Maybe you just have a bad rack. Stand next to the car and jiggle the steering wheel through the open window. See if there is a dead spot just off center where the steering wheel turns but the front tire doesn't move. It might just be worn out or something. Its hard to diagnose this kind of think over the interboobs.
bump to bring it up again because this is definitely not right. My steering is much too vague for this to be correct. The response is immediate, but the input from the rack is minimal. It's like I'm driving a 1980 300D. When I make a u-turn with the wheel turned to lock it still has the incredibly small turn radius of an e30 which seems to indicate that the ratio is correct. So I'm baffled why large steering wheel input has little steering input.
My setup: e36 rack 3.2 lock to lock with e36 tie rod ends; vert front sway bar/H&R rear 18mm; bilstein sports; H&R Sport springs; AKG poly control arm, subframe, rear swing arm and diff bushings. I bought a new u-joint coupler that joins the column shaft to the rack but didn't use it because the original seemed to be perfect with no play when I had it out.
tjts1 or anyone, can you tell me what would be the effect if my toe was too wide? Could it cause vague steering? I had it aligned at a good shop and it tracks perfectly but I wonder if they were thrown off by the model of the rack or if they just made a mistake. One thing that surprised me is that they didn't center the rods up on the rack. I had to eyeball it just to drive it to the shop and that caused the tie rods to be offset to one side. I guess I can test the toe myself by making equal turns on both sides, but if anyone can tell me if improper toe could deaden my steering, I'll listen.
