Light weight wheels and tires vs. steering feel
 

I have a question for those of you with light weight wheels / tire combos.

I have the stock wheels with light weight tires ~22lbs each, and I've noticed that my steering effort under low speed almost seems to light. I had some issues with a connector to the steering rack that caused my system to go into overboost, but i got that fixed. Compared to a friend with the exact same wheel / tire combo, his steering seems heavier and better weighted. At speed, the steering feels accurate.

I do have the MS suspension, which may effect the camber/caster slightly, but I don't remember feeling the steering was to light until recently.

While on the subject, anyone know how to disable the power steering? Is there a fuse you can pull? I'd like to check the steering without it if possible.

22 lbs tires. Sounds like that's your problem. Sidewalls too thin.

you have the same tires size as stock?

the power steering on my dads old "gas saver" just went out and its horrible, dont cut the fuse lol

I had to look it up, but my Dunlops are actually about 24lbs I believe, still 3lb lighter than the stock tires

The 8 doesn't have power steering.

Don't post if you don't know what you are talking about. You will confuse others.

Haha, yeah but seriously, it has electric steering. There is no power steering pump like on most cars. I'll find you a link.

Electric power is still power. What the 8 does not have is hydraulic power steering. It has electric power steering. I don't think you would be able to diagnose a power steering issue by pulling the fuse/relay to the power steering. Manually steering a car set up for power steering is not easy. What PSI are you running in your tires compared to your friends? Your previously overboosting power steering might be still slightly above norm. If you crank your tire pressure up or he runs his low, there will also be a difference in effort required.

"Electric power is still power. What the 8 does not have is hydraulic power steering. It has electric power steering."

My bad.

think, then type..

it is not non assisted..


beers :beer:

I have 17.5 pound TC005s on 26 pound AD07s for a total of 43.5 pounds. My stock wheels with Dunlops probably weigh around 46 pounds right now (22.5 pound wheels plus 5-6/32nds of wear on the Dunlops so probably 23.5 pounds extrapolating from Grassroots Motorsport weighings of shaved tires). Even though the difference is only 2.5 pounds, the change in steering effort is very noticeable. Even though my TC005s are 42 offset, the lighter wheel and tire combination still makes the steering a lot lighter. I'm guessing the RX-8 is just that sensitive to lighter wheels.