Kyosho IF446 Steering Plate Gunmetal Inferno MP9

This is the steering plate for the Kyosho Inferno MP9, finished in gunmetal.

The steering plate, often called the Ackermann plate, is the link between the servo and the two steering knuckles. Where the tie rod ends attach to it determines Ackermann, which is how much more the inside front wheel turns than the outside one through a corner. Get it right and the car turns in cleanly and holds a line; get it wrong and one front tire scrubs, which costs you both steering and tire life.

Because it sits at the front of the chassis and carries the full load of every steering input, it also takes a beating in impacts. A bent plate skews your steering geometry so the car pulls to one side and has different turning radius left versus right, which is a maddening problem to diagnose if you have not thought to check the plate.

This is the genuine Kyosho part in the original gunmetal finish, so it restores factory steering geometry exactly. Note this is the MP9 and MP9 TKI2/TKI3 era plate. The MP9 TKI4 uses a separate revised part number.