Power Steering; Electric VS Hydraulic (vehicles, engine, driver, lights)

[yowps3]

So what do you guys think? I personally don't like electric power steering, they literally feel dead, have no feedback what so ever and they make an annoying high pitched noise..

Not to mention they put too much load on the alternator..

[tstone]

I have a Malibu with electric steering and it is pretty numb. Real easy grandma type steering. I got used to it pretty quickly though. Also the high pitched whizzing sound only happens when you quickly turn the wheel from lock to lock, and it isn't noticable unless you are parked w/o the fan or radio running. As far as alternator load, I figured it can't be any worse than a small subwoofer. The subwoofer dims the lights as it hits. The steering doesn't dim anything. Also if you hold the wheel at the lock you don't get the typical stressed PS pump noise. To me, on a daily driver, having electric vs hydraulic steering is a non-issue.

[harhar]

Some electric PS units feel very good, some pump PS units ones don't.

Electric pumps are the way of the future, and most cars will be beltless in the near future.

[cwells3030]

Really depends on the car and it's use.

A family car with numb power steering is a non-issue.

Some manufacturers have figured out how to make a decent performance oriented electric power steering system and it is the way of the future so get used to it.

[Lux Hauler]

Hydraulic.

Originally Posted by harhar

Electric pumps are the way of the future, and most cars will be beltless in the near future.

I would have to disagree on the basis of efficiency and complexity, at least with an ICE. Conservation of energy... To utilize an electric pump you have to convert energy from mechanical to electrical then back to mechanical, energy is lost in conversion as heat. Also there is really nothing gained from having an electric pump.

The situation is opposite when your energy source starts off as electrical.

[harhar]

Originally Posted by Lux Hauler

Hydraulic.



I would have to disagree on the basis of efficiency and complexity, at least with an ICE. Conservation of energy... To utilize an electric pump you have to convert energy from mechanical to electrical then back to mechanical, energy is lost in conversion as heat. Also there is really nothing gained from having an electric pump.

The situation is opposite when your energy source starts off as electrical.

Disagree with the car makers, I'm just the messenger!

[iTsLiKeAnEgG]

There are performance oriented vehicles that have done quite well with an electrical setup. It's a relatively new mainstream power steering implementation and I'm confident that it won't be long before all vehicles that target a sporting driving character will have an implementation with good feedback. I've driven many hydraulic setups that were numb as well.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by harhar

Some electric PS units feel very good, some pump PS units ones don't.

Electric pumps are the way of the future, and most cars will be beltless in the near future.

I don't think most electric power steering systems use ANY pump. They use an electric motor. If it used a pump it would still be a hydraulic system.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by yowps3

So what do you guys think? I personally don't like electric power steering, they literally feel dead, have no feedback what so ever and they make an annoying high pitched noise..

Not to mention they put too much load on the alternator..

Too much load on the alternator? How much is too much? Is that worse than putting load on the engine? How does one decide which is better or worse?

Maybe only yours makes a high pitched noise. Mine doesn't make any noise.

[cdelena]

I agree, all of the cars I have driven with electric assist lack good feel... both of ours have it and we tolerate it. They are getting better but it will vary greatly with model... it is the way of the future so you just have to try each to decide.