New steering rack and pinion

[Guest Lenny]

Done installing my Smart car electric rack and pinion. No electrics hooked up yet. This post is not about power steering but about the difference a new rack and pinion made on turning ease. My rack is geared so that I turn about 3 turns from side to side. This compairs to say 2 and bit more on the old stock rack. It provided a nice improvement in steering ease. My wife said it's just enough easier to feel a lot better. It's a smoother rack too which helps. It's mounted using the rubber gromets already on the new rack. This seems to add a softening effect and thus far I havn't noticed any negative effects. As far as the ability to trun as fast, I find can turn it easily just as fast because I'm not having to tugg on so much. Real happy with is as manual rack. Will be working with Kinarfi on electrically interfacing it with the steering wheel.

Lenny

[rocmoc]

I always thought that a higher quality rack would make all the diff in the world. Hopefully by this fall I will have the upgrade. Then the SHOCKS!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Guest Lenny]

I always thought that a higher quality rack would make all the diff in the world. Hopefully by this fall I will have the upgrade. Then the SHOCKS!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

With our big tires, you will still want to look at power steering. You might want to consider a electric of hydraulic rack that has the servo intergrated into the rack. Run it manual until you get around to power steering. Even though mine has the electric motor which turns, from me turning the wheel, the resistance is unnoticable. It's as if the motor weren't there. My new rack makes it a lot better but for our big tires, power steering is still needed, especially in 4wd locked out. Also keep in mind that my advantage didn't come solely from a better rack and pinion but a lot from a lower gearing between the steering wheel and the rack.

Lenny

[rocmoc]

Lenny, what is required to hook up the juice? Are all of the electronics integrated into the rack?

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Guest Lenny]

There are electronics in the rack but there ment to communicate with the cars computer. I'm quite sure that there are 2 sensors in the rack. One tells the computer which way your attempting to turn and the other sinces the torque your putting on the steering wheel. The computer then uses this information along with information from the speed sensor on the car to determine the amount of assist to provide. I'm not using the sensors in the rack because I don't want to attempt to get a computer to work with it. You need to be an industrial machine to computer interfacer and be able to write the control program. Don't want to go there. Kinarfi and I are currently developing a interface that will pretty much do the same thing as the cars computer. He is doing the electronic motor control development and I'm working on the part that will mechanically since direction and torque. We are pretty close and totally confident that when done it will work sweet. Knarfi is already using portions of the design with good suscess. This controller will ramp up the assist depending on how much assist is required. Currently Kinarfi turns his motor either on or off but with no ramping. When were done, it should feel just like the power steering in your car. You'll get to try mine and Kinarfis first hand at the jamboree.

Lenny