Is anyone adjusting steering effort?

[Rob37072]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Mid engine, less weight up front. Suspension geometry and wheel offset/width will be a factor as well. They run 235's on 8.5" wheels up front to start.



Both are significantly lighter with MUCH narrower tires. Plus the MR2 is mid engine with less weight up front. They also have much slower rack ratios than we have as well.

The lightest steering I've ever driven in a performance car is a 993 911, SUPER light but also has a ton of feedback. It's almost too light on center though, I prefer a bit more weight at initial input.

All that is true but that doesn't mean the FRS couldn't have more power steering assist. I was comparing those other cars to point out that "Heavy" doesn't mean "Sporty" that's all.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Rob37072

All that is true but that doesn't mean the FRS couldn't have more power steering assist. I was comparing those other cars to point out that "Heavy" doesn't mean "Sporty" that's all.

More assist will numb the feeling and feedback though... my point was that they're naturally lighter steering and aren't numbed by excessive assist.

That said, with my snows on the steering weight is comparable to my wife's new Corolla. With the summer tires it's definitely a bit heavier, but not that heavy at all. I'm only running 225's though, I imagine with 265's the effort is quite a bit higher.

Since the assist is ECU controlled, I'm sure there's some way to alter the amount of assist provided, but I don't think anyone has really dug into it at all. You'd probably also have to find a cooling solution for the motor since there's already a potential for it to overheat at stock settings.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by churchx

But most people do actually opposite, add caster for better handling/grip for more dynamic camber gain, more stability & self centering. I'm not so sure that just for steering feel lightening it's worth to make car handle worse

Originally Posted by guybo

Reducing caster would make the steering lighter but at the cost of less dynamic camber changes and reduced front end grip.

You only get more negative camber from more caster in low-speed corners where there's a lot of steering input, and even then it's only on the order of a couple of tenths of a degree between running, say, 7° caster vs. 5° caster.

Personally, I like running minimal caster and having less steering effort. After I modded my old 240Z for more negative camber up front, I wound up with less than 3° caster and it was almost like self-servo steering, I loved it.