Steering rack - Difference between Turbo & Sport ?

[laffin_boy]

Baja newbie here.

Just got an '05 Baja Sport with MT and I like most of it's features. But i'm used to driving an '05 Ford focus station wagon - a greatly underrated vehicle - and, by contrast, the Baja "feel" is much slower and due the the increased weight (over the Focus) the Baja feels a bit "vague' to me. Yes, it has at least as much ultimate cornering power as the Focus but simply doesn't feel as nimble or as "connected" to the road.

I see that the Steering rack for the Sport & the Turbo are different. Is there any chance that the difference is the steering ratio? IE: is it possible that the Turbo Rack is "quicker"? And, if so, can the Turbo rack be fitted into the Sport?

[Guacamole]

Hi there! Welcome to the wonderful world of Bajas.
I would assume it would not be able to switch without some sort of modification as the NA Baja drivetrain is Legacy, whereas the turbos are copied from a Forester XT. There may be some little differences we don't know about that don't let the two parts play nice.

As for the nimbleness...
You're coming from a wagon that sat 2in lower, was overall 8in shorter, and weighs nearly 500lbs less than a Baja- might just take some getting used to.

[laffin_boy]

Thanks.

Guess i'll try some better tires....

[ZUBAJA]

Tires (if needed) and a good alignment. It's possible a previous owner may have replaced struts or other components and this may have taken alignment out of spec. Other possibilities could be rear trailing arm bushings (KNOWN for going bad), any links, even the front strut mounts, which have the upper steering bearings. Bear in mind, the car is 16 years old. Dennis