ek powersteering

[redefine]

the power steering in my ek is a little too light, i was wondering is there any straitforward way to adjust it to get a little more 'feel'. or alternatively, taking the ps out, is it easy enough, and is it viable as a daily?

[bennjamin]

essentially no. You could increase or decrease tension on the pump itself ~ more than likely cause premature failure.

If you are overly sick of PS - replacing the rack with a simple loop and breather isnt too hard , be warned it makes normal driving a tiresome exercise and only really for te hardcore guys who want a clean engine bay (ike myself)

[simonnowis]

i think its a general EK problem, i find the same issue of the steering being way too light to the point where its hard to predict which way the wheel is facing.
it would be best if you could ask a friend who has no p/s in their car to experience how daily driving without p/s would be like.
i drove my friends old barina no p/s and steering while rolling is not too bad, but parking and u-turns are a pain.

[Mugen Civic]

I quite like the light steering of the EK's. Helps with the quick movement to correct when loosing tire traction. But then, I use 215 width tires so its more noticable if there is loss of traction in the steeing.

[nd55]

> Helps with the quick movement to correct when loosing tire traction

IMHO that's going from 'too much' to 'too little' 'too quickly'.
no pun intended with the too's.

> it would be best if you could ask a friend who has no p/s in their car to experience how daily driving without p/s would be like


The simple method - removing the power steering pump belt is reverse-able, so try it out.

It's a real dog to drive at parking speeds, but I really like it otherwise so I put up with it.

It's possible to improve the low speed steering by looping the power steering hoses to bypass the pump, but that's a LOT more involved.

Nick.

[beeza]

I tried that,taking the belt off OMG! what a difference! Too much for me.I understand what your saying about being too light but I find it perfect.At higher speeds,say on the track,it will make for easy little adjustments when cornering.I have a shoulder injury too so....but I do know what ya mean,it makes the car a bit 'toy' feeling,like too easy to drive :)

[simonnowis]

wonder if theres a difference in the ek9 p/s, if this is only a base model issue.
another bonus is you dont have to have two hands on the wheel all the time like when your down shifting at last min for a turn.
imo if ek had bit stiffer p/s it would be ideal, i find the fd civic steering very responsive.

[vinnY]

shot in the dark, but got a wheel alignment lately?
can affect steering response and feel

[bennjamin]

simply removing the belt can give a indication of how no-ps would feel , but this can cause damage and failure to the ps pump and rack. Besides , a proper loop and breather with sufficient fluid to displace around will feel much better than simply removing the belt.
As mentioned , try and find someone who has it don first and judge from there.

[beeza]

Yeah,I was like 'if this is how it is,why the bloody hell would you choose that over power steering...it's heavy as with just the belt off!

[redefine]

yeah, i got an alignment not too long ago.

i'll try and find someone, but if not, i think i'm gonna bypass the pump and see how it feels

i guess the ps is pretty good that you dont have to do any work for it, but i dunno if its my cup of tea