How light does your steering feel?

[charles.y]

At speed over 80+ particularly on the motorway. Mine one feels rather light - is it normal?
Or do I need to adjust the ...
1) Tyre pressure (currently set at 33 front and rear)
2) Geometry (the light feel is the same after th geo done a few weeks ago)
3) Steering rack
4) or else

 

[zcacogp]

Define "rather light". Steering is always lighter at higher speeds as the tyre deformation will be less.

If the tyre pressures are right (and yours sound very low, to be honest) and the geo is spot-on then you have covered the two most common bases.


Oli.

 

[Hilux]

Nope shouldnt be too light and the faster you go the more pointy and resistant to turn it is as the aerodynamics come in and press it to the ground. At 150mph it is really pushed down and the steering is heavier.

33 all round is what I run mine at and wouldnt go much higher personally.

 

[Riverside]

At my first carlimits day Andy Walsh told me I held the wheel too tightly & it was preventing the car from self-correcting oversteer in corners. As an exercise he asked me to do 'the corner' at about 80 using just one fingertip on top of the steering wheel to control the car. I swallowed a brave pill, the car corrected itself without any real drama & I gained a profound respect for the car and learned a valuable lesson in car control. So no, the steering isn't heavy at high speed []

It should feel planted though. Try raising the tyre pressures 2psi at at a time & see if it feels any different. The brand of tyre can make a difference too, although not as much as the tyre pressures. I use 37psi all-round on mine, most people seem to prefer somewhere in between yours & mine.

 

[charles.y]

I use Bridgestone S03 tyres. The steering is rather light I mean it doesn't have much feel and I can steer the car with so little effort which is a bit scary when doing high speed. I prefer the feel a bit heavier just like doing 60/70 mph.

 

[Fen]

Your steering should be neither light nor heavy. Well weighted covers it, however it might feel heavy compared to a modern shopping hatch for example, so definitely not too light.

I'd say it's geometry. Your tyre pressures are not far out and what people above who suggest pressures are missing is that if anything they are too low and low pressure would give heavier, not lighter, steering.

The last option is the lip you have on your bumper. I doubt it makes much aerodynamic difference at all, but it might and if it does it might be generating lift rather than downforce. Was the steering too light before you fitted it and if not was it still OK for a time after the lip?

 

[charles.y]

Fen,

Interesting. The front lip has been off for a while now. The steering actually felt a bit heavier (not much) when its on - downforce I suppose.

 

[Fen]

Maybe, but then again if it has the standard undertray back on then it should be OK. I've never felt a 944 go light and I've driven a fair few of them at 80 and above mph.

Geometry is in the frame then I'd say, although it could be something allowing it to change like worn bushes or track control arms rather than the setting being incorrect. How fresh is your suspension and what castor bushes are you running?

 

[mik_ok]

Hey - Fen is back [8D]

G'day sah. []

Anyway - if you can be bothered searching for my username and tramlining you'll see the fun I had eliminating this trait. Geometry and 968 mounts made a big improvement, but only when I replaced my tyres did I undergo revolutionary improvements. The geometry was out originally, so I assume the tyres were worn to "a funny shape" and although I assumed they'd adjust.... they didn't. You may be suffering a similar phenomena (our car hunted at speed before the new tyres and required constant corrections (less so after the above mods) so I can't really comment on "lightness", but it was certainly not overly-light once sorted.

 

[charles.y]

Fen,

I had the front and rear shocks replaced last year with the standard ones and they have done less than 5000 miles since.
I do notice that the light feel became apparent recently probably after I up'ed the tyre pressure from 29 to 33. Is 29 too soft for normal driving?

 

[Diver944]

29 does seem way too low, when most of us are in the 32-36 range on 17" tyres.

My own cars certainly feel nothing but planted at speeds that would be illegal on the public highway

 

[charles.y]

So Scott also has the same light feel? Have you done any changes recently or its always like that?
I don't the full geo a few weeks back and it indeed feels better but the light feel at higher speed still persists!

