Manual Or Power Steering?

[skygazer6033]

Actually one of my concerns is not that the Elio will be hard to steer but the possibility that it may be too easy. Very light weight and very narrow tires could make it very susceptible to longitudinal road irregularities making it squirrely at higher speeds. One of the side effects of hydraulic power steering is hydraulic damping which helps damp out the tendency of the tires to follow ridges in the road. Hopefully all this will be sorted out with the E-series.

 

[goldwing06]

Actually one of my concerns is not that the Elio will be hard to steer but the possibility that it may be too easy. Very light weight and very narrow tires could make it very susceptible to longitudinal road irregularities making it squirrely at higher speeds. One of the side effects of hydraulic power steering is hydraulic damping which helps damp out the tendency of the tires to follow ridges in the road. Hopefully all this will be sorted out with the E-series.

well, actually, what i was hoping is that someone would bring up the front wheel drive and manual steering. irregularities in the road surface or traction issues, can feed back in to the steering much easier without the isolation of power steering. i don't see this as an issue but for folks who have never driven manual steering with the pulling front wheels fighting the tract on rain grooves or other surfaces, it may be disconcerting to some extent.

 

[MASCMAN]

Everyone has at least a year to work on this problem!

No excuses! Let's get moving!!

We're gonna pump you up!

 

[pete.d]

It used to be that no small car had power steering: Pinto, Capri, Vega, Valient, Honda, Datsun, Toyota, VW, etc (the Elio is lighter than all of those). I liked it that way too; the early power steering set-ups had sloppy on-center precision and no "road feel". Real trucks had no option for power steering. The designs have gotten better, but there's still a lot of extra weight; no motorcycle has (or needs) power steering. As far as the muscular effort required, my wife learned to drive on a standard-shift manual-steering manual-brakes full-size Chevy with no complaints, and she preferred it that way all her life. Power steering is for little girls.

 

[Jim H]

Well, hello to the board. After following Elio's progress for the last year, I decided to reserve one for 100 all in this week. I am in the cult.... I have driven with power steering my whole life. Can someone tell me what it should feel like driving a elio w/o it. Since the autocycle is only 1200 pounds, does it really need it. How much extra would it have cost if they put power steering in it. Thanks.


Moderator Comment: Merged into existing power steering discussion

Welcome from New Mexico and to the forum where you will find the latest and most complete information about the Elio. HJope you find it informative, rewarding and entertaining.

 

[zelio]

It used to be that no small car had power steering: Pinto, Capri, Vega, Valient, Honda, Datsun, Toyota, VW, etc (the Elio is lighter than all of those). I liked it that way too; the early power steering set-ups had sloppy on-center precision and no "road feel". Real trucks had no option for power steering. The designs have gotten better, but there's still a lot of extra weight; no motorcycle has (or needs) power steering. As far as the muscular effort required, my wife learned to drive on a standard-shift manual-steering manual-brakes full-size Chevy with no complaints, and she preferred it that way all her life. Power steering is for little girls.

Ouch! That is being very judgmental on your part. I don't anticipate needing power steering with the Elio but also have two bone on bone shoulders due to old injuries that just might change that impression. This forum has a lot of us more mature drivers whose situations have changed over the years. Needing power steering should not be a barrier to driving this wonderful vehicle. That is my totally biased and most definitely not at all humble opinion. :-) Z

 

[ElioDigger]

With the light weight you will most likely not notice the lack of power assist.

 

[Yogi Leigh]

My 89 jeep wrangler did not have power steering either and I had no problems. It did come with a heater but no radio. The only person who complained about it having no PS was my 5ft tall sister who I tried to teach how to drive a stick. She could not turn it when stopped she could not shift it either so, after a few minutes she just gave up.
The lack of power steering is the least of my worries about this project.

For all those wondering about my picture it is of my little 25lb Puggle (pug, beagle mix) dog who used to be a stray and has buckshot in her. I or my vet did not know this until she was
X-rayed for a bad knee. She used to chase cows before I got her.

Chaz, you are definitely a dog lover with a heart.
I'm sure that little puggle is happy to live in a safer environment. There ought to be more caring people like you!
Dog lover, and Elio owner....doesn't get much better than that.

 

[Chaz]

Chaz, you are definitely a dog lover with a heart.
I'm sure that little puggle is happy to live in a safer environment. There ought to be more caring people like you!
Dog lover, and Elio owner....doesn't get much better than that.
View attachment 2673

Thanks for the kind words, here is a picture of my "lucky" pets. Millie the puggle(black dog), Mo half Boston terrier and my tortoises Fred and Ethel. The dogs will fit in my Elio the tortoises will not. By the time I get my ride the turtles will most likely be around 80 or 90lbs.

 

[Snick]

Actually one of my concerns is not that the Elio will be hard to steer but the possibility that it may be too easy. Very light weight and very narrow tires could make it very susceptible to longitudinal road irregularities making it squirrely at higher speeds. One of the side effects of hydraulic power steering is hydraulic damping which helps damp out the tendency of the tires to follow ridges in the road. Hopefully all this will be sorted out with the E-series.

Proper toe alignment and tread design can sort most of that out.