srr

I'd like to hear any/everyone weigh in on whether I should get rid of the power steering and AC on my '88 turbo-vert project, and why or why not. I'm leaning very heavily towards removing them both, but your carefully considered opinions would be most welcome.

In my mind:

Pros - less weight and more power available to make the car go fast quicker, less stuff to repair or keep full of fluids, a cleaner engine bay, better under-hood airflow, development of massive arm muscles from parallel parking, and a great tan since the car will only be driveable with the top down in the summer.

Cons - possible heat prostration and/or severe sunburn on the hottest summer days, and most importantly to me - the possibility of messing up the the lubrication of the steering unit if I don't replace the power steering rack with a manual rack (has anyone experienced this problem?).

Thanks!

Smilodon

Having gone the "remove all parts other than the motor" route, I would say keep the A/C and power steering. Better to have them for comfort (thus better driving concentration) and safety (sudden low-speed parking lot idiot avoidance) and just slap on a header or turbo or whatever to get more power.

Shaving off stuff for power is useful after you have gone to the carbon fiber chassis and 1300lb overall vehicle weight, but unless you are racing on a track where every ounce counts, then why not have a car that is actually enjoyable to ride in and easy to drive?

edmcguirk

I personally prefer to remove the power steering. I like the feel and I don't find the low speed effort to be particularly difficult. Also I find the rare occasions when the power steering falters to be really annoying, I'd rather not have it at all.

However the pump doesn't weigh much and the drag is also negligable.

My race car doesn't have AC obviously but I would always keep AC on a street car even a convertible.

Losing both really opens up the engine bay but I don't really know how good it would be with AC and without PS.

ed

peejay

In order: Not so much as you'd think (ditching the clutch fan is much more of a gain, and even that gain is slight), see note one, who cares?, not so much as you'd think, i can barely tell the difference, and BS, I get heatstroke easy and I don't miss A/C.

Note One: If it works, keep it. If it doesn't work, well, you were going to remove it anyway... I pulled the A/C from my car because it didn't work, and the condenser was blocking airflow to the radiator enough to cause a mild fever when it gets over 80 degrees. The P/S had the belt off for quite some time after the notorious pump endplay problem reared its head and the pump self destructed. The bracket weighed more than the pump and lines. (This all on an '85 GSL).

Having no accressories cuts engine swap time in half, anyway.

Haven't had a problem, and I get heatstroke easy. Then again it only gets into the mid 90's here on any kind of regular basis, with only a couple recorded forays into the hundreds. And, haven't had a problem, but it is a good idea to loop the two lines from the rack together, do NOT plug them off!

edit: If I can work out a good method of adapting to the column, I'll be popping a quick rack in my car. A hair over 2 turns lock to lock, and 5.5 inches of stroke. Junkyard engineering at its finest. (NO it won't work in an FC, it's a rear steer application... well maybe if you turned it around it'd work for a RHD car!) I *might*, repeat, *might* need to put a power steering pump on the car.

Something important to keep in mind: 15" steering wheel, not some videogame 12" turd. Gives you better leverage.

brillo

Unless you building a track only car, and they both still work, I wouldn't. There are better ways to save weight that don't kill all the creature comforts, and the weight gain is minimal at best.

You guys can save some serious weight with a new exhaust and header, and get the performance benifits. In addition, so light weight tires could help as well. You can have clean and easy access enginebay with a new intake and electric fans.