I know a lot of you guys track and autocross these cars without swapping out to some blasphemous rack and pinion nonsense.
I'm just trying to figure out how far from optimized my steering is before I considered anything drastic.
So I had no illusions that a swap to a 16:1 manual box would suddenly turn the Dart Sport into a Miata but boy does it still suck.
I picked up a fresh/reman ebay large sector box...I was dismayed to discover that it feels very much like the power steering box that it replaced (when the pump wasn't running).
I've already swapped out the whole front end, upgraded to QA1 upper and lower arms, fresh lower ball joints, Hotchkis shocks, 1.14" torsion bars, Helwig hollow sway bar... I think I've done almost everything with the exception of tie rod ends and the idler arm (which I have on the shelf). I also have a 330mm Momo wheel with a suede grip. I recently had US Car Tool torque boxes and Mopar Performance subframe connectors welded in. K-Member is stock....
Numerous times, I've attempted to adjust the steering box tighter and tighter. It's somewhat better but still miles from "tight" or "sporty" and I don't know how much more I can tighten it down or if this doing so will would accelerate wear. Currently, there's 15* of play on center which would be ok except that it transitions directly from "loose" to "fully coagulated" once you start imparting an actual directional change. Steering the car through curves feels more like "bumping" the wheel back and forth, making digital adjustments.
I don't think it's dangerous but it's not enjoyable and it would be miserable on a road course.
Any suggestions about what to try next?
How good can the stock style steering actually be?