Opinions about lightness of steering of the Cerb
Opinions about lightness of steering of the Cerb
Author
Discussion

flyingdutchie

Original Poster:

873 posts

224 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
I haven't done a lot miles in my Cerbera yet (1997 4,2 with PAS). My former toy was a Porsche 911 3,2 of 1986.

Until know I haven't been driving faster than about 110mph. So, I still have to get to know the Cerbera beter. Only drives to the workshop/paintshop until know. What I find striking is the lightness of steering. You can steer it with one fongertip at all speeds and at the above mentioned speed the car still feels very light. My comparison is the Porsche. It had no PAS and I felt a great contact with the road. The faster I drove the more solid it felt on the road. It felt as if it got sucked to the road more and more. I am curious how the Cerb will feel above 120-130 miles per hour. What are your experiences?? I told this to one of my customers who owned a Cerb 4,5 and he told me it felt completely confident and rocksolid at high speeds. Allingment of the wheels could change this was his opinion.

It is a very demanding car wit the 2 turns to lock steering in combination with the PAS. Don't get me wrong, I did not regret my change any moment. The car is a absolute miracle in looks/character and so on and so on.

Just curious......

I still have the original 16" wheels on with Bridgestones S02 all around. Although I think this does not matter.


warpig1

336 posts

235 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
mine actualy feels quite heavy, btw hope your doing those speeds on that private test trackwink

Byker28i

92,187 posts

247 months

Saturday 9th February 2008
quotequote all
Hum - had mine twice up above 170 on airfields and it felt rock steady. I think I was pulling about 130 along the straight and felt confident enough for late braking into paddock. To be honest it surprised me how stable it felt at high speeds as I was expecting the steering to go light but it seems to manage the air underneath it very well.

caduceus

6,127 posts

296 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
I agree.
I have had mine at a GPS verified 173 on a err private air field and it had the integrity of a 14 yard skip, and was still pulling.

Not been that fast since though.

Cad

Byker28i

92,187 posts

247 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
Fighting Torque smile Some of us didn't stop at the finishing line - Shushhhh

jesfirth

1,743 posts

272 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
I agree with everyone else. rock solid at silly speeds with no drama

Manfred

34 posts

231 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
I often did it with more than 170 mph on our German autobahn and she feels very solid and much better than a ´86 911 that I also owned before. My changes of shocks and tires have been very successful.

Fusion1

376 posts

240 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
First thing to do is get them Bridgestones S02's off there a disaster on the cerb, had them on mine and was always tramlining and would contantly have to keep correcting the steering if felt real unstable. Changed to F1's and the difference is night and day. Hope this helps.
Ian

AlVal

1,891 posts

294 months

Sunday 10th February 2008
quotequote all
just had my power steering sorted out, shes done 50000 miles and usually the rack gets sent back to the company that provide the reburb/overhaul racks, but it was so bad they wouldnt even take it, just pure scrap metal! car felt heavy to drive until I got it fixed, power steering would kind of come and go at times, but now its perfect not too heavy or light.

flyingdutchie

Original Poster:

873 posts

224 months

Monday 11th February 2008
quotequote all
I've got a new set of wheels and tyres 18" in house and will try these first.

I'll just have to take her to Germany and get to know her better.


C2HYM

1,854 posts

245 months

Monday 11th February 2008
quotequote all
After this mornings interesting drive (p/s failed mid corner) looks like I might be on my 2nd pump in less than 1k miles.

If you want heavy steering, by-pass that. rolleyes

Edited by C2HYM on Monday 11th February 21:26

caduceus

6,127 posts

296 months

Monday 11th February 2008
quotequote all
AlVal said:
just had my power steering sorted out, shes done 50000 miles and usually the rack gets sent back to the company that provide the reburb/overhaul racks, but it was so bad they wouldnt even take it, just pure scrap metal! car felt heavy to drive until I got it fixed, power steering would kind of come and go at times, but now its perfect not too heavy or light.
What did you have done? And how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?
Mail me off line if you prefer.

My power steering is crap. Low speed change of direction is a joke.
Part of the reason I am stripping the engine bay out for an overhaul. One of the many things I want to get right about the car.

Cad

TvrJohn

1,070 posts

285 months

Monday 11th February 2008
quotequote all
Theres some flow restrictors fitted at one of the PAS pipe connectors, which limit the flow of assistance. Try and compare with another cerb, maybe yours were removed or not fitted.

malman

2,258 posts

289 months

Tuesday 12th February 2008
quotequote all
Also check to see if you still have the chin spoiler attached (quite a few go missing in action - it should be underneath the nose set back about 4 - 5 inches). It helps to get rid of high speed bonnet buffet/bounce and also make the front end a little more planted at higher speeds.


Carlos29

74 posts

232 months

Tuesday 12th February 2008
quotequote all
Mine does feel light at high speeds, not saying what speeds, but I do somewhat know where the poster is coming from.
On a wet road/track at high speeds with very quick/light steering, it's a bit of an eye opener for those not used to it perhaps ?

yikes

paulj

169 posts

309 months

Tuesday 12th February 2008
quotequote all
Funnly enough - my car had a problem at the weekend with very heavy steering, turned to be the uj needed some WD40 on it, thought it was the PAS initially.

However I have to say the car felt much better and more planted with the heavy steering, is there any way to reduce the level of assitance ?

Is that the flow restrictors mentioned?

flyingdutchie

Original Poster:

873 posts

224 months

Tuesday 12th February 2008
quotequote all
Yes, I am interested to know also.......do flowrestictors give the possibility to adjust????

Never heared of them, but could be helpful info.

Carlos29

74 posts

232 months

Tuesday 12th February 2008
quotequote all
Actualy, just had the clutch replaced on my car and had an altogether different driving experience.
The old clutch had lost 3 fingers was showing signs of wear other than that and the slave was leaking.(And I was just under the impression Cerbs were just bloody difficult to drive)
Today I passed through a local private airfield on the way home and the car felt stable at high speeds, no problem at all in fact, it was like driving a different car.
I conclude that my previous experience with the light steering was down to:

Wrestling with the gear stick and clutch to get the car into third etc on a wet road combined with being inexperienced in a Cerbera and more to do with panic than anything.

Today the car was safe and solid, comfortable at high speed and an absolute pleasure in the spring sunshine.

shpub

8,507 posts

302 months

Wednesday 13th February 2008
quotequote all
flyingdutchie said:
Yes, I am interested to know also.......do flowrestictors give the possibility to adjust????

Never heared of them, but could be helpful info.
I have a prototype adjustable system running in the LS1 Cerbie at the moment. First feedback is quite promising.

AlVal

1,891 posts

294 months

Sunday 17th February 2008
quotequote all
caduceus said:
AlVal said:
just had my power steering sorted out, shes done 50000 miles and usually the rack gets sent back to the company that provide the reburb/overhaul racks, but it was so bad they wouldnt even take it, just pure scrap metal! car felt heavy to drive until I got it fixed, power steering would kind of come and go at times, but now its perfect not too heavy or light.
What did you have done? And how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?
Mail me off line if you prefer.

My power steering is crap. Low speed change of direction is a joke.
Part of the reason I am stripping the engine bay out for an overhaul. One of the many things I want to get right about the car.

Cad
the steering rack was the worst offender, scrap metal basically, they wouldnt even take it back as a core for refurbishing