Going about putting power steering in the car...

[Benny]

Boy Racer is an expert at doing these conversions, and he often has set-ups for sale.

Send him a PM.

[Garry]

It's a relatively simple process with no need to remove the engine. Probably the hardest part is splitting the tie rod ball joints.

[Matty]

It's a relatively simple process with no need to remove the engine. Probably the hardest part is splitting the tie rod ball joints.

and that is a very easy job, just pop the cones out with a hammer.

I did a PS retrofit in my driveway. My writeup is in the miata.net Garage.

[Matty]

$400 from Mania a few years ago...

[lightyear]

You can buy mine for $100 complete. I took it out as it added too much weight to the car. And i noticed no difference to the effort without power steering. Except at stand still. I went on the track at sandown for the first time without p/s and was a bit carefull, but after half a lap i forgot all about it and didn't even feel any difference. So why would you go to the effort??

[rascal]

You can buy mine for $100 complete. I took it out as it added too much weight to the car. And i noticed no difference to the effort without power steering. Except at stand still. I went on the track at sandown for the first time without p/s and was a bit carefull, but after half a lap i forgot all about it and didn't even feel any difference. So why would you go to the effort??

Dave, you answered the question yourself....

[bruce]

Yup, power steering is only useful/noticeable at standstill or very low speeds. Great if you need to park a lot. But then the 5 is not a heavy car, so a little muscle at low speeds is not that difficult.

[Garry]

The MX5 I drove without power steering noticably loaded up mid corner, especially if you hit a bump mid corner. The steering weight is much more consistant with power steering.

[93_Clubman]

does anyone think putting power steering in it ruins the experience of the mx5? i know some purists prefer it without. bit divided on the situation, discuss lads

From memory Boyracer added power steering to at least a couple of his NAs & loved it. Likewise a few other forumites have commented they wouldn't drive an MX5 without it. I think it's a personal preference thing, but realise given your location it might not be easy for you to test drive a power steered NA6.

[Matty]

The MX5 I drove without power steering noticably loaded up mid corner, especially if you hit a bump mid corner. The steering weight is much more consistant with power steering.

QFT. The unassisted steering also "falls over" at full lock. Too much load at full cornering force, less direct ratio, nonlinear force buildup, no more real feel, insufficient development time by the factory... It's not good.

[Fatty]

The MX5 I drove without power steering noticably loaded up mid corner, especially if you hit a bump mid corner. The steering weight is much more consistant with power steering.

QFT. The unassisted steering also "falls over" at full lock. Too much load at full cornering force, less direct ratio, nonlinear force buildup, no more real feel, insufficient development time by the factory... It's not good.

i concur.

[Benny]

I've owned 5's with and without PS, but for me, the PS is a real boon and makes the car more enjoyable to drive, and a lot easier if you have to park a lot or are in heavy traffic.

Go for it!
You'll love yourself for doing it.
The PS rack is faster than the manual one too, so you need to turn the wheels less for a given corner.
It's also a lot easier and faster to correct tail slides with power steering too.

[Boyracer]

Just do it...much better with P/S.

[jules]

Now, there are 2 different types aren't there.
Early and later versions. I thought the later version NA8??? was the one to get

Jules

[Matty]

Now, there are 2 different types aren't there.
Early and later versions. I thought the later version NA8??? was the one to get

Jules

Yes, due to the sidetrack of designing the manual system demanded by the US dealers, development time was taken away from the 1.6 PS system. Some refinements were added to the NA8.

The NB system is more refined again, but not reverse compatible (without changing the front subframe)