race fan Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I am in the prosses of building a 7 on steriods,I took the book plans and enlarged them by 10%,using a 5.0 ford V8 and most of the running gear from a fox body mustang. My question is should I use manual or power steering,the front tires will be 255/40/17 nitto nto5's and the car will weight around 1500/1600 lbs,I will be street driving and racing the car in SPO with the SCCA, I would like some feed back as some of you have gone in both directions David Planakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blami Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Just my view, but I would say if you can build this car and keep the weight at 1600 lbs or lower, then go with the manual steering----unless you intend to use a very small diam. steering wheel and do a lot of parallel parking. Keep things simple and light. Bart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
race fan Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 Keeping things simple and light is all good but with as large a tire as I am running and with over 500 hp I am conserned about the steering effort at high speed,the weight differansce between power and manual is 15 lbs so that is less of a consern then control Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookwheel Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) We have a Super Stalker. It weighs around 1,550 lbs. It was OK with manual steering and street tires. But when we put on 10" wide slicks, it was quite a bit harder to steer. We use the car for Autocross on a pretty regular basis. The steering with slicks was a real handful on that type of course. We converted to power steering with an electric hydraulic pump from a 3rd gen. MR2 spyder and a Chevette power steering rack. It made a real difference, I can think about driving... not getting leverage to steer through the next turn. Even with the street tires, I have to say it is more enjoyable. I highly recommend it. Being an electric pump, moving the car around by hand with the engine off is a breeze. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/snookwheel/th_P1040916.jpg Scott Edited January 23, 2010 by snookwheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Just my view, but I would say if you can build this car and keep the weight at 1600 lbs or lower, then go with the manual steering----unless you intend to use a very small diam. steering wheel and do a lot of parallel parking. Keep things simple and light. Bart Have to agree with Bart as steering effort is directly related to how much movement of the tire (tire surface area to ground contact) and the size of the steering wheel. Keeping things simple and light is all good but with as large a tire as I am running and with over 500 hp I am conserned about the steering effort at high speed,the weight differansce between power and manual is 15 lbs so that is less of a consern then control Dave Yes tire size dose play into how hard it is to turn the steering wheel when sitting still but once the vehicle is moving the effort drops a lot when the alignment is set correctly. HP really dose not come into play with a LSIS unless your steering using your right foot to get the back end loose while turning the front wheels. I do that from time to time when playing in a large parking lot and I only have about 120 HP on a good day. I would go with a manual steering rack just for the simplicity but that is just my opinion and you know about opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blami Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Scott's solution (elec. pump, Chevette rack) seems to make sense for his application: autocross. But it should be noted that compared to road racing, autocrossers have "fast hands"---steering inputs are usually quick, much quicker than you will need on a road course (unless you get into trouble and correction is called for; then "fast hands fix foul form"). On track, the higher your speed the slower and lighter your steering inputs should be. I think that a manual rack will work fine. Finding the right rack is the trick. In a sense, racks have different speeds (I'm not an engineer so forgive my simplicity). Some racks are designed to be "faster" in the sense of a little steering inputs gives big results. On my Caterham I have run slicks that were up to 8 inches wide. I use the standard Caterham steering rack (they have several "faster" racks available--they make the car too sensitive, to 'twitchy' for my tastes). My steering inputs are smooth and minimal--I generally 'roll' my wrists--not having to use too much forearm or shoulders. My steering wheel is only 10 inches wide (OD). I'm not saying a different solution or opinion is wrong. I am just relaying my experiences. Have fun finding out what works for you and be safe. Bart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locost 5.0 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) You are pretty much describing my car, exact same tires up front. I haven't auto crossed it yet, but I do drive hard in the mountains. Manual steering is perfect, I wouldn't change it. I love these NT05's! Sticky. http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/beergodrod/DSCF7988.jpg Rod Edited January 23, 2010 by Locost 5.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blami Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Rod, Great looking car that appears to be both well thought out and constructed. The fact that all your wing-nuts on the carb covers are lined up speaks volumes. Bart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Dave, I have a manual rack right now, and my car is quite a bit heavier at 1750 lbs. I'm running a 11" steering wheel. My steering effort is OK on the highway, but I miss power steering at parking lot speeds. I have an all electric steering shaft assembly from a Vauxhall sitting on my workbench, with no time to work on the car. Steering effort is adjustable via a knob on the dash - from no assist to full assist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookwheel Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Blami makes a valid point that there would certainly be a lot less of an issue with track use vs. Autocross. But even though with the street tires running around town, after adding power steering.. I would not want to go back. The race tires really made power steering shine for us. I have a switch on the dash that lets me turn the electric pump off if I want. The system would then steer like a manual set up. I haven't felt the need to use it yet! 7" street tires vs. 10" race slicks really does make a difference in the effort you experience! It is certainly doable with or without PS. But for us, PS made it more enjoyable... and faster for AutoX!!:driving: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/snookwheel/P1040555.jpg Best of luck with your decision! Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
race fan Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks for every one info,I went with the manual set as I road race mostly and dont do any autocross DAVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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