power steering

[ozzie84]

well i got my miata and is now my dedicated dd, but i do want to eventually autocross it someday,
right now i dont have power steering, but im kind of wondering if i should go back to ps? and if so, how hard is it to install and find the parts needed?

[strathound]

Wish mine didn't have ps. Feels like a race car. Drove an Elise in Vegas. No ps. Greatness.

[black roadster]

I switched to power steering a while back and prefer it to the manual rack. You will need the power steering rack, pump and bracket, power steering hoses and power steering oil cooler line. Install is involved but can be done by the DIY mechanic. Obviously you will need an alignment when you're done. Hardest part for me was getting to the rack bracket bolts on the driver's side. Plenty of cursing was done.

[rmonheim]

Maybe a depowered ps rack. You get the faster ratio for autocross, but better feedback. My '94 had ps but I depowered. Its actually helped me stop overdriving in autocrosses because I have a much better sense of the grip. I dd mine and dont have any effort issues.

[OZMDD]

I prefer the R pack manual rack.

[Rogue]

I prefer the R pack manual rack.

Me too, but my wife likes PS.

[ozzie84]

guess ill start looking for the parts to get this going then..thanks yall

[Rob®]

I have everything for a 1.6l but the cooler and the actual rack. So I have the pump, lines, reservoir, et al.

I was gunghoe on saving my PS on my last turbo redo. I mean steadfast on keeping it: I spent months of back and forth making sure the prototype fit with it (at least 6 that I can remember offhand, it was probably closer to 8 in reality). Then it got to the point that it was keep the PS or just get the car running. So I did the "ghetto" loop-the-lines depower method. I love it. Wish I wasn't so stubborn literally a decade ago. I'll be doing the "real" depowered rack over this winter, with the pinion shaft welded, that's how much I don't miss the PS at all. The only time I even notice it is from a dead stop. Anything over 5mph or so, it's a non-issue. Bigrsturbo (Ash) auto-xed my car with the quick and dirty depowered-PS method and from what he told me, pretty much agrees. At highway speeds, depowered feels infinitely better.

That said, I do indeed have everything you need except the power rack itself and cooler (which you can bypass or get an aftermarket cooler for).

[rmonheim]

I just did the proper depower/weld this weekend and the effort is noticeably lower (even on a 225mm RS3). I also had vorshlag weld the pinion, and it all feels tighter than the one manual rack I've driven (granted I think that car had a tie rod/ball joint issue). I can't wait to drive it in anger.