PS fluid from the rack and this makes it easier to turn the wheels because the friction of the piston is missing. It took a few hours and I got PS removal plugs from a spec miata company on the net somewhere. I'm glad I did it that way. I also got the pulley assembly for a non PS miata from a dealer.
Best Always
Alden

 

finished looping the rest of the lines, belly pan is back in it's place too. getting that cooler line for the PS fluid in the bumper out was a bitch too, but got it done in the end
pics:

 

So... How do you like it.

 

I wouldn't know car's not running yet, still need to do LC-1, IAT and knocksense.

 

FWIW, both my current miatas are depowered. The lines were just drained and looped on one, and the other was depowered the FM way. Drained and looped is livable, and I was very happy with it until I drove the one with the "properly" depowered rack. IMHO, after comparing the two back to back, I think the extra effort to remove the inner seals makes a significant enough difference to be worth it.

 

sorry if i seal your thread. but whats the reason people depower there miatas?
wouldnt it make the car harder to steer?

 

That's the whole idea. The Miata's PS is overboosted, in the opinion of many here, so removing the PS gives the steering some weight and tons more feedback.

 

so you can actually tell how much grip the front wheels have

 

When you depower the rack, do you get out the pump and the belt of the car? In that case, this make the routing for IC piping easier?

 

i have mine lines cut and half-assed looped. because when i did it couldn't find the right hoses. i'm not sure what difference it will make because it still feels exactly the same as before i cut the metal lines. but i will say you can feel EVERYTHING now, i can feel the car slipping about 3mm on the tiny amount of gravel as i turn into my neighborhood.

 

yes, should be. hotside looks a lot cleaner without pump and belt.

I cut my lines too, used some rubber hose I had from my scooter and looped them, ghetto as hell, but if it works, who cares

can't wait to feel the difference in feedback, curious what I'll notice on track. Didn't feel the front wheels lose grip until I noticed I was 2 meters of the ideal line

 

do you have to pull the engine to loop the lines?