Is there any way to make steering wheel lighter(softer)?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Most modern cars are overboosted as fuck, hop in a Yaris or Corolla or Hyundai, the effort to turn the wheel is about the same as moving a chopstick through soupy oatmeal. I can drive one of those econo-boxes with one finger, and it's been that way for over a decade, my 25 year old pickup truck was undoubtedly easier to steer because the power steering did 95% of the work, the 86's only does say 85% of the work, and if you're not used to anything outside of the appliance on wheels that does 98% of the work for you it's a culture shock.

I look forward to the test results provided by @Tcoat
Will it be an order of magnitude harder to turn the wheel? Fuck no, but I fully expect a quantifiable difference between your average commuter car and an 86.

Headed to Windsor on Tuesday so will grab the meter.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by PetrolioBenzina

I'm with TCoat and Cole as well. You can one-hand (even just fingers), non-death-grip the heavier 17 while dd-ing even while having some fun. Slow speed, city driving and serious fun do need a bit more kung-fu grip, though.

Pretty much what I've found, really.

Any time I'm doing some fun driving, both hands get on the wheel anyways, since I would rather have positive control of the vehicle than risk it getting away from me.

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Headed to Windsor on Tuesday so will grab the meter.

I'm very curious as to what you find out.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

I'm very curious as to what you find out.

I am curious to see how it compares to the wife's 17 Impreza since both cars use the exact same assist but she has much larger tires and minor differences to the rest of the steering.

[bkharmony]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Most modern cars are overboosted as fuck, hop in a Yaris or Corolla or Hyundai, the effort to turn the wheel is about the same as moving a chopstick through soupy oatmeal. I can drive one of those econo-boxes with one finger, and it's been that way for over a decade

This is an intentional design decision to make it easier to text while driving.

[Brink]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I drive a lot of rental cars. Many different brands. This car doesn't feel stiff in comparison at all. It's just much more responsive and transmits more road feel.

But then, I grew up driving trucks, cars and sports cars that didn't have power steering, so I have a different frame of reference. I guess if I buy one of these antique cars I've been looking at lately, I won't have to worry about a snowflake trying to steal it.

"Ugh. That old Chevy looks like it would hurt my arms. Let's take that Toyota instead."




I agree. There's an underlying problem that the car couldn't possibly be causing. As someone who has suffered considerably from swimmer's shoulder, I highly recommend this book:

7 Minute Rotator Cuff Solution

Just learning how to rotate your shoulder when you start feeling pain to open it up and take pressure off the bursa makes it worth the read. I quickly discovered I could usually stop an attack before it really got going. The book isn't cheap, but there are a lot of scans floating around in PDF format for illegal download.

Not cheap for a book but it's around the price of a copay for a doctor visit and might save you one of those if you want to go that route.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by bkharmony

This is an intentional design decision to sell more cars

fixed that for you

[Decep]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I am curious to see how it compares to the wife's 17 Impreza since both cars use the exact same assist but she has much larger tires and minor differences to the rest of the steering.

how does steering wheel diameter factor in? obviously a smaller steering wheel = less leverage when steering, but would it show on your meter?

[Audio]

Originally Posted by kdyg123456

I had this 2017 toyota 86 for more than half year for daily driving purpose. And my right shoulder is getting painful with the heavy steering wheel ( got some inflammation inside my right shoulder). I just wonder is there any easy way to make the steering wheel lighter but not loose too much accurate.... or i have to replace the car to solve this issue....

Seriously?!?!

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Brink]

Originally Posted by kdyg123456

I had this 2017 toyota 86 for more than half year for daily driving purpose. And my right shoulder is getting painful with the heavy steering wheel ( got some inflammation inside my right shoulder). I just wonder is there any easy way to make the steering wheel lighter but not loose too much accurate.... or i have to replace the car to solve this issue....

Was driving today and my right shoulder was bothering me a bit and I realized that it was only at times when my left arm was mostly relaxed, not helping with steering for whatever reason, and right arm was pushing up/left on the steering wheel a lot. May not have been caused by driving, I'm sure it was something else that actually damaged things in there, but driving doesn't necessarily help the shoulder.

Possible solution: get a manual so right hand spends more time shifting and less time on the steering wheel.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Decep

how does steering wheel diameter factor in? obviously a smaller steering wheel = less leverage when steering, but would it show on your meter?

We are looking at final forces so wheel diameter isn't a factor. With power assist the wheel diameter doesn't mean much anyway since you are not truly using the wheel for leverage but to simply activate the power assist. It really only comes into play with a fully mechanical system.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Brink

Was driving today and my right shoulder was bothering me a bit and I realized that it was only at times when my left arm was mostly relaxed, not helping with steering for whatever reason, and right arm was pushing up/left on the steering wheel a lot. May not have been caused by driving, I'm sure it was something else that actually damaged things in there, but driving doesn't necessarily help the shoulder.

Possible solution: get a manual so right hand spends more time shifting and less time on the steering wheel.

And spends more time in a hyper extended and unnatural position performing operations against force while away fro the body. Even the most ergonomically possible set up for a MT would not be acceptable as a repetitive job task in most work places. I can see shifting potentially causing an injury way before steering.

Credentials: I have been in the Occupational Health and Safety field for 30 years.

Once I get some force measurements I will run both steering and shifting through my ergo assessment system and we can have some hard numbers for both.

[humfrz]

I have a younger brother that is about the size of @Ultramaroon and has more money than sense about some things.

He has a beautifully restored, 1967 Corvette Stingray that he drives on some Sundays. The last time I was down in California, we were out in his garage and I ask him how his Corvette was running.

He replied, great, I just had power steering put on it. Since he is in good health, I asked him ..... why? He replied that he said it was hard to steer when he parked it. I go .....


humfrz

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by humfrz

I have a younger brother that is about the size of @Ultramaroon and has more money than sense about some things.

He has a beautifully restored, 1967 Corvette Stingray that he drives on some Sundays. The last time I was down in California, we were out in his garage and I ask him how his Corvette was running.

He replied, great, I just had power steering put on it. Since he is in good health, I asked him ..... why? He replied that he said it was hard to steer when he parked it. I go .....

I have driven my dad's '66. It IS hard to steer when you're parking it or maneuvering at very low speeds. You have to crank the hell out of that big steering wheel to turn the wheels.

But who cares. It's a '66 Corvette. It wasn't made for parking.