Want steering feel?
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Originally Posted by vividracing.com' timestamp='1312999860' post='20865425
You could also use a switch on the line with a relay to give you the option of turn EPS on or off within the car.
On the other hand, it would give me the best of both worlds...
I took a girl out a few weeks ago in my S13. She was not feelin' it at first, I could definitely tell. Once I explained why it rode so stiff and why I didn't have a hood on it, she was still kinda "meh" about it. So I showed her some drift videos and explained THAT'S why the suspension is stiff. She thought it was really cool after that haha. The lack of hood was still not very cool, but oh well. I didn't have anyone to help me put it back on and I happen to think a fully tucked, stitch welded engine bay w/ custom paint and a custom painted block/head + polished valve cover looks awesome
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: concord
OP if you disconnect the speedometer wire that goes to the EPS unit so it only sees the RPM and not MPH then it will work at half of normal, the EPS light will still be on but it thinks the car is sitting still so it only works a little. The difference is like when you make a turn you can do it with one hand but not as easy and the wheel does not return to center like it would with EPS working.
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From: concord
Originally Posted by victory423' timestamp='1313013413' post='20866226
[quote name='vividracing.com' timestamp='1312999860' post='20865425']
You could also use a switch on the line with a relay to give you the option of turn EPS on or off within the car.
You could also use a switch on the line with a relay to give you the option of turn EPS on or off within the car.
On the other hand, it would give me the best of both worlds...
I took a girl out a few weeks ago in my S13. She was not feelin' it at first, I could definitely tell. Once I explained why it rode so stiff and why I didn't have a hood on it, she was still kinda "meh" about it. So I showed her some drift videos and explained THAT'S why the suspension is stiff. She thought it was really cool after that haha. The lack of hood was still not very cool, but oh well. I didn't have anyone to help me put it back on and I happen to think a fully tucked, stitch welded engine bay w/ custom paint and a custom painted block/head + polished valve cover looks awesome
[/quote]
Agreed, you could make an EPS on/off switch look OEM or you could hide it. Either way would be fine.
B.T.W. That's a great story! I lol'd. A true car nerd, you sir, are.
It reminded me of the video where the clueless playboy model trashes the manual transmission of an expensive drift car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSYigy-F1fk
P.S. you're lucky to know a girl that actually gives a shit about your car. The girls I know, the only thing they know about cars is whether or not it has a Mercedes Benz emblem on the hood!
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Are you sure what you felt wasn't just the Front Wheel drive of the other two cars vs. the S?
Having owned my 2003 S for 8 years now, I've always been bothered by the lack of steering feel.
What I mean by this, is that the light steering effort required to turn the wheel remains constant regardless of the position of the wheel or the speed of the car.
This became more apparent after I purchased a Ford Focus SVT (hydraulic steering pump) and a Mini Cooper JCW (electric power steering) as daily drivers. I preferred the heavier steering feel of these two cars, and the way that the steering effort "loaded up" the more I turned the wheel. I also preferred the additional vibration that came from the road through the wheel, particularly when the tires were at the limit of traction.
Although many people on this board have suggested turning off the electric power steering (EPS), I couldn't find a thread in which anyone had actually written about their driving experiences after having done it.
Today, I opened up the hood, and opened up the smaller of the two fuse boxes on the drivers side (US) of the engine bay. Fuse #33, a 70 amp fuse is screwed in with two phillips head screws. With the car turned off, I simply unscrewed the fuse and removed it.
The car started up fine and expectedly, the yellow "EPS" light came on.
Backing out of the garage and turning into the driveway was not as bad as I expected. I thought that the quick ratio no power assisted steering would be a workout, but it was no more difficult than non-power steering vehicles I had driven in the past. I had grown up driving lawn tractors without power steering and my first car was a non power steering 1982 Toyota pickup truck.
Pulling onto the street required some strength, putting my hand at the twelve o'clock position and pulling the steering wheel to make the 90 degree turn onto the street.
I decided to take a route that included country roads, highway, and city traffic.
The country roads were a revelation. Although steering effort was massively higher, I was able to "feel" every nuance of the road. On center there was no effort, but the more I turned the wheel through a turn, the greater the steering effort became. On slow 15 and 20 mph tight turns, I had to hold on with both hands and my arms definitely got a workout.
The highway was easy. At high speed, the steering required no effort and I could easily drive with the effort of only one hand. I did feel much more confident at high speed with the additional feedback.
City traffic was not too bad, but 90 degree turns at low speed intersections definitely requires two hands, concentration and effort.
At the end of my ride, I felt like I was driving a completely different car. I was very much exhilarated, not only by the novelty, but also by the sheer amount of stimulation coming from the wheel, previously masked by the EPS system. I felt so much more engaged by the car and like manual shifting vs automatic, the additional effort connected me deeper to both the car and importantly, to the road. Even though I was tired, it was the type of tiredness that comes after a good workout.
The s2000 is not my daily driver. I drive it on dry days mostly on winding country roads for fun. If I were to drive and park this car in the city on a daily basis, I would probably keep the power steering turned on. However, since I don't, I won't. I prefer things this way for now. I'll let everybody here know if I still prefer it in a month's time.
