Usally P/S is for kit cars with really wide front tires, I personally don't think it is really needed on a Fiero. If your too old to turn the car without PS then your prob too old to be driving a sports car in the first place.
If you drive a car with 265 x 50 x15 tires on the front you might quickly see where power steering could be useful at low speeds (not required but useful). With a bit of luck, I hope to see if I can get one of the original factory EHPS systems installed and working this year but who knows if the electronics or pump will still function.
There's a rather timely discussion of the three distinct types of EPS, along with the models of cars they can be found in and the pros and cons of each type in the March issue of Car & Driver magazine, pages 24 & 25.
Did some searching around, and found this U-tube of an install of a Saturn Vue electric Steering in a Cobra Replica, for about $100 total invested. Worth watching- The Ebay controller ad is still up- more than 677 sold to date. I may have to go and try to find one of these an see what I can do!
Maybe 15 years ago myself and a couple other guys went to a rack rebuilding place in Chicago and looked at power steering racks. Most racks are rear steer. The rack is mounted behind the steering knuckles and the tie rods connect behind the cross member. Only a small amount are front steer like the Fiero. We did not really find much. Now like 15 years later there may be racks that have potential that did not exist 15+ years ago. One would have to do the same thing again.
Hmmm... here's a hydraulic PS rack on a Miata. Appears to be forward of the front wheels, and the mounting looks similar to the Fiero's.
Since finding and fitting a suitable rack is a large job, it still makes sense to get an electric unit in the shaft instead. (ignore circles - borrowed picture from a different thread)
EZ Electric has kits that fit almost anything - so under the dash of a Fiero may be feasible too. Unfortunately - they are very pricey.
how much wider is the fiero front end over a chevette, as they came with p/s
The Fiero is quite a bit wider than the Chevette, but a Chevette rack could be used with appropriate length inner tie rods and adjustment of mounting position, such that the pivot points remain correct for the outer tie rods. The Chevette rack gear is about 5-6" shorter than the Fiero rack gear.
The Saturn Vue motor will fit, just finished mounting one to the column tonight.
Still have to mount the control box, connect the column to the rack & waiting for the Ebay controller, was supposed to arrive Friday. I should have this running next weekend if everything goes ok.
AL68, would love to see / hear more details on how you mounted the drive to the bottom of the steering column. Did you use a coupler? Cut the stock shaft? ...... Create a mount of any shape? Did you use the stock VUE intermediate shaft for anything ( need to know whether to try and get that too when I go for the parts).
AL68, would love to see / hear more details on how you mounted the drive to the bottom of the steering column. Did you use a coupler? Cut the stock shaft? ...... Create a mount of any shape? Did you use the stock VUE intermediate shaft for anything ( need to know whether to try and get that too when I go for the parts).
I got the column w/o the wheel, switches and lock. Get the shaft to the steering gear (will need the u-joint at the column and upper shaft)
It's been a lot of grinding/cutting and modifying parts, more than I thought but it's working so far.
The mount at the bottom of the column is just a flat plate welded on. I used the lower part of the Vue column tube & a spacer sleeve I made to slide the motor into the column bottom to check clearances and find the best clock position for the motor.
Still working on the intermediate shaft, looks like I'll have to use the Fiero u-joint at the rack & the 3/4 DD solid shaft and a 3/4 DD connector. The Vue shaft at the column is .8xx diameter, will have to machine down to 3/4 and machine the flats to make a 3/4 DD shaft.
I've been taking pictures to document everything, will make a post once it's up & running ok.
When someone gets one of these column-mounted ones working, it would be nice to know what kind of noise the motor generates while in the highest load situations (car stopped and cranking lock to lock). I suspect there'll be a fair bit of whining noise especially for the ones mounted inside the car under the dash.
My concern is loss of feedback and the controllers that aren't changing the amount of assistance based on speed.
That is something that the original EHPS had and I think that I would be much more comfortable at higher speeds with this feature. I do not want to twitch the wheel at high speeds and have the steering change 10 or 15 degrees.
The Fiero is much more responsive to twitching of the wheel at higher speeds than any power steering car I've ever driven. I am starting to think that because of the lower steering effort of the Fiero that the controller currently available is probably adequate because it the unit works when it senses that the there is torque on the input side and helps once it gets to a certain threshold. If I'm coreect and that is how it works the steering effort should only decrease to whatever you've calibrated it for making it so it's not active at speed because the torque it reduced. Can anyone confirm these systems actually work off a vss signal in the vue?
