Honda Jazz Power steering upgrade
 

Hi All.
Can anyone give me some advice re the above. I have an AC cobra replica with a Jag front end. I was recently at a car show when a knucklehead know all bailed me up to slag off on jag front ends. He was raving about a honda jazz power steering conversion. I admit i really didnt pay much attention to him because of his poor attitude, but would like to know if there are any truths to his ravings. Cheers

Yes they work perfectly ,i think that knucklehead belongs to the melb cobra club,it's unfortunate you were not paying attention cause he knows his stuff

Without knowing either gentlemen involved, is it possible to get some more info on the modification please?

Treeve

Is it like the Suzuki ignus power steering thingy
Basically and electric motor that runs along side the steering column
When it feels the steering column turn it then spins this rubber wheel on a motor
And helps turn the steering shaft in the column
It is also speed sensitive
Easy to wire up about 4 wires

Suzuki Ignis 03 to 08 model power steering controller - www.rallywiz.com - (Powered by CubeCart)
They fit the electric motors to rally cars then u can buy the unit in the link above
To adjust how much help u want the motor to give

Mmmmmm........... Could you be the said knucklehead Elvis :3DSMILE: He shoulda been listening

Ah-ha! thanks Trung, just what we needed, the formula for the co-efficient of friction of the rubber wheel on the steering shaft. We'd be buggered without that.

So this 'knucklehead' has decided that 1970's technology can be improved, spent considerable time researching and testing an improvement, took the time to share it with you and all you can do is bag him out by anonymous post on a public forum?

Who's the real knucklehead?

Who knows....maybe the chap giving the advice wasn't very nice about it...nobody likes being told their car is crap, and "what you need to do is...."

I've been on the receiving end of some of these advice givers...not always pleasant....

Then again....I wasn't there so it could go either way.....

In any case,that power steering doover looks like it could be a good bit of gear.

Cheers,
Warren

Maybe he should have abit more than two posts before bagging someone
Anyway
I friend uses the Suzuki setup n his rally car. He loves it
Friends at SSS automotive bring in stuff from Japan and bring in these Suzuki units
For Motorsport people. And I think they are only around 150 bucks

This looks like a pretty neat set-up although it looks like you need a lot of room. Do you need the ECU also to make everything work?

I'm going to say it: it seems so easy. I think this looks like a great mod, very easy to do and would give some great benefits at very little expense.

Unfortunately the cynic in me then says "if something seems too good to be true, it usually is". So what are the downsides to this modification? What happens if you lose power to the unit, does the steering become very heavy? Do you lose any feedback by having the power assistance? (Although I guess you can just turn down the amount of assistance you get if that's what you're after).

This mod really ticks a lot of boxes for me; has anyone here actually done it / driven a car with it (and no, not just the Suzuki!)

Treeve

steering still works as im sure its not hard connected to steering shaft with a gear or something
imagine having a rubber wheel on a drill and rubber wheel is pressing on steering shaft in
steering column
once the rubber wheel feels any movement it then turns on and add extra force to trun the column
if it failed it would feel like your car does without it on
this unit is factory fitment on suzuki ignis so it will fail as much as any other part on any other car hehehe

There are similar systems sold in Brisbane:

Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS)

Bit expensive though.

The only thing I don't like about the mod is you miss out on one important advantage of switching to power steering: The improved rack ratio.

Regular power racks are fewer turns lock to lock than their manual equivalent. I guess you could install a power rack and just not connect up the hydraulics.

Cheers

Power steering in a Cobra? Sacrilege! What next? Power brakes? Power windows? Electric soft-tops? Colin Chapman always said that he'd never resort to power steering/ brakes, a sentiment echoed in later years by Gordon Murray. For them the answer lay in developing steering brakes and suspension to their ultimate and according to accepted engineering principles, and not hiding any faults or design shortcomings under the blanket of power assistance.

I read a comment by Brent Lykins recently that struck a real chord with me. He said that he regretted the fact that a lot of owners were trying to turn their Cobras into Corvettes with some of the modifications/"improvements" they were doing.

The genesis of the Cobra was a rough raw race car. We all know that. And we know that such a car does not translate easily to a useable comfortable street car. So we make them more friendly with soft seats, beautiful interiors, air conditioning (what?) weather protection, sound killing mufflers (regs) fuel injection (regs again) some even go for auto transmission,....and we move ever further from what the essence of a Cobra really is. Cup holders? Seriously? Stereo sound systems? I give up.

I've lusted after Cobras since Shelby first put them on the track. The sight and sound of Ken Miles' CSX 3002 at Lakeside in 1965 affected me like no other. The years passed and I read of the beauties available through Rod Leach's Nostalgia in the English mags. I'd resigned myself to enjoying the occasional ride in Craig's cars, since now that I'm retired the pay cheques have ceased, but when I saw Craig White's fantastic old Contemporary in all its rough old-school glory I knew that I had to have one, finances be blowed!

OK so I've compromised and had a tonneau made for my car but that's as far as it goes. To each his own, I know, and you can take these as the mutterings of a cranky old fart who pines for the glory days if you like, but some mods are just a step too far in my eyes.

I concur with most of what you say Don. Dont have a stereo or cup holders, but after driving a cobra of my make with and without power steering, the difference was significant. Not that the steering was heavy, but you get a quicker rack and "excessive feedback" through the wheel is gone. Best mod off standard I made to the car.

Cheers

I agree with a lot of what's been said but I like Andrew have driven a Classic Revival with and without power steering and it's a revalation.

I like to think on it this way... Back in the day the Cobra was one of the most high tech super cars out there. A 1964 version of the Ferrari Enzo or Mercedes SLS. It had 4 wheel disc brakes and rack and pinion steering. Early race cars ran with a steering box which regularly broke and let them down and they switched to rack and pinion, but regardles they were pretty high tech. They were doing cutting edge developments in aerodynamics with the Daytona and reaching incredible speeds.

So with that in mind why not put a bit of technology into your modern Cobra? I think Shelby would have if it was available back in the day. I guess it depends onf whether you are trying to replicate the original or just build a cool sports car. I put myself in the later category. I don't go in for creature comforts (no stereo or heater for me) but if it's for performance I'm there.

Cheers

The quicker ratio of my power steering dropped my lap times by at least a few seconds.
I reckon Shelby would be cool with that.

He was cool with autos too :)

My wifes VW Jetta has electric power steering and I have to say it takes some getting used to. It's dead in the center and has no real feel when driving straight. The electric assistance seems to shut down when you are going straight ahead or not turning and it doesn't react instantly when you turn the wheel.

Cheers