Im in the process of putting my motor in and I can remember how much of a pita it was to remove the ps before I could take the engine out. How bad will it affect the driving? Sence the motor doesnt weigh a whole lot it seems that it wont be that bad. How hard is it to turn at low speeds(parking lots)?How will it affect counter steering(big concern)? any feedback? thanks..

 

the pump itself is simple to take out.. it has like 3 or 4 bolts and 2 hoses.. it shouldnt take you long to put it back in .. but its actually more solid when your driving with no p/s but at parking lot speeds it blows without it.. it all depends if you like reefing on the wheel when your slow.. otherwise.. when your at speed its really not even bad at all.. in fact most "road racers" like it better.. its more positive steering.. so basically its all up to the owners preference.. i personally like the luxury of turning it with 2 fingers..

 

Yeah turning the steering wheel with ease is nice. Put
the p/s back in unless its going to be a strickly race
car.

Jp

 

I've had it off for more than 2 years: and I like it! Sure it's harder to parallel park (a lost art) but if you keep the car moving slightly you can do it with one hand (need the other one to hold my cup of coffee). : )

 

Power steering is just another pump holding back extra power, even though its not much. I have had my ps off for over a year now and the car drives perfectly fine, yeah its a little it harder under 5mph but its worth it. You can feel everything on the road and the engine bay looks so much cleaner. And remove your ac while your at it thats just as useless, or maybe its just me...

 

to note..
you lose the ability to cool down an enclosed somewhat pressurized system..
i would contend that elimination of the ps pump decreases its longevity..
ideal scenario is a manual rack..

 

I had mine off and put it back on. It really isnt bad for normal driving...even parking. But I found that when trying to do some hard cornering or maneuvering on my favorite roads its got a bit difficult. Not because of the effort involved, but all the feedback you got when hitting minor bumps and so forth. The wheel would really fight you to stay turned. Felt dangerous actually. Id say on a road course with a smooth road it would prolly be real nice. But I do the occasional autocross and with the fast turns and slaloms i cant imagine driving without the P/S. It all depends on your drving needs. Bump on the cleaner look tho without it.

 

I took mine off about a month before I deployed. I like it and plan on keeping it off. It does take some getting used to though, as on the road course the amount of feedback I was getting threw me for a loop. Much more than before. It'll take a bit getting used to.

I will tell you that when I would move customer's cars (from the street to the driveway/parking spot, etc) that have the p/s, it felt totally foreign to me. Felt so loose and vague.

Also, with my 17 inch Fikses the effort is noticeably harder than on my stock wheels. Those with 18s beware

 

I've had mine off for about two years now and I hardly notice it except for when I get stuck trying to do u-turn and fall short. I drive it through the mountains once in a while and the extra sensitivity gives me the confidence to roll through the corners harder. Plus the extra space makes it easier to change plugs and it's nice to have only one belt on the entire motor.

 

I snapped the belt while racing a Thunderbird supercoupe, and didn't know until I tried to take a right into a Dunkin Donuts, and almost drove right over the island because of the unexpected tightness.


I liked the feel of not having it. I even noticed that the car felt peppier without it. I've since put the belt back on. I had reservations of how the car would be in an autocross situation.....ie. slower tight turns.
I've really never gotten used to having it back in though. I find myself over turning sometimes. It is a lot nicer to drive in the city with the power steering though.

I love those rims goodfella. They are some of the prettiest evar.

 

Thanks fer the mad props, my man. 'ppreciate it

Hell, when I'm back in NJ in August or September I'm supposed to meet up with Artguy somewhere around Boston. Maybe we'll all get to meet up. The Fikses are in storage though, so you won't get to check 'em out. You can drool on my stock rims w/Efini center caps though

Rich

 

junk the power steering

at 2700 pounds, with near perfect weight distribution and all the right racecar geometry (neg camber gain etc) our cars were designed as sports cars... not GT cars. why they put powersteering on them (while the were busy shaving ounces of weight) is a mystery to me. no matter what the sales brochure says about speed sensative, roll sensative power steering you might just as well be playing a video game. lose the power steering and say hello to road feel. parking is no big deal. (i run 18X8.5s in front) your engine compartment will be cooler, you wil lose front weight, and plugs will be easier to change, even better w/o the a/c. as to feeling every bump etc, you will be more cogniscent of tire pressure (s/b abt 32 front 30 rear cold) and alignment (less than an 1/8th toe in, abt 1.2 degrees neg camber front and rear for the street). as to going faster w/o p-s... nothing beats road feel when saving tenths of a second.
power steering makes a great anchor.
howard coleman

 

Good advice and great post Howard. I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Nice, I heard those centercaps are worth 5 horsepower.
Absolutely let me know when you're coming to town. That would be cool. I might even have my car back on the road by then.

 

I'm strong and it's very hard for me to turn the wheel without it

with it in it seems too easy and I don't like that either

somewhere right in between would make the car feel right. to me a heavy wheel makes the car feel better.

 

geez u guys removing a/c and p/s dont you ever drive your car when its hot outside.. i kinda enjoy the luxury of pushing a button and having my *** cooled i also enjoy playing with my steering wheel instead of reefing on it.... dont any of your guys like these luxurys mazda has given us

 

damn double posts..

 

Could it be that you're just a GIRLY MAN ? Heh. I'm pretty funny, no ?

On a serious note, believe it or not I've been through 3 Texas summers with working a/c and haven't used it once despite my all black interior. It definitely helped acclimatize me; all those afternoons spent in the motor pool helping my soldiers break track and pull pack didn't seem as hot .

 

^^ US Soldiers that defend our country dont have power steering...so it MUST be the right thing to do.

*** Support our Troops, Remove your Powersteering!! ***

 

They put it in there because they were trying to sell the car to the public at large. The car is pretty extreme as it is and sold poorly. How much worse do you think sales would have been if power steering wasnt in there?

 

well... black interior cant be as bad as a black exterior my car heats up in the winter sun.. maybe thats why i enjoy air

 

Get a manual steering rack from a 2nd gen. It is way easier to steer with a manual rack than it is with a powered rack without the power. With a 2nd gen rack you can still make U turns with one hand. Even at a complete stop it isn't that bad

 

How about a black car with black interior! My car get's hot no matter where it's at. I like to drive it with the windows down most of the time so the a/c stays off.

I test drove my friends FD without powersteering and I actually liked it. It wasn't that bad to turn at all, if it is, up your tire pressure a little and it will get easier. So far the A/C is staying in the car until I'am good and ready to take it out. I just might take the powersteering out.

 

What he said^

 

I love not having P/S anymore! And that huge hunk of metal that they call an A/C compressor looks good on the ground.