Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I would like to increase the strength of my power steering in my r32 coupe.

Anyone have any ideas on how I might do this? Anyone done this?

It would be nice to be able to more easily control the wheel with one hand while the other is on the shifter while course correcting etc. My daily lancer has great power steering!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/413860-r32-power-steering-modifications/
Share on other sites

I've locked out the HICAS, looped the power steering lines to the rear solenoid which greatly improved the power steering feel, but was wondering if there was more I could do to improve the feel.

Or .. maybe I have an electrical problem .. any ideas on how to diagnose where the issue might be?

Out of all the cars I've owned or driven, my R32 GTR's powersteering is the lightest, infact so light I could control it with my thumb and index finger. There is definitely a problem with your PS.

List of things to check: Low fluid levels, slipping or missing PS belt, underdriven PS pulley, steering wheel taken off (aftermarket or standard) and not aligned dead centre when put back on etc

I've locked out the HICAS, looped the power steering lines to the rear solenoid which greatly improved the power steering feel, but was wondering if there was more I could do to improve the feel.

Or .. maybe I have an electrical problem .. any ideas on how to diagnose where the issue might be?

locking out the hicas wouldnt of made a difference except for maybe a placebo effect, i got my 32 with the hicas removed, i refitted it and the front steering felt no different

Out of all the cars I've owned or driven, my R32 GTR's powersteering is the lightest, infact so light I could control it with my thumb and index finger. There is definitely a problem with your PS.

List of things to check: Low fluid levels, slipping or missing PS belt, underdriven PS pulley, steering wheel taken off (aftermarket or standard) and not aligned dead centre when put back on etc

Thanks everyone for the responses

fluid levels are fine

PS belt is there, but squeaks sometimes

stock steering wheel - no mods

would getting a larger PS pulley (and overdriving it) damage anything at all?

Should I install a non-hicas PS pump instead?

Thanks everyone

Larger pulley will underdrive the pump.

Non HICAS pump only differs in not having a rear pump stage. I would try to find an R33 one anyway, just to get rid of the annoying loop. Oh, and fit a proper PS cooler in place of the original cooling loop.

But I wouldn't expect any of that to help your problem.

would running wide rims with stretched tyres cause the steering to be heavier? i.e. 9.5" all round? i have the hicas removed also and find the steering a tad heavy but then again i don't mind an extra workout and the steering feedback is always welcome I wouldn't describe it as light though compared to my MY11 Rexy

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...

old topic but incase anyone else is after the solition in the future.
the problem is the solenoid on the front steering rack. this is controlled by the hicas computer to make the steering really easy at low speed and a bit harder at hi speed 80km+ (when you wouldnt notice the harder steering) When people muck around with the hicas + the 32s getting old these days the hicas computer (located under the rear pacel shelf btw) tells the solenoid to make the steering harder by bypassing power steering flud in the rack sometimes when the car is below 80km which gives it a heavy feel, but not as heavy as no power steering, which is why people often get confused what the hell is going on.

the solution! take the solenoid off the front steering rack (3 bolts maybe?), trace the shape out on bit of metal plate, cut out the same shape and simply bolt on a metal plate in its place. Light power steering all the time!

  • Like 1

old topic but incase anyone else is after the solition in the future.

the problem is the solenoid on the front steering rack. this is controlled by the hicas computer to make the steering really easy at low speed and a bit harder at hi speed 80km+ (when you wouldnt notice the harder steering) When people muck around with the hicas + the 32s getting old these days the hicas computer (located under the rear pacel shelf btw) tells the solenoid to make the steering harder by bypassing power steering flud in the rack sometimes when the car is below 80km which gives it a heavy feel, but not as heavy as no power steering, which is why people often get confused what the hell is going on.

the solution! take the solenoid off the front steering rack (3 bolts maybe?), trace the shape out on bit of metal plate, cut out the same shape and simply bolt on a metal plate in its place. Light power steering all the time!

Does anyone have any photos of which solenoid needs to removed? Thanks! - also why would a metal plate need to be installed to replace said solenoid once removed?

Photos? Really? Open bonnet. Look at steering rack (follow steering column down under plenum). See solenoid. Has wires.

Plate is to stop the PS fluid pissing out when you remove the solenoid.

Mod is a bit unpleasant. R32 could use less assistance, not more. Would not do.

bit more info:
http://forum.r31skylineclub.com/index.php?topic=66472.0

gtsboy your power sterring is obiously working correctly. see so many 32 owners myself included winge about heavy power steering and this is the reason. trust me when the solenoid is active the steering is that hard to the point of believeing you have no power steering at all.

your right though... ghetto as mod

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Ok i will get those 310mm. I found one but on a different site. This is the description on those...is it ok? Technical parameters: - Axle: front. - Disc type: ventilated. - Number of holes: 5. - Disc diameter: 310mm. - Total height with center: 54mm. - Thickness (new/min.): 30/28mm. - Designed for brake calipers manufacturer: Sumitomo.
    • You Gregged a whole racetrack!?
    • Look for broken wire or bad connector at the motor. Might not be it, but is worth starting there, as it is easy.
    • Hi everyone, I’m having an issue with my R32 GT-R. Sometimes, when the car goes over a bump or experiences some vibration, the 4WD warning light comes on the dashboard. When I check the code from the control unit in the trunk, it shows Code 19 – ETS Motor. However, everything seems to be working fine — if I turn off the engine and restart the car, the light goes away and everything functions normally. Has anyone experienced this before? Where should I start troubleshooting this issue? Thanks in advance!
    • I'm back from the dyno - again! I went looking for someone who knew LS's and had a roller dyno, to see how it shaped up compared to everything else and confirm the powerband really is peaking where Mr Mamo says it should. TLDR: The dyno result I got this time definitely had the shape of how it feels on the road and finally 'makes sense'. Also we had a bit more time to play with timing on the dyno, it turns out the common practice in LS is to lower the timing around peak torque and restore it to max after. So given a car was on the dyno and mostly dialled in already, it was time for tweaking. Luis at APS is definitely knowledgable when it came to this and had overlays ready to go and was happy to share. If you map out your cylinder airmass you start seeing graphs that look a LOT like the engine's torque curve. The good thing also is if you map out your timing curve when you're avoiding knock... this curve very much looks like the inverse of the airmass curve. The result? Well it's another 10.7kw/14hp kw from where I drove it in at. Pretty much everywhere, too. As to how much this car actually makes in Hub Dyno numbers, American Dyno numbers, or Mainline dyno numbers, I say I don't know and it's gone up ~25kw since I started tinkering lol. It IS interesting how the shorter ratio gears I have aren't scaled right on this dyno - 6840RPM is 199KMH, not 175KMH. I have also seen other printouts here with cars with less mods at much higher "kmh" for their RPM due Commodores having 3.45's or longer (!) rear diff ratios maxing out 4th gear which is the 1:1 gear on the T56. Does this matter? No, not really. The real answer is go to the strip and see what it traps, but: I guess I should have gone last Sunday...
×
×
  • Create New...