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for reading!
What I mean by this, is that the light steering effort required to turn the wheel remains constant regardless of the position of the wheel or the speed of the car.
This became more apparent after I purchased a Ford Focus SVT (hydraulic steering pump) and a Mini Cooper JCW (electric power steering) as daily drivers. I preferred the heavier steering feel of these two cars, and the way that the steering effort "loaded up" the more I turned the wheel. I also preferred the additional vibration that came from the road through the wheel, particularly when the tires were at the limit of traction.
Although many people on this board have suggested turning off the electric power steering (EPS), I couldn't find a thread in which anyone had actually written about their driving experiences after having done it.
Today, I opened up the hood, and opened up the smaller of the two fuse boxes on the drivers side (US) of the engine bay. Fuse #33, a 70 amp fuse is screwed in with two phillips head screws. With the car turned off, I simply unscrewed the fuse and removed it.
The car started up fine and expectedly, the yellow "EPS" light came on.
Backing out of the garage and turning into the driveway was not as bad as I expected. I thought that the quick ratio no power assisted steering would be a workout, but it was no more difficult than non-power steering vehicles I had driven in the past. I had grown up driving lawn tractors without power steering and my first car was a non power steering 1982 Toyota pickup truck.
Pulling onto the street required some strength, putting my hand at the twelve o'clock position and pulling the steering wheel to make the 90 degree turn onto the street.
I decided to take a route that included country roads, highway, and city traffic.
The country roads were a revelation. Although steering effort was massively higher, I was able to "feel" every nuance of the road. On center there was no effort, but the more I turned the wheel through a turn, the greater the steering effort became. On slow 15 and 20 mph tight turns, I had to hold on with both hands and my arms definitely got a workout.
The highway was easy. At high speed, the steering required no effort and I could easily drive with the effort of only one hand. I did feel much more confident at high speed with the additional feedback.
City traffic was not too bad, but 90 degree turns at low speed intersections definitely requires two hands, concentration and effort.
At the end of my ride, I felt like I was driving a completely different car. I was very much exhilarated, not only by the novelty, but also by the sheer amount of stimulation coming from the wheel, previously masked by the EPS system. I felt so much more engaged by the car and like manual shifting vs automatic, the additional effort connected me deeper to both the car and importantly, to the road. Even though I was tired, it was the type of tiredness that comes after a good workout.
The s2000 is not my daily driver. I drive it on dry days mostly on winding country roads for fun. If I were to drive and park this car in the city on a daily basis, I would probably keep the power steering turned on. However, since I don't, I won't. I prefer things this way for now. I'll let everybody here know if I still prefer it in a month's time.
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for reading!
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 297
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From: concord
Are you sure what you felt wasn't just the Front Wheel drive of the other two cars vs. the S?
Originally Posted by victory423' timestamp='1312769008' post='20856392
Having owned my 2003 S for 8 years now, I've always been bothered by the lack of steering feel.
What I mean by this, is that the light steering effort required to turn the wheel remains constant regardless of the position of the wheel or the speed of the car.
This became more apparent after I purchased a Ford Focus SVT (hydraulic steering pump) and a Mini Cooper JCW (electric power steering) as daily drivers. I preferred the heavier steering feel of these two cars, and the way that the steering effort "loaded up" the more I turned the wheel. I also preferred the additional vibration that came from the road through the wheel, particularly when the tires were at the limit of traction.
Although many people on this board have suggested turning off the electric power steering (EPS), I couldn't find a thread in which anyone had actually written about their driving experiences after having done it.
Today, I opened up the hood, and opened up the smaller of the two fuse boxes on the drivers side (US) of the engine bay. Fuse #33, a 70 amp fuse is screwed in with two phillips head screws. With the car turned off, I simply unscrewed the fuse and removed it.
The car started up fine and expectedly, the yellow "EPS" light came on.
Backing out of the garage and turning into the driveway was not as bad as I expected. I thought that the quick ratio no power assisted steering would be a workout, but it was no more difficult than non-power steering vehicles I had driven in the past. I had grown up driving lawn tractors without power steering and my first car was a non power steering 1982 Toyota pickup truck.
Pulling onto the street required some strength, putting my hand at the twelve o'clock position and pulling the steering wheel to make the 90 degree turn onto the street.
I decided to take a route that included country roads, highway, and city traffic.
The country roads were a revelation. Although steering effort was massively higher, I was able to "feel" every nuance of the road. On center there was no effort, but the more I turned the wheel through a turn, the greater the steering effort became. On slow 15 and 20 mph tight turns, I had to hold on with both hands and my arms definitely got a workout.
The highway was easy. At high speed, the steering required no effort and I could easily drive with the effort of only one hand. I did feel much more confident at high speed with the additional feedback.
City traffic was not too bad, but 90 degree turns at low speed intersections definitely requires two hands, concentration and effort.
