Electric power steering

[Phillip Moores]

I dug through old posts to see what there was on this... there wasn't a whole lot.
What are peoples thoughts on electric power steering on a prerunner/play car, less than 1200 lbs. The Kartech guys were advising against it. The epowersteering.com guy was saying it would be perfect option, and that the Herbst guys use it on their prerunners. Anyone have experience with these??

 

[chatter_splatter]

Electric over hydraulic or electric rack?

 

[mgobaja]

I dug through old posts to see what there was on this... there wasn't a whole lot.
What are peoples thoughts on electric power steering on a prerunner/play car, less than 1200 lbs. The Kartech guys were advising against it. The epowersteering.com guy was saying it would be perfect option, and that the Herbst guys use it on their prerunners. Anyone have experience with these??

i believe the Herbst guys are currently using UTV's for prerunners, and most of those use electric power steering anyways, so dont let the name dropping sway your decision.

 

[bullnerd]

Try minibuggy.net

Search for Ragnar (car name) or flyerider (member name), I think he has some good info on it.

 

[Zambo]

I think it’s a good option. I have the epowersteering setup in my can am which weighs about 2k and it works great. It lets you dial in the gain so you can adjust how much assist it gives you. I only turn it up about halfway. Setup is very simple. Mount the electric motor, connect input shaft to steering wheel and output shaft to steering rack. Connect the small ecu to 12v power and you’re all set.

 

[JWHracing]

I sourced most of the parts myself, except for the wiring harness/control module. I bought mine from epowersteering.com

If you want to save a few bucks, 2002-2007 Saturn Vue and 2005-06 Chevy Equinox units is what most use. Mine is from a 2003 Saturn. I bought an entire steering column from a junkyard for $150, plus the Basic controller from EPS for $85. I got the controller that comes with the potentiometer to adjust how much assist the unit gives. The shaft on the unit is a weird size, 16.5 mm so it takes special u-joints, not your standard 5/8 or 3/4 steering shaft size. epowersteering.com has the joints with the correct 16.5 mm size if you go that route.

I have had mine installed for over 2 years, with a Saco standard rack. I have had zero issues with it in both race and play modes. I'm running a full bodied, pan class 5 with 33" tires. Has not had an issue and once I converted it, I couldn't believe I hadn't done it sooner. The adjust-ability with the knob is awesome too as I occasionally drive my car on the street and don't need full assist, but can easily turn it up drive the car with one hand and not be fatigued at the end of a race.

 

[Phillip Moores]

I pulled the trigger and installed the electric power steering, I need some more seat time to be fully convinced but so far it is awesome!