Power assisted steering OR ??

[motomatchless]

Hello all, steering on my S3 is a bit heavy for my lady.
There are for me two options : electric power assistance or simply fit a bigger steering wheel.
1rst option: not too expensive but a rather a big job to do.
2nd option: not expensive and easy to do.
Is there anybody of you who experienced with this?
My wheel is 34cm wide.
Is 36cm wide enough to feel a difference?
My wife would like to drive the TVR more.
Please help me.

Regards,
Christian.

[phillpot]

While I expect most women would not complain about an extra 2cm I suspect that for low speed manouvres, reverse parking, three point turns etc. where the lack of power steering is most noticeable the difference would negligible/very slight.




Bit more time down the gym maybe




Don't have nightmares!

Edited by phillpot on Tuesday 22 October 21:01

[Griffinr]

You could play around with the tyre pressures a bit. Standard for the front is 22 psi I think, you could try 23 or 24 but it may get a bit twitchy if you go too far. I've found 24 does make difference. Also worth getting a geometry check as if it's wrong that could have an effect.
Rob.

[greymrj]

Going from a 34cm to a 36cm would drop the steering effort by about 6%, that should certainly be noticeable but not perhaps dramatic enough to make the difference you want?. 38cm would drop the effort by about 10.5%.

I am not aware of anybody succeeding in fitting power steering to an S. Several forum members have looked at it without success. Some of you may remember that even Norman Farmer gave up and eventually had to get rid of his S because he needed power steering.I have had a look and every option I came up with seemed fraught with major difficulties. One option I haven't explored is the possible use of one of the rack end mounted electric motors (see the small Citroen/Peugeot range)but it wouldn't be easy.

Mike has suggested another option.......rather him than me. Scary, and it isn't even Halloween yet!

[Alan Whitaker]

Hi
I think Barkychoc fitted electric, I think it was an electrick pump and power rack, I have fitted a Corsa C, E.P.S and kept the stsndard rack.

Alan

[motomatchless]

Alan Whitaker said:

Hi
I think Barkychoc fitted electric, I think it was an electrick pump and power rack, I have fitted a Corsa C, E.P.S and kept the stsndard rack.

Alan

Hello Alan, can you tell me more about that, do you have photos from the building in, did you keep the original switches and wheel?
Did you have to weld on the steering colum.
I am sure that this is the best solution but not easy to do.

[motomatchless]

phillpot said:

While I expect most women would not complain about an extra 2cm I suspect that for low speed manouvres, reverse parking, three point turns etc. where the lack of power steering is most noticeable the difference would negligible/very slight.




Bit more time down the gym maybe




Don't have nightmares!

Edited by phillpot on Tuesday 22 October 21:01

Ha Ha ha, I'll prefer to sell the S

[phillpot]

Alan Whitaker said:

I think Barkychoc fitted electric, I think it was an electric pump and power rack

I think Chris used a Chimaera hydraulic rack (hopefully he'll be along soon to tell us himself), these are getting like hens teeth so it looks like a Subaru rack may be another option?

[glenrobbo]

Didn't Marceli from Poland say that his S has power steering?
I think it's LHD as well IIRC.

marceli !

[Barkychoc]

If you can get a chim or griff rack it can relatively easily be done.

Therein lies the challenge.

I was very very lucky and got one for £100, but I have seen them fetch a few hundred.

No hard in a post on the various forums - I do know people have them tucked away for a rainy day.

[Deadfast]

The likes of Lloyds Specialist Developments will do it (for a price). I believe they keep your rack, add the Corsa bits like Alan said, and wire it into your speedo if you wish. I'm toying with the idea of having it done in the Spring. Either that, or giving it to my local Scooby man and letting him experiment, on the basis that it would probably work out cheaper (but might not work).

[v8s4me]

Those of us over a certain age learned to drive in cars which did not have PAS. We were taught to turn the steering wheel in the direction we wanted to go when rolling to a stop eg at a road junction. This made turning it the rest of the way when pulling off again under power much easier (because the weight shifts to the back with RWD). Not much help for three point turns but worth remembering.

Someone told me a BMW M3 rack could be made to fit. Any truth in that? If it does then there’s plenty of those around and you nancy boys can get your PAS cheap

[Scoobimax]

motomatchless said:

Hello all, steering on my S3 is a bit heavy for my lady.

I think this was a design feature to keep the lady folk in the left hand seat

[motomatchless]

Hello all, thank you for trying to help me.
I tried something today.

like this the diam is 38cm and there is room enough fo the legs.
My wife tried it and she finds it a lot easier to manœuver,of course not as easy as our mercedes with PAS(also 38cm diam).

Now another dilemna; moto-lita or Personal; wood or leather etc ????????
I will still looking to buy al the parts to fit a corsa E PAS and use the knowledge from someone of us who did it.

Christian.

[Scoobimax]

v8s4me said:

Those of us over a certain age learned to drive in cars which did not have PAS. We were taught to turn the steering wheel in the direction we wanted to go when rolling to a stop eg at a road junction. This made turning it the rest of the way when pulling off again under power much easier (because the weight shifts to the back with RWD).

The issue with this approach is that if rear ended when turning right, the car would turn in to the oncoming traffic. With steering straight on that's where the car would go and not across oncoming traffic. I know where I'd rather be in such a situation.

[greymrj]

What a brilliantly simple idea Christian, I like it! Before choosing your steering wheel do both try it. Mine has a lovely wooden wheel, which matches the gear knob and handbrake lever....but the rim is just too thin for my hands and I get tired of holding it. It is particularly difficult if my hands are cold. I tried wrapping some insulation round it and it would be better for me with a thicker rim.
Stylist the wheel may be but.......

[motomatchless]

greymrj said:

What a brilliantly simple idea Christian, I like it! Before choosing your steering wheel do both try it. Mine has a lovely wooden wheel, which matches the gear knob and handbrake lever....but the rim is just too thin for my hands and I get tired of holding it. It is particularly difficult if my hands are cold. I tried wrapping some insulation round it and it would be better for me with a thicker rim.
Stylist the wheel may be but.......

Tanks for making me thinking about the thicknes of the rim, good to know.
Can you tell me the diameter of your rim? (and photo ??).

[Barkychoc]

There is another option - go a bit narrower on the front tyres.
It will affect the handling a bit but maybe not all that much if you go for a premium brand.
You will need to do the appropriate calcs with tyre width and profile.

[greymrj]

My steering wheel is 36cm. I think I might struggle with a larger one because I am quite short (167cm)and I have the drivers seat on 2cm risers.
Although I would normally agree with Chris (Barkychoc), I would be wary of reducing the tyre width. The high level of grip is an important feature of this car. At the moment it is more likely to oversteer. However a reduction in front end grip, especially in the wet, might just move towards power understeer in some circumstances which is difficult to deal with in a rear wheel drive car.

[phillpot]

v8s4me said:

Someone told me a BMW M3 rack could be made to fit. Any truth in that?

possibly