At the end of my ride, I felt like I was driving a completely different car. I was very much exhilarated, not only by the novelty, but also by the sheer amount of stimulation coming from the wheel, previously masked by the EPS system. I felt so much more engaged by the car and like manual shifting vs automatic, the additional effort connected me deeper to both the car and importantly, to the road. Even though I was tired, it was the type of tiredness that comes after a good workout.
The s2000 is not my daily driver. I drive it on dry days mostly on winding country roads for fun. If I were to drive and park this car in the city on a daily basis, I would probably keep the power steering turned on. However, since I don't, I won't. I prefer things this way for now. I'll let everybody here know if I still prefer it in a month's time.
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for reading!
What I mean by this, is that the light steering effort required to turn the wheel remains constant regardless of the position of the wheel or the speed of the car.
This became more apparent after I purchased a Ford Focus SVT (hydraulic steering pump) and a Mini Cooper JCW (electric power steering) as daily drivers. I preferred the heavier steering feel of these two cars, and the way that the steering effort "loaded up" the more I turned the wheel. I also preferred the additional vibration that came from the road through the wheel, particularly when the tires were at the limit of traction.
Although many people on this board have suggested turning off the electric power steering (EPS), I couldn't find a thread in which anyone had actually written about their driving experiences after having done it.
Today, I opened up the hood, and opened up the smaller of the two fuse boxes on the drivers side (US) of the engine bay. Fuse #33, a 70 amp fuse is screwed in with two phillips head screws. With the car turned off, I simply unscrewed the fuse and removed it.
The car started up fine and expectedly, the yellow "EPS" light came on.
Backing out of the garage and turning into the driveway was not as bad as I expected. I thought that the quick ratio no power assisted steering would be a workout, but it was no more difficult than non-power steering vehicles I had driven in the past. I had grown up driving lawn tractors without power steering and my first car was a non power steering 1982 Toyota pickup truck.
Pulling onto the street required some strength, putting my hand at the twelve o'clock position and pulling the steering wheel to make the 90 degree turn onto the street.
I decided to take a route that included country roads, highway, and city traffic.
The country roads were a revelation. Although steering effort was massively higher, I was able to "feel" every nuance of the road. On center there was no effort, but the more I turned the wheel through a turn, the greater the steering effort became. On slow 15 and 20 mph tight turns, I had to hold on with both hands and my arms definitely got a workout.
The highway was easy. At high speed, the steering required no effort and I could easily drive with the effort of only one hand. I did feel much more confident at high speed with the additional feedback.
City traffic was not too bad, but 90 degree turns at low speed intersections definitely requires two hands, concentration and effort.
At the end of my ride, I felt like I was driving a completely different car. I was very much exhilarated, not only by the novelty, but also by the sheer amount of stimulation coming from the wheel, previously masked by the EPS system. I felt so much more engaged by the car and like manual shifting vs automatic, the additional effort connected me deeper to both the car and importantly, to the road. Even though I was tired, it was the type of tiredness that comes after a good workout.
The s2000 is not my daily driver. I drive it on dry days mostly on winding country roads for fun. If I were to drive and park this car in the city on a daily basis, I would probably keep the power steering turned on. However, since I don't, I won't. I prefer things this way for now. I'll let everybody here know if I still prefer it in a month's time.
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks for reading!
I've had a few of cars as daily drivers: toyota pickup (RWD), oldsmobile 88 (RWD), volvo 850(FWD), '99 civic(FWD). Some of those cars had more steering feel. I always thought it was the EPS which degraded the steering feel. Shutting it off completely confirmed it.
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 305
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From: South East Queensland Oz.
I would prefer heavier, slower steering, with a bit more feel. Fortunately it doesn't spoil the driving of my S2k for me, although it would if I did more high speed work.
Power steering can be good. I bought a Peugeot 306 Convertible a while back. The steering was great, not too fast, got heavier the more wheel you put on, & the faster you went. It even got suddenly very light, when you hit a 30 Ft wide inch deep patch of water in a bend. In that case it got light just as it refused to pay any attention to which way the wheels were pointing. Just as well I wasn't going too quickly.
I knew there was some reason I should not have bought a front wheel drive. The steering was good, not the chassis.
I still get water on the road sometimes out here in the bush, but the little Honda doesn't pay much attention, provided I don't give her too much throttle at the wrong time. Good little S2k.
Power steering can be good. I bought a Peugeot 306 Convertible a while back. The steering was great, not too fast, got heavier the more wheel you put on, & the faster you went. It even got suddenly very light, when you hit a 30 Ft wide inch deep patch of water in a bend. In that case it got light just as it refused to pay any attention to which way the wheels were pointing. Just as well I wasn't going too quickly.
I knew there was some reason I should not have bought a front wheel drive. The steering was good, not the chassis.
I still get water on the road sometimes out here in the bush, but the little Honda doesn't pay much attention, provided I don't give her too much throttle at the wrong time. Good little S2k.
Joined: May 2004
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From: west hills
Is this true? Anyone with EPS off find it almost impossible to make quick and sudden steering maneuver?
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Originally Posted by 99SH' timestamp='1313207789' post='20874032
I wouldn't do it for a street car. Without the EPS, making a quick steering maneuver (to avoid an accident for example) would be impossible and put you in greater danger.