i'm sure this question is pretty amateur but i was wondering what affect manual steering has on higher speed handling. for instance, we all know that it's a b!tc# to turn our manual steering cars at at a slow speed, but i'm wondering if the same affects of manual steering occur at hight speeds? when i jerk the wheel on the highway at 65mph to switch lanes, is it loose and wobbley due to it being manual steering, or is it due to the suspension? i'd like tighter steering while cruising and am not sure if i'm going to need power steering to get this result or if i just need to upgrade my suspension...

 

at speed the road feedback is greater, if your a man, manual steering will be ok as long as your not running super wide front tires

 

im a 5'5" 135lbs 19 year old kid and i handle the manual steering just fine. in fact i actually love it. i dont get any wobble or play in my wheel when driving i actually get just the opposite, the turning is tight and feel like its riding on a track

to bad i just bought power steering

 

I prefer manual steering. Actually I wouldn't fool with PS it always seem to be prone to leaking. I definitely would not add it to a car the didn't come with it. That is unless someone is not able to handle the manual steering.

 

my car is far away from that ... have to rebuild most of the steering. every single ball joint is gone (45 years old next month). but one after another. i replaced everything else already so no money left for such projects.

I was thinking power steering once as I absolutely love the way i can park and manuver my buddies 66 mustang. I am well undecided as if I'd bought a full powersteering kit (for example chokostang) i'd have most joints with it and I won't be double-buying (like I always do). still undecided

 

My car had manual steering and for normal driving its fine but for parking ect. its a PITA. I'd much rather have power steering for a daily driver. If I was going to add PS to a car though I'd go with a rack and pinion setup.

 

I switched to MS from PS one of the best things I have done.

Even at dead slow speed in parking lot its not too bad. I got rid of the old box and put in a flaming river MS gear box. never a big deal at speed or normal driving.

The only issue I had was running it though this super tight solam course. Spacing was about 2.5 to 3 car lengths. I was limited not by traction but by the speed at which I could turn the wheel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFQ5_QVS32s

Lock to Lock its gonna be a bit slower than PS but you gain:
Service free steering (no leaks nothing to fail)
Way improved road feel (aids in driving) you can feel road surface conditions and steering pressure in turns.


-Gun

 

Gun Jam, you don't change the steering ratio with the addition/removal of p/s. All of the p/s cars got the quick ratio box, as did GT cars. Non-GT cars with m/s got the shorter ratio box to reduce wheel effort.

I have a non-GT car with m/s as my daily driver. The only thing I don't like about it is the crappy steering ratio. I hope to fix that with a 16:1 box out of a buddy's car. I can parallel park my car just fine as is, and I don't see the quick steer box hurting that ability much.

As far as high-speed turning goes, m/s all the way. If your car feels sloppy, something's wrong. Could be you need to replace some parts, could be poor alignment. A properly working m/s system will have infinitely more road feedback at higher speeds than a stock p/s setup.

 

Thanks. That's what I needed to know. It just feels like any car without upgraded performance suspension. That's what I meant by it feeling sloppy. It rolls a bit when you switch lanes fast or corner hard. I just didn't know if upgrading the suspension alone would improve this, or if it would continue to handle the way it does due to it being manual steering.

So from what I'm hearing, the ill effects of manual steering are pretty much just limited to very slow turning. But at higher speeds, manual steering actually improves the feel and has no ill effects on handling.

 

Manual steering by itself doesn't affect how much you have to crank the wheel. Adding p/s won't change your gearbox ratio. To quicken the steering up, you'd have to change to the 16:1 box.

That body roll can be reduced by improving the suspension. Stiffer springs, better shocks, bigger sway bar, export brace/monte carlo bar, and the shelby drop will all help improve handling and reduce body roll while cornering. The Shelby drop will have the most drastic effect.

The only downside to m/s is the increased effort it requires at lower speeds. The shorter 16:1 steering box will make it even more difficult to parallel park. Your 5'1" 90lb girlfriend isn't likely to be able to drive the car, but if you're not completely out of shape you should be fine