Have not read this whole thread, so I'm not sure if this link has been passed. I found this on another site while reading about a guy who installed a LSX in a 914. He was looking for EPAS for his car. My first thought was PFF and then I see this thread on top. Here is the link: http://www.pacificcustoms.com/ac498700.html
I finished the Vue eps install & drove around a little tonight - feels great so far. No noise fron gear, at full assist a little twitchy at highway speeds, just a 1/2 turn on the controller adjuster feels good. Really nice parking/low speed turning. They should have build them like this from the factory. Going to drive more this week if the weather is good, will make an install thread soon if all is ok.
The Fiero is much more responsive to twitching of the wheel at higher speeds than any power steering car I've ever driven.?
I always thought the "twitchy" sensation is caused by the hot air lift up front. I've noticed that Fieros' that do not have some sort of vent up front (hood or side) for the hot air behind the radiator have "twitchy" steering at highway speeds. Once I got my hood vented that went away on my 87 GT. It's solid at speeds up to ( and maybe a little over ;o) 70 mph now.
Even when vented up front you feel a response when you move the wheel 1/4" back and forth unlike the PS vehicles I drive(one of the a 2012 sentra) that you can barely feel anything. I like the feedback and responsiveness from the fiero and would rather not lose that but still gain power steering.
Originally posted by jediperk: I always thought the "twitchy" sensation is caused by the hot air lift up front. I've noticed that Fieros' that do not have some sort of vent up front (hood or side) for the hot air behind the radiator have "twitchy" steering at highway speeds. Once I got my hood vented that went away on my 87 GT. It's solid at speeds up to ( and maybe a little over ;o) 70 mph now.
I never had any "twitch" sensation when driving on the highway in my stock GT as a result of no vent up front. When one of the ball joints was going bad and the suspension was worn out, there was a little bit. Or in very windy conditions. But in normal conditions, no such twitch.
Even when vented up front you feel a response when you move the wheel 1/4" back and forth unlike the PS vehicles I drive(one of the a 2012 sentra) that you can barely feel anything. I like the feedback and responsiveness from the fiero and would rather not lose that but still gain power steering.
Ok, that is different. When I think of twitchy I think of the steering wheel moving slightly back in forth when tracking a straight line. I have the WCF power steering kit running off my N*'s p/s pump and I did not notice any reduction in feedback through the steering wheel. My turning radius is tighter and faster though. I've let several other Fiero owners drive my car and all of them were "wowed" and impressed with the p/s. Have not driven a Fiero with Electric steering though. Would like to so I could compare the two...
The "twitchy" feeling I had wasn't a loose or wandering feeling (my entire front end was rebuilt less than a year ago), it's more like the steering feeling is amplified. If you rock the steering wheel side to side a little at 60mph the car normally darts side to side a little (a little more than most other cars) With the assist on full it darts to the side a little too fast. You can change lanes REALLY easy. If adjusted 1/2 way down it feels good, responsive but does not take off to the side too fast.
On one of the Mustang boards they are doing the EPS/VUE mod & someone named Slow-Poke has designed a speed controlled controller that works but due to legal / liability issues it looks like he's not going to sell them - this would probably work better than the manual controller. Don't need a lot of assist at higher speeds.
One thing I think remember from the one drive so far - driving on rough roads would make the car "bumpsteer" a little but I didn't notice it with the knob set at 1/2 way.
Want to drive more but have a problem came out this morning & the battery was dead. Traced it down to the alternator, charges a little low & has a 4.5 amp drain with the key off. I thought I heard a whine I didn't have before but it's been a few weeks since I drove it.
Looks like I'll be changing alternators this weekend & now they're talking snow here for Wed, Sat and Sun
On one of the Mustang boards they are doing the EPS/VUE mod & someone named Slow-Poke has designed a speed controlled controller that works but due to legal / liability issues it looks like he's not going to sell them
Someone posted it in another EPS thread, its on the Vintage Mustang Forums, you have to join to view posts. He talks about the controller legal info on page 40
Electric power assist steering has made huge improvements over the years. I would like to do the new electric steering rack on my next project. I drive a 2015 Fusion hybrid with an electric rack and it is better feeling than my F body rack swap. Amazing advancements.
I had a Chevy Cruze on a rack yesterday - it had a EPS rack. Was wondering if a RHD Cruze unit flipped around for LHD for the front steer Fiero would work?