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Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:51 am

So I see you can get a Saturn Vue unit on Ebay for about $120. It looks like the cables are cut off the unit. I am sure one is power and I would think one is for the potentiometer that adjusts sensitivity that you have to buy separate for $45. Is this the way to go? Any tricks?

The alternative is a new SuperATV.com EZ Steer unit at $600.

Thanks in advance. Any pics of install?

Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:56 am

Everything you need can be found at epowersteering.com. I have used their wiring harness to power mine with zero issues. They have everything you need plus all the steering joints.

I would try to get a power steering unit with at least the factory GM joints. You can modify them to work with whatever rack you use as long as you can weld and fabricate a little bit.

Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:34 am

Another one that has come up which I think I may try is the Kia Soul power steering from like a 2014 or something. It doesn't require an external control box either, since when it doesn't get input it goes into "failsafe" which is sort of a generic mode where it just provides a reasonable amount of assist. $99 or less on eBay from what I see.

Interesting you should mention the EXACT model of SuperATV electric steering unit currently sitting apart on my co-workers desk right next to me as I type. The torsional bar in it broke, so it power-assisted him into a tree and broke a bunch of steering gear. The install was in a Yamaha Rhino UTV.

Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:27 pm

jimmyhoffa wrote: Another one that has come up which I think I may try is the Kia Soul power steering from like a 2014 or something. It doesn't require an external control box either, since when it doesn't get input it goes into "failsafe" which is sort of a generic mode where it just provides a reasonable amount of assist. $99 or less on eBay from what I see.

Interesting you should mention the EXACT model of SuperATV electric steering unit currently sitting apart on my co-workers desk right next to me as I type. The torsional bar in it broke, so it power-assisted him into a tree and broke a bunch of steering gear. The install was in a Yamaha Rhino UTV.

Yikes!! Sorry to hear that, not the kind of assist I need!! I can do that on my own.

Thanks for the KIA info, I will check it out.

Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:05 pm

JWHracing wrote: Everything you need can be found at epowersteering.com. I have used their wiring harness to power mine with zero issues. They have everything you need plus all the steering joints.

I would try to get a power steering unit with at least the factory GM joints. You can modify them to work with whatever rack you use as long as you can weld and fabricate a little bit.

Do you have pics of an install in a bodied car?

Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:39 am

Why would anybody need power steering on a light vehicle?! The only help a power steering offers is when the car is stationary; you can park in and out more easily. Once it is moving there is no "assist" and in fact it robs you from the feedback you get in feeling the road under you. Of all the improvements I would spend time and money to an off road rig, parking with one finger never occurred to me.

I have a Gen III Jaguar E-type (Outlaw, 302 SBF engine). It is well over twice the curb weight of a beetle, let a lone a lighter off road rig. The power steering was a mess so I end up removing it. Eventually I'm installing a non power steering setup on it. The mild inconvenience of having to park without power steering is far outweighed by the road feel at speed, specially if you decide to ride it aggressively. In my opinion power steering would be spending a lot of money an effort to just ruin the driving experience.

Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:57 am

don1357 wrote: Why would anybody need power steering on a light vehicle?! The only help a power steering offers is when the car is stationary; you can park in and out more easily. Once it is moving there is no "assist" and in fact it robs you from the feedback you get in feeling the road under you. Of all the improvements I would spend time and money to an off road rig, parking with one finger never occurred to me.

One finger parking my Chenowth never occurred to me either. When I'm going 50 miles an hour sideways towards something very stationary, I often wish I had something helping me do everything possible to get the front wheels to the intended configuration as quickly as possible to avoid the dead. It's worth noting that a lot of us run quick ratio steering racks that feed back aggressively, which is sometimes simply a necessity to be fast. If you've driven a car with a beetle steering box hard off road, it somewhat solves the feedback problem, but it takes so many turns lock-to-lock that it almost feels unsafe to me, you just can't respond fast enough.

Fields and fields of lightweight race cars in the desert agree. It's nice to have a helper. :D It really reduces fatigue and the chance of injury from steering wheel feedback as well, so a correctly designed and implemented PS system is also something of a safety system in itself, if it is reliable.

Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:18 am

Same, you want to run our rail at full race pace with a 1:1 rack? Be my guest, you'll be knackered after 15 minutes and won't be as fast as the guy running it with PAS on, and you'll probably have hit something you could have avoided.
Not just that but if you're running a hydraulic setup the damping the ram offers stops you getting your thumbs or fingers snatched if you clip a rut or a rock.

I run my road cars without PAS for the feedback and because it doesn't matter much on tarmac, but that's a whole different beast to off-roading at any sort of pace.

Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:51 am

frankydee wrote: JWHracing wrote: Everything you need can be found at epowersteering.com. I have used their wiring harness to power mine with zero issues. They have everything you need plus all the steering joints.

I would try to get a power steering unit with at least the factory GM joints. You can modify them to work with whatever rack you use as long as you can weld and fabricate a little bit.

Do you have pics of an install in a bodied car?

Only pic i have from when it had a full body. I made an aluminum panel that fit around the unit when I was done. Now all the sheet metal from the a-pillar forward has been cut out and replaced with aluminum. It is basically a full tube chassis now.

Sat Jun 20, 2020 8:47 pm

leaning towards UTV one, stock steering box, stock steering column, cut and inserted. Come on, I know there are opinions out there.

Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:39 pm

frankydee wrote: leaning towards UTV one, stock steering box, stock steering column, cut and inserted. Come on, I know there are opinions out there.

A stock box isn't strong enough to withstand to torque from power steering. A stock box already breaks with off road use on its own

Tue Jun 23, 2020 6:41 pm

Electronic power steering is the best investment I have made on my buggy. No fatigue, 0 feedback when you bump something and you can turn it easily in the sand. My unit was from a Dodge Caravan I think and it was super easy to install, you just need to add a mounting bracket to the unit...

Wed Jun 24, 2020 11:10 am

gilmarlin wrote: Electronic power steering is the best investment I have made on my buggy. No fatigue, 0 feedback when you bump something and you can turn it easily in the sand. My unit was from a Dodge Caravan I think and it was super easy to install, you just need to add a mounting bracket to the unit...

Did you use the stock steering box? Any issues? Not going to be racing, jumping, etc.

Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:54 pm

gilmarlin wrote: Electronic power steering is the best investment I have made on my buggy. No fatigue, 0 feedback when you bump something and you can turn it easily in the sand. My unit was from a Dodge Caravan I think and it was super easy to install, you just need to add a mounting bracket to the unit...

I'd also love to see pics of your install if you happen to have them!

Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:44 pm

frankydee wrote:
Did you use the stock steering box? Any issues? Not going to be racing, jumping, etc.

I went with a Saco rack and pinion after wearing out two latest rage units. I'll post a picture of the install soon. You can place the unit anywhere in between the steering wheel and the steering box or rack...