Steering rack OEM BMW or ZF

PartReview Score

Rank #1 in ranking

4.4

Noise

5.0

Play

4.2

No data

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #2 in ranking

3.8

Leaks

1.6

Noise

4.6

Play

3.3

Owners' choice:

Volkswagen Passat

Reviews

All

OEM BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

AdMiserable8968 14 Nov 2025, 23:54

Noise:

Rating 5.0

spacers definitely weren’t there. Unbolted rack, bent tabs down, put spacers in, bolted it back up, good to go! Shocker - much smoother ride and quieter engine not that it’s not sitting on the rack/subframe

Pros: smoother ride, quieter engine

Cons: spacers missing, tabs bent

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

jckwlzn 13 Nov 2025, 03:36

Rating 5.0

I run stage 2+ on e40 and daily it. Nobody needs this amount of power for a daily (500hp 3.4s 0-60). Also just hit 100k miles and I drive the hell out of it; just routine maintenance.

Pros: routine maintenance

Vehicle: BMW

Mileage: 160934 km

OEM BMW › Steering rack

spvcebound 14 Oct 2025, 17:15

Play:

Rating 5.0

nothing has made as significant of a difference as the E46 ZHP rack swap. The biggest night and day difference of any part I've replaced on the whole car.

Pros: significant difference, night and day improvement

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

vbfronkis 14 Oct 2025, 15:17

Play:

Rating 5.0

I went with the E46 ZHP rack (second fastest) as my very first "quality of life" upgrade and it dramatically improved the car.

Pros: dramatically improved steering

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

Easy_Bite6858 25 May 2025, 09:33

Play:

Rating 5.0

I have the Z3 rack in my 318is and I like the faster ratio because I drive it through small town Appalachia and these old, small, windy East Coast mountain roads.

Pros: faster ratio, good for windy roads

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

disuye 23 Dec 2024, 22:23

Play:

Rating 5.0

I am really happy after installing an E46 'purple tag' steering rack. Absolute go cart :)

Pros: absolute go cart feel, very happy

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Steering rack

myredditaccountisrad 14 Sep 2024, 03:33

Play:

Rating 5.0

zhp rack is my favorite mod, and I have many. Even if you're not tracking, the biggest affects to driving feel are steering and tires. The lock-to-lock is largely irrelevant on public roads but the feel makes a big difference vs the other racks.

Pros: favorite mod, improved feel

Vehicle: BMW

ZF › Steering rack

404_OSHA_VIOLATION 11 Feb 2020, 13:45

Leaks:

Rating 2.5

I replaced the steering rack on the car because the original rack was leaking. The replacement rack was an OEM from a junkyard. The old rack was a TRW and the new one is a ZF. The steering is heavier overall than with the old rack. My friend says it's definitely harder right than left.

Cons: heavier steering, harder right turn

Vehicle: BMW

Mileage: 206000 km

OEM BMW › Steering rack

B58guy10 6 Jan 2026, 21:00

Play:

Rating 2.0

E series steering feel and steering rack put my new 2025 bmws to absolute shame. I can't stand the constant small corrections on the hwy. The steering feels lighter than a cheap Kia. All three 2021 to 2025 feel unstable at speed compared to my E92.

Pros: E series steering feel

Cons: unstable at speed

OEM BMW › Steering rack

T0MMY3688 27 Sep 2025, 11:21

Play:

Rating 1.0

The G30 5 series had broken steering rack... all happened under warranty period too. They got it fixed for free but that's the most problematic new car my parents got.

Cons: broken, problematic

Vehicle: BMW

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Which steering rack to choose — OEM BMW or ZF?

If choosing steering rack across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.

We compare steering rack across these categories:

Comparison of steering rack OEM BMW and ZF

PR Score.
Overall ranking.
Vote balance.
Average rating.
Number of reviews.
Feature ratings.
Car owners’ choice.

Which steering rack are better — ZF or OEM BMW?

In March 2026 on PartReview, steering rack OEM BMW were overall better than ZF.

OEM BMW received a PR Score of 85 out of 100, and ZF scored 78 points.
OEM BMW ranked 1 in the overall ranking, and ZF ranked 2.
The average rating is higher for OEM BMW (4.4) than for ZF (3.8).
Steering rack OEM BMW have better feature ratings than ZF:
- Play - owners believe, that this property for OEM BMW is better than ZF.
- Noise - drivers claim, that this property for OEM BMW is outperforms ZF.
- Leaks - reviews suggest, that this property for ZF is preferred to OEM BMW.

Which steering rack are more popular — OEM BMW or ZF?

In March 2026 on PartReview, steering rack OEM BMW were overall more popular than ZF.

By vote balance, steering rack OEM BMW surpassed ZF:

For OEM BMW, the ratio of positive (51) to negative (9) votes is 42 votes.
For ZF, the ratio of positive (37) to negative (10) votes is 27 votes.

By number of reviews, steering rack OEM BMW surpassed ZF:

For steering rack OEM BMW there are 20 reviews: 17 positive, 0 neutral, 3 negative.
For steering rack ZF there are 15 reviews: 11 positive, 2 neutral, 2 negative.

Which steering rack do car owners prefer — OEM BMW or ZF?

In March 2026, according to PartReview, steering rack ZF led more car-specific ratings than OEM BMW:

ZF are chosen by owners of cars such as: Volkswagen Passat, and others.

Steering rack OEM BMW have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.

Other comparisons of steering rack

If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.

For example, comparisons of steering rack OEM BMW with: OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Subaru, OEM Mazda.

Also available: comparisons of steering rack ZF with: OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Subaru, OEM Mazda.

You can also see who is better among other steering rack manufacturers: OEM BMW or OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen or OEM Honda, OEM Honda or ZF, OEM Subaru or OEM Honda, OEM Mazda or OEM Honda.