Postby Hasbeen » 17 Jan 2013 02:20
I have to say that there is some talking at cross purposes here. Some are equating feel, or feed back, with weight.
They are 2 entirely different things.
The Peugeot 306 I had for a short while had the weight thing down to a "T". For something with power steering, it was rather good.
Not only light as a feather at parking speed, it became heavier with speed, all the while not being so direct that it was too quick. It also eliminated torque steer or at least the manifestation of it at the steering wheel. With out doubt, one of the best, safest & most pleasant I have driven.
However it did not have feel/feedback, none at all.
The feel, feed back that we talk about with good systems is the change in feel [or pressure to turn] of the wheel as we start to loose adhesion. With a really good system we can tell which end is starting to let go, & make a very slight correction, before it happens, actually preventing it.
In Oz we had a one make series using the MG F I think it was. With no steering feed back, by the time most drivers felt the tail let go, it was almost past saving. They would over correct drastically, causing the thing to switch back, & spin in the opposite direction, leading to a few roll overs.
If the things had natural steering many of these drivers would have felt this loss of adhesion through the steering wheel, & corrected for it sooner, preventing a big loose, without ever knowing how they knew it was happening.
If you want your 7 to be a really nice cruiser, I can see the attraction of power steering. If however you want a really quick car through the mountain twisty bits, & will drive it hard, you will be much quicker & safer with the full feed back in place, even if you aren't consciously aware of how you are using it to stay in front of the car.
Hasbeen
