power steering kit car?

cameron11 · #1 31st May 2011, 18:17

Ive been having difficulty finding a lotus 7 style kit car, that I can fit power steering in. Has anybody heard of one or know a company that could do it?
I know the steering is quite light in kit cars and the engine bays are small, but I am disabled and therefore I need ultra light steering.

Any help would be greatly appreciated Thank You

chrislandy · #2 31st May 2011, 20:22

Hi, it depends on what the donor steering rack is. If it is a sierra rack or similar, then it should be simple to swap the racks, add the p/s pump to the engine, p/s header tank and associated hoses.

I do know of an electric freelander which because of the lack of engine to drive a p/s pump used the power steering unit from the new mini which is electric and quite compact, I believe it replaces part or all of the steering column and is a reasonable simple conversion for a competent mechanic/tinkerer. (but you would need to look into it a bit more as I've only had a cursory glance round it)

hth
Chris

tooslow · #3 31st May 2011, 21:45

Corsa Electric columns are popular choice as well.

cameron11 · #4 1st June 2011, 17:19

Thanks for the replies, just a few more questions.
Do you have any examples of which kit cars have been changed?
would it be easy attaching either to a ford donor car (that's probably what it'll be)?
Also last question, is it possible attaching the power steering ecu to the donor vehicles ecu?
Sorry for all the questions, mechanics isn't a strong point for me.
Thanks a lot

chrislandy · #5 1st June 2011, 20:05

if it's a mechanical p/s i.e. pump on engine driving to a hydraulic p/s rack then there's usually no ecu, I believe from talking to the guy who did the freelander, the mini electric p/s column just has power running to it (probably an ignition live too) and is self contained, you'd probably find the corsa column is too so apart from making the brackets to mount the racks properly they are probably simple conversions. As I said before though, it's 2nd hand knowledge from speaking to a guy who converted his freelander so I haven't done the conversion myself so don't know all the niggles (and there always is the odd niggle)
Chris

GreatOldOne · #6 1st June 2011, 20:40

Have a look here - this chap put power steering into his GTR:

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...read.php?t=566

As you can see, the electric PS is built into the column, not the rack - so it should be an easy retrofit. If I where you, I'd drop the chap a PM and have a chat as to the required connections - but off the top of my head you'd probably have switched power, a ground and some form of speed reading signal (pulses from the ECU or speed sender) to allow more or less assistance depending on the speed of the car.

GreatOldOne · #7 1st June 2011, 21:19

I've had a google around, and it appears that you may need a control box to fool the the column (most of them seem to be from Corsa's) into thinking it's attached to the ECU.

http://www.bodylogicuk.com/90265/info.php?p=7

That site also gives the wiring diagram for it all.

I've also read on other sites that these things draw a lot of power (~40 amps), so you'll need to make sure your alternator and wiring is up to snuff.

GreatOldOne · #8 2nd June 2011, 08:52

This seems to contain the distilled wisdom of the ancients regarding electric PS:

http://www.16vminiclub.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=16507

Cheers

Jason

cameron11 · #9 5th June 2011, 16:34

sweet so it's possible to fit ps, the only problem now is which kit car can definitely fit a ps column. any ideas thank you

chrislandy · #10 5th June 2011, 17:25

I think the question you should really be asking is which car you feel comfortable in, can get in and out of easily and whether you like the drive rather than which kit can fit a ps column. it will be pursuaded to fit anyway so ther original question is moot really.

cameron11 · #11 5th June 2011, 19:08

so inn yyour opinion i could squeeze ps into any. i understand about trying the cars, but that is not an option, because I need an automatic transmission and ps. Thanks for advice though.

chrislandy · #12 6th June 2011, 06:32

are you looking to buy a ready built & registered car to modify or getting one built from a manufacturer?

If you can, at least try a few in the passenger seat to make sure you will be able to use it and like the ride, some can be quite harsh, others a bit sloppy so it's personal preference. the pictures of the ps units indicate they are quite small so it would fit quite nicely in my Shelsley T2 or my Burlington Arrow, it would probably fit ok in the Marlin 5exi and other mid engined cars. wrt 7 type, you (or a friend) need to look at the models available and assess whether there is enough space before or after the front bulkhead to fit the side protrusion from the ps unit.

The next step really is to chose a few cars you like then take the measurements or the ps unit (or get an idea of the dimensions) and checking them against the different cars.

Chris