 

[zcacogp]

Charles,

There are various posts on here about tyre pressure, but the general concensus seems to be that 944's are very sensitive to pressure changes, and most people run in the 34-38 range for standard D90's (dependant upon lots of things.) I have my tyres on 16' D90's at 38psi ...

The higher the pressure the smaller the contact patch, therefore lower steering drag and therefore lighter steering.


Oli.

 

[charles.y]

Oli,
Mine are already on 33.

 

[Fen]

OK, so the shocks are recent and you've had a geometry set, but by your omission to mention otherwise I assume you haven't replaced the castor mounts nor track control arms. I'd do both. I'd also check the other wishbone bush on both sides as I think you have some slop/slack/movement somewhere in the bottom of the front suspension/steering.

When I refreshed the suspension on my S2 cab (including 968 castor mounts) my indie wanted me to do the track control arms and (uncharacteristically for me) I decided it was 120 quid I didn't see the need to spend. He badgered me for literally months about it until I gave in (and it cost more as I had to get the tracking rechecked after [8|]). In all seriousness it made more difference on its own than the whole of the rest of the suspension refresh; the car didn't feel sloppy prior (to me at least and I have driven a few miles in 944s), but jeez was it "pointy" afterward in comparison.

 

[TTM]

Caster adjustment has a significant impact on the weight of the steering - I noticed that when playing with caster adustement after replacing caster mounts on both my cars.

 

[peanut]

I read somewhere that tyre manufacturers recommend up to 5lbs increase in tyre pressures for sustained high speed motorway driving. I'm not sure if this was to increase grip ,reduce drag reduce understeer or to decrease wear ? but you need to be aware in wet weather following a dry spell with high pressures you are likely to aquaplane on all the diesel.Ask me how I know groan []

 

[charles.y]

ORIGINAL: Fen

OK, so the shocks are recent and you've had a geometry set, but by your omission to mention otherwise I assume you haven't replaced the castor mounts nor track control arms. I'd do both. I'd also check the other wishbone bush on both sides as I think you have some slop/slack/movement somewhere in the bottom of the front suspension/steering.

When I refreshed the suspension on my S2 cab (including 968 castor mounts) my indie wanted me to do the track control arms and (uncharacteristically for me) I decided it was 120 quid I didn't see the need to spend. He badgered me for literally months about it until I gave in (and it cost more as I had to get the tracking rechecked after [8|]). In all seriousness it made more difference on its own than the whole of the rest of the suspension refresh; the car didn't feel sloppy prior (to me at least and I have driven a few miles in 944s), but jeez was it "pointy" afterward in comparison.

I don't recall the castor mounts and track control arms have been replaced during my ownership. How much the standard S2 and 968 castor mounts cost? And how many hours for indy to fit them - the castor mounts and track control arms?

 

[Fen]

Castors used to be about £40 each and track control arms about £60 each, both potentially plus VAT. Neither is a big job to fit, possibly 1-2 hours I'd guess (closer to 1 hour) but you need the geometry reset afterwards.

 

[zcacogp]

Ahhh .. track control arms. Fen - when I did my suspension refresh this time last year you encouraged me strongly to do them on my car, and I did so. I'm very interested to read your comments, as I didn't think that it made that much difference (if any) to my car. The ones that came off seemed to be still tight, and there was no play in them (either in the arms, with the ball-joint that bolts onto the steering rack, or the swivel joints on the ends.) I have to confess, I was a smidge dubious as to whether it was worth it, so I am interested to hear your very positive comments about what happened when you did them on your cab. I guess it is possible that those parts had been changed semi-recently on my car already, but there is nothing in the history to suggest so.

Charles - I got mine from ECP, and I think that £60 would probably buy you both, not just one.

I still haven't done the castor mounts ... I may treat myself to some of them this summer. Snag is, it's all cash ... !


Oli.

ETA: Fen, what difference would castor mounts have on steering weight? And why? Changing the track rod arms would possibly make the steering slightly heavier if the old ones were very worn and loose, but would this really make a huge amount of difference to steering weight, or just to steering precision?