My Elio Alternate Project Is Underway.

[JEBar]

Doubtful, but I'll drive it before looking into it.

Can't see why it would need it with the low weight, and I think there's about 2" of scrub radius at the moment, which will help to keep the steering light.

reasonable enough .... over time we've owned small cars without power steering and can't recall one that was hard to drive

 

[Mel]

reasonable enough .... over time we've owned small cars without power steering and can't recall one that was hard to drive

I owned a 1956 Mercury, 4-door sedan without power steering. This is a heavy car and it did not need power steering. If the steering is designed correctly and you now how to drive, power steering is not necessary. i.e. One does not need to turn the wheels while sitting still!

 

[W. WIllie]

Vehicles today are going to electrical power steering and that works just as good if not better than the old fashioned pump type.
I agree with Mark, it probably won't need power steering due to weight and geometry.

 

[Mark BEX]

I owned a 1956 Mercury, 4-door sedan without power steering. This is a heavy car and it did not need power steering. If the steering is designed correctly and you now how to drive, power steering is not necessary. i.e. One does not need to turn the wheels while sitting still!

1950s large American cars had as much as 4" of scrub radius, that's why.

Scrub radius means the center of the tire is further from the center of the turning pivot.

If you hold a tire still and just rotate it on it's center pivot with your hands, you will find it hard to rotate because the tread is gripping, but if you put the tire on a stick and rotate it in a circle around you, it's very easy to turn. That's scrub radius.

And that is why scrub radius affects the weight of the steering in car parks and slow speeds.

Problem is the more scrub radius you have, the more the wheel deflects when you hit a bump because of the leverage factor, balance must be found, or add power steering.

This is the sort of scrub radius older cars with no power steering had (example only), you can picture in your mind that the wheel rolls around the steering axis (thick dotted line). Most modern cars have very little, and will leave blacks marks on the road when turning stationary, but the power steering overcomes that, and front wheel drive cars are mostly inside the steering axis for other reasons.

 

[3wheelin]

1950s large American cars had as much as 4" of scrub radius, that's why.

Scrub radius means the center of the tire is further from the center of the turning pivot.

If you hold a tire still and just rotate it on it's center pivot with your hands, you will find it hard to rotate because the tread is gripping, but if you put the tire on a stick and rotate it in a circle around you, it's very easy to turn. That's scrub radius.

And that is why scrub radius affects the weight of the steering in car parks and slow speeds.

Problem is the more scrub radius you have, the more the wheel deflects when you hit a bump because of the leverage factor, balance must be found, or add power steering.

This is the sort of scrub radius older cars with no power steering had (example only), you can picture in your mind that the wheel rolls around the steering axis (thick dotted line). Most modern cars have very little, and will leave blacks marks on the road when turning stationary, but the power steering overcomes that, and front wheel drive cars are mostly inside the steering axis for other reasons.

View attachment 25420

The more I follow your tread err, thread () the more I learn! Scrub radius will be a good conversation topic for my car nut friends.

 

[Mark BEX]

The more I follow your tread err, thread () the more I learn! Scrub radius will be a good conversation topic for my car nut friends.

Don't mention it to your wife though, the instant reply will be: "Well with all that knowledge, how about you start scrubbing some dishes and floors ...."

They never miss a chance ....

 

[3wheelin]

Don't mention it to your wife though, the instant reply will be: "Well with all that knowledge, how about you start scrubbing some dishes and floors ...."

They never miss a chance ....

that's were they excel aren't they?

 

[Ace]

it's nothing more than any handyman can easily do

After seeing all you are doing on this build, I wonder about your definition of "handyman".

 

[Mark BEX]

After seeing all you are doing on this build, I wonder about your definition of "handyman".

Was relative to the steering rack. One only has to disassemble it, make one cut with a hacksaw, and clean it, and that's it, or even easier, disassemble it, and slip the new internals into the old housings.

There is nothing in the chassis that any side street light metal fabrication shop can't make.

I'm just figuring the hard stuff to make it easy, you don't have to do that side of it.

 

[Mark BEX]

It's the little things that count.

One of the only issues left on the steering rack, is where the steel tube (black) sits in the now reversed pinion housing (red arrow), the issue being the steel tube is much smaller than the housing hole so is sloppy.
I have been scratching my head, and tried a number of methods of how to rectify it without modifying it, but today got a win!

A standard 32mm/1.25" threaded female water pipe connector is an interference hydraulic press fit over the steel tube, and the threads grip into the steel, perfect, no glues, no welding, no rivets or pins, and the large end needs just a touch on the grinder to fit into the pinion housing, and all for a $1 :-)