Power steering kits.

A

Andre

Well-Known Forum User
Has anyone fitted power steering to there Z yet? Been looking it up as my mrs drove the car once before Christmas and complained about the heavy steering . Found a kit in the states for $1,600 without shipping and that's for a electronic kit . I've found a few options of different racks working from a subaru Wagon R and even the Mx5 was mentioned.

Anyone else looked in to it or found anything that would work?
 
morbias

morbias

Well-Known Forum User
I've got a kit put together by Rocky Auto, it uses what looks to be a type of Suzuki Ignis column and a gearbox speed sensor from jdm-car-parts.com. An electric EPAS column is the way to go imo, much easier to fit than a rack conversion and better feel and fewer drawbacks from what I've read.

The good thing is it uses a smaller motor than the popular Corsa units so it takes up way less room in the cabin and can be mounted the other way (pointing towards the door), basically it doesn't interfere with the air pipes from the heater. It offers a pretty good amount of assistance when standing still too, turning the wheels is a one finger job and of course draws less power than the Corsa motor. Bearing in mind I have 225s on the front I'm pretty happy with it. It uses the same ECU as the Suzuki Wagon R option you mentioned. Not sure of the maximum draw but it's fused for 30A so I'm hoping the 60A 280zx alternator I have will keep up with it alright, otherwise I might have to look around for something bigger.

It had a fault with it when I got it where someone had been fiddling with the calibration pot and put it totally out of whack, only just got it figured out and it's working great now. Ended up buying another Ignis column, ECU and controller module to troubleshoot but didn't even need them :unsure: so if anyone is looking to do a conversion I have some working parts that will be going on ebay soon! And thanks Wyn for the help, logged in here to PM you but by a stroke of coincidence this thread popped up :thumbs:.

I've only tested it with the car standing still but the assistance feels perfect; it's not too much but is enough, if that makes sense. I reckon it reduces the effort needed to turn the wheels by about 50% standing still, I've also fitted an override switch so it can be turned off completely and with it off it feels no different to the original column.
 
S

Stockdale

Club Member
For me the absence of power steering is one of the appeals of owning a car more than 40 years old. Also like non-electric windows, no air-con, rattles, whines and the smell of raw pollution from the exhaust !! :driving:.
 
datsun dave

datsun dave

Club Member
I have the Corsa system fitted into my car and unless you look under the dash it's all hidden apart from the main control box and does not interfere with any of the original equipment, it's a great bit of kit and fully adjustable and I have 245 tyres on the front.
 
Wyn

Wyn

Club Member
As above I fitted a home made Corsa "B" power column to mine about 6yr ago?
Works well for what it is an tbh I can't fault it, esp at the cost which was not a lot !
For sure for me I wouldn't be without it :thumbs:
 
K

kev64

Well-Known Forum User
Stockdale said:
For me the absence of power steering is one of the appeals of owning a car more than 40 years old. Also like non-electric windows, no air-con, rattles, whines and the smell of raw pollution from the exhaust !! :driving:.
Click to expand...

:lol:I love the smell of high octane in the morning smells like the Z is going out to play !!!:D:D
 
A

Andre

Well-Known Forum User
I did a search on here and the net and mainly bought stuff up from the states which is no good really.

What sort of cost are we talking if I stick to something simple that will work well enough ?
 
Wyn

Wyn

Club Member
Andre said:
What sort of cost are we talking if I stick to something simple that will work well enough ?
Click to expand...

Assuming you have a spare Z column to cut up then in terms of parts required possibly £100 for the bits, depending on column used ?
The rest you do yourself or farm out to mates lol
 
johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
I had never considered it required on my Z and really like the feel when cornering. It is quite heavy at very slow speeds. I've never tried to turn the stearing on the spot as I feel it puts a lot of strain on the car. Since hurting my neck I've started to consider it again but I do not want to loose the feeling at speed.
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Terry has PS on his Blue car and he can switch it off and drive with original feel I think.
 
Wyn

Wyn

Club Member
Don't forget you can turn the "power assist" up or down depending how you like it !

tbh, once set I leave mine be, but I can simply adjust the control knob up or down if needs be.

Few pics for those who haven't seen
Look close you can just see the p/s motor above the brake/clutch pedal and little blue control knob for adjusting the p/s assistance in the dash below the stereo.
 

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jonbills

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
sticking this in google or bing should find the threads on power steering.

site:zclub.net/forum power steering
 
datsun dave

datsun dave

Club Member
Rob Gaskin said:
Terry has PS on his Blue car and he can switch it off and drive with original feel I think.
Click to expand...

Most system are all adjustable from 10% all the way to 100% mine also has a speed sensor in the front hub and the faster the car goes the more the electric PS backs off.
 
Ian

Ian

Club Member
I love the feeling of my car without it (apart from parking) and wouldn't want to loose that but since you can switch the system off and have it feel same as original then I guess I don't have to worry about this and it could be useful to have. I'm worried about not being able to catch the car if it steps out quickly due to heavy steering which is the main reason I am considering it. What are peoples opinions on this? More from the members running big power.


Only real downside I guess would be added weight, which I hate, how much roughly does the system add?
 
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