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HybridZ

Electric Power Steering


Mike Mileski

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Gary,

Do you have any good pics of the unit installed in your car?  I'm curious how it sets in between all the stuff on the drivers side of the engine bay.

Thanks

Not sure what you are asking here - the power assist hardware is on the new steering column assembly.  It all goes under the dash.  Everything past the rag joint is stock in the engine bay.

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As you can see from the pics above, it is a relatively easy install and doesn't get in the way of anything.  It has a dial so you can regulate the amount of assist from stock (zero) to easily turning the steering wheel while parked.  Definitely the way to go over messing with adapting a rack and adding hydraulic lines and ps pump.  

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That is one slick-looking item and installation....I need one!  Had a local autocross recently where there was a particularly tight/low-speed 180 and it was just KILLING me to get the car rotated correctly and quickly while all the other guys with "newer technology" (read "power-steering, etc") were zipping through it.  

Thx for sharing.

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  • 1 month later...

I intend to get an EPAS kit for my 240Z and at this point there appear to be two clear choices for a 'bolt-in' kit. There's the one sold by EZ Power Steering, and the other sold by Z Power Steering (made by US Autoperformance?). I've gone through all the information offered by the companies, as well as all of the forum posts I can find on-line, and I'm still having a hard time deciding which of the two to buy. On the surface, they're very similar, with both offering manually adjustable assist. The EZ kit is slightly more expensive, but it also includes speed compensated assist, whereas the Z PS kit does not. From a theoretical point of view, I like the idea of speed sensitivity, but I haven't been able to find any real world comparisons to know if it makes a significant difference. Both systems vary assist based on torque, and at speed, less torque is needed, so the assist level should be lower anyway, even without the system adjusting for speed. But ultimately, I'd like something I can set and forget.

 
Now, I could simply hedge my bets and go with the EZ kit with the speed compensation. The additional cost of the EZ kit isn't enough to tip the favour back to the Z PS kit. However, the Z PS kit does have one unique feature that's keeping it in the running. The steering shaft has an extra universal joint and a ball joint at the firewall. This opens up the possibility of some degree of steering wheel tilt adjustment. This is important to me, because I'm 6'7" tall, and since I sit so far back, I've spaced my steering wheel back a couple of inches so I'm not driving with my arms sticking straight out. However, this also makes the steering wheel higher and the angle I'm now holding the wheel at is putting a strain on my wrists. So, being able to lower the wheel and change the angle slightly might be advantageous. 
 
Even with the stock column, there is enough flexibility in the firewall flange that spacers can be inserted between the dash mount to lower the shaft down quite a bit. But the EZ kit appears to have a very rigid firewall flange, and I'm not sure it would be able to flex very much.
 
So, does anyone out there have any hands on experience with EPAS setups with and without speed compensation? Or does anyone with the Z PS kit wish that it had speed compensation? And to anyone with the EZ kit, is the firewall flange as rigid as it looks?
 
Nigel
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Nigel,

 

I have the unit from EZ PS. The unit works great and I'm very happy with it. I purchased mine before they offered the speed sensitivity control. I've since tried to purchase it from Roger but unfortunately he has become difficult to get in touch with.

 

One other thing to watch out for is the angle that the sheering shaft to firewall flange that they used. When I first got the kit, the flange angle was way too shallow and the steering shaft would no way bolt up to the dash. They sent me a new flange that was better but not perfect. I wound up modifying the flange myself to get it to fit.

 

Other than wishing I had speed sensitivity, I'm very happy with the unit.

 

Joe

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I bought a column from a Saturn vue recently. Looks like it will fit but will be very tight but I haven't pulled my column yet to make 100% sure. There's a few threads on hot rod forums where people use these and are about $200 all in. As soon as my car is finished with paint I'm going to start this project.

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Nigel,

 

I have the unit from EZ PS. The unit works great and I'm very happy with it. I purchased mine before they offered the speed sensitivity control. I've since tried to purchase it from Roger but unfortunately he has become difficult to get in touch with.

 

One other thing to watch out for is the angle that the sheering shaft to firewall flange that they used. When I first got the kit, the flange angle was way too shallow and the steering shaft would no way bolt up to the dash. They sent me a new flange that was better but not perfect. I wound up modifying the flange myself to get it to fit.

 

Other than wishing I had speed sensitivity, I'm very happy with the unit.

 

Joe

 

Can you elaborate on why you wish your system had speed sensitivity? What have you noticed in operation that you feel it would help with?

 

Nigel

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Well for maneuverability <SP> when parking the assist is perfect but I would like to lose some assist the faster the car is moving. At highway speed I'd like to not have any assist. I've screwed around with the assist control and it appears my tastes for assist are pretty linear. Max for parking, no assist at any speed over 40MPH.

 

Joe

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