p/s for drifting GTS

[Feint]

Can anyone name one Japanese pro that uses p/s? I haven't seen any so far.

[malcolm]

does it matter? I just think he should try to make do with what he has first, and see if he likes it. If, after quite some time, he doesn't like it, he can just disconnect it and try it without. I just think it's better to try it as is, so he's not making possibly redundant modifications.

[orange advan]

sure have... taniguchi's car at d1 media day. definitely had p/s. also observe some in car video's and notice how some driver's make minor corrects effortlessly or one handed while either downshifting or pulling the ebrake. driver's without p/s are constantly driving with 2 hands: corolla drivers.

[AlexPfeiffer]

Almost all the 240's run with power steering. Ueno with the soarer, imamura in the fd, they all run power steering.

most only the corolla guys with smaller tires go without, mainly cause the non power GTV rack is longer and gives more steering angle.

[Boro86driver]

so alex, you think its better to run power steering? (i have an AE86, and i understand more angle, but i'm discarding it for now) so why? don't you think its harder to get good road feel from the tires with power steer? cause thats what it seems like to me. when i have the tail out, and i'm countersteering, with the disconnected PS (i don't have the $$$ for the GTV rack yet) i can feel the correct countersteer angle better than i could when i had the power steering. granted, its way more work, but with the power steer i would tend to push right through the correct counter steer angle to the to much, then i'd have to correct back, and basicly it just wasn't smooth at all. so what do you think about that?

[NismoSigma]

Alex > God in a drift match.

[jasonaries]

I vote for a light touch with P/S.

Having only driven an AE86 as my primary car since I began driving, I can say that you can definitely get the feel of counter steering with P/S. I certainly HAD to develop that feel for driving on snow and ice. I wouldn't have figured it out if it weren't for malcome. He mentioned steering with the fingertips instead of the whole hand, which is exactly what I do in the car AND in an aircraft. Seems that some flight instructor explained that if you grab the aircraft controls or car steering wheel, the nerves in your hands don't transmit the subtle input needed to best control the vehicle- the tight grip deadens the senses. So, while feedback from a non-P/S car is more than that of a P/S equipped, you lose some input from holding on tighter. If you then apply the non-p/s technique to the other car, you're dead in the water. Just develop a light touch and give it some time and you should be all set.

[mranlet]

Even without power steering in my EF8, I still use my fingers to steer. If you're white-knuckled you don't have as much control.

Wheelbase, suspension design, steering wheel width, weight, and tire width all play a factor in the heavyness of steering. A car with 0 castor angle and no scrub radius will feel virtually no feedback with or without power steering. Medium width tires and no PS can be a good setup, like on a lot of the AE86's, but wide tires and no PS and too small a steering wheel can be tough to handle.

For those guys who just want more feedback, keep the PS but add some wider tires and/or spacers (which will increase the scrub radius). Additionally, you can dial in a bit more castor for a stiffer steering feel.

If you used to have PS and have since disconnected it, you're probably going to get more bump steer with a stiff suspension that if you have a non-PS car from the factory due to the differences in Castor angle, but this depends on the car.

Alex - is that why all those Corolla guys have Gorilla arms?