Lighten up my steering

[Jameel]

I'm looking for ideas on how to lighten up the steering effort in my '83 SC.

Here's my baseline:

380mm steering wheel (stock diameter)

Complete suspension rebuild to stock 4 years ago.

Turbo tie rods

I completely rebuilt the steering rack and regreased using the same wheel bearing
grease I used in my front wheel bearings.

Don't have a bunch of weight in the trunk. Maybe 10-15 pounds of stuff like a small folding chair and some detail spray.

6" stock Fuchs up front

Lowered just a hair below Euro.

-----

I have driven several 911's of this era, and mine is by far the heaviest. My friend has a stock '81 SC and it steers like an early longhood. I just can't figure out why. The cars are nearly identical.

What am I missing? Any tips? This is like the last piece to make my car exactly what makes me grin from ear to ear. Thanks brothers and sisters.

[Dpmulvan]

Did you replace steering column bushing/ bearings?

[GH85Carrera]

Going back to the stock size front tires will help the most. The cars were designed for the smaller less performance tires of the 70s and 80s. Drive one that is box stock, and you will notice nice light steering.

Mine is pretty heavy in a parking lot. If I am rolling more than a few MPH no problem at all.

[Jeff Burger]

1. do the wheels turn easily with the weight off them ?

2. how sticky are the tires? look at tire pressure and raise to a higher level.

3. check alignment - reduce castor to min. the more castor the more it wants to keep going straight.

[RSTarga]

reduce caster

[Bill Douglas]

Put 36psi of air in the front wheels and go for a drive. If the steering is still heavy you have problems If the steering feels quite good work your way back with psi until you find what you are happy with.

I lubricate the bearings in the steering column.

[Jameel]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Did you replace steering column bushing/ bearings?

Yes I think so.

[Jameel]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Going back to the stock size front tires will help the most. The cars were designed for the smaller less performance tires of the 70s and 80s. Drive one that is box stock, and you will notice nice light steering.

Mine is pretty heavy in a parking lot. If I am rolling more than a few MPH no problem at all.

I'm running stock size. Pilot sport AS3+

[Jameel]

Originally Posted by Jeff Burger

1. do the wheels turn easily with the weight off them ?

Yeah same as other SCs I work on.

2. how sticky are the tires? look at tire pressure and raise to a higher level.

Pilot Sport AS3+ at stock 29psi

3. check alignment - reduce castor to min. the more castor the more it wants to keep going straight.

Alignment is good and as close to factory spec as adjustment allows.

[Jameel]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Put 36psi of air in the front wheels and go for a drive. If the steering is still heavy you have problems If the steering feels quite good work your way back with psi until you find what you are happy with.

I lubricate the bearings in the steering column.

Will definitely try this. How do you lubricate the bushings? Do I need to take the whole column apart?

[Jameel]

Originally Posted by RSTarga

reduce caster

I don't think it's caster because it's much heavier than other cars at parking lot speeds

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Jameel

Will definitely try this. How do you lubricate the bushings? Do I need to take the whole column apart?

Mine is a bit different to yours. It's a right hand drive and the smugglers box is smaller. But I can see a universal type joint in there where it sits in a bushing or bearing cover. I oil that. Strangely it makes quite a difference.

[fintstone]

Sounds like a steering rack issue. Maybe this thread would give you some ideas.

Steering stiff after rack rebuild

[LJ851]

Tight upper strut bearings and or ball joints can cause a lot of friction in the steering.

[Jameel]

I been thinking about this lately. Here's some pics of my rack rebuild. I'm wondering if anything stands out as off? I used Mobil NLG1 grease. I also have video where I tested the movement with a torque wrench and it measured at 6lb ft. So that's in spec. Seems like a lot of grease in there, but I figure it gets squished out....maybe I'm wrong.

[Jameel]

Well I did Bill's recommendation just now. Went out and pumped up my fronts to 34 psi and WOW what a huge difference 5 psi makes. I mean like night and day. This feels more like the longhoods and other SC's I've driven. What a great feeling.

So next question, do I need to worry about less grip up front? I do push the car from time to time, but not anything approaching 10/10. I'm thinking 5 psi won't matter much?

Thanks Bill for the suggestion!

[mepstein]

Lower the psi until it gets heavy.

[Billthebuilder]

Just go to the gym

[Evan Fullerton]

Castor, camber, and wheel offset have huge affects on steering weight.

6in Fuchs are a good start for lighter steering but if you have a lot of castor or very little camber, both of these will add steering weight. Castor is weight jacking the car when you turn the wheel. That’s why it has a self centering affect….. but too much of a good thing adds a lot of steering effort. More camber reduces the contact patch size when going straight and keeps the contact patch from being on the outer edge of the tire when cornering which increases your leverage over the contact patch making the steering feel lighter.

[blucille]

I had a universal joint in the smugglers box get stuff. Some heat and kroil got my steering feel back to normal.