That was my original statement in another thread about "some need the car to yell at them and some only need it to whisper". I daily drive my FD, autox it two to three times a month and track it every few months. The power steering feedback on the FD is wonderful. Some people just can't react until they get banged over the head with something; they have not learned to be sensitive.

If your knuckles turn white or your hands get sweaty you're strangling the danged steering wheel; loosen up (that goes for the shifter too). Do you ever feel your abs get real tight, your thighs tense, or your forearms get sore? Ever notice how the feeling in your hands begins to lessen if you squeeze something tightly for a few minutes? Relaaaaaaax. As for humans getting better feedback through force rather than displacement that is true. But when your muscles are under stress and tiring they are not sensitive to small changes; fatique is a much bigger problem. Everything in the body goes downhill once the body begins to tire.

IMO removing the p/s to get feedback from the car is like installing a short shifter so you don't miss shifts (and I have hated everyone I have driven; they are all notchy and stiff as hell. Haven't tried the Mazdaspeed though). If you need either to drive the car to its limit your fixing the wrong problems. The problem is the nut behind the wheel as we say

 

There is no reaction until getting banged over the head. You feel the onset EARLIER of what one typically needs to "react" to with a manual setup anyways.

Hey, you can stick with your power steering and semi-truck shifting and some of us will stick to our big-meanie 900 lb*ft required manual setups w/ 1 cm long shifters.

 

I strongly agree and also disagree with you. I agree with the fact that many people just don't get the feather and feeling you must pay attention to when braking, turning, and really even shifting/accelerating. Some do need to be screamed at.

I disagree with your comments about short shifters as well as the steering. The fact that the converted power steering is too difficult is true. Power steering with the pump removed is 'rigged' manual steering. You are still pushing fluid around. But that isn't the 'real' way. I was *really* surprised at the difference between the manual rack and the converted power steering rack, and also compared to the original power steering itself. The car is *MUCH* more responsive and has a considerably more sensitive feel of the road with the manual rack vs the converted OR the original power steering. I can still correct quickly, still parallel park, and girlfriends can still drive the car with ease. I have a much more sensitive feel of the road, nothing like the white knuckle grip you are thinking.

As for the short shifter, how slow do you shift? In an unmodifyed car I can see where you might not need it, but when 1st and 2nd are gone in a blink; it just doesn't cut it. Not to mention heavy downshifting coming into a hard corner, I can downshift so much crisper. A longer throw not only goes against basic logic and physics, but also most racing venues as well. It is done for a reason. Heck, as is the lack of power steering in a race car, while we are at it And, yes Autocrossing power steering might be quite helpful. Once you start actually racing the car though, at speed where the FD is supposed to be........the game is much different then a parking lot session.