How big of a job is it to take off the power steering? How much whp can be expected? Can the car be driven daily?(I know it probably can, but asking none the less)

 

Not to bad of a job. messy, but not to hard. If you are getting rid of the power steering just for HP gains, than it is definately not worth it. It can be daily driven without power steering. It takes a little bit of getting use to and not for everybody. The easiest way to tell if it is for you is to take off the power steering belt and drive it around.

 

A friend of mine did it and got a 6 fwhp gain on the dyno just by pulling the belt. I have a del sol, and the wheelbase is so short, I really don't notice it.

 

I gained 5whp at all rpms when belt was pulled. This is compared to ps pump with an AEM pulley on it, so to a stock pump I would expect more gains, perhaps 6-8 whp. If you do the removal take out the ps fluid , the steering effort will be reduced quite a bit compared to leaving the fluid in the system. The best part of the removal is of course the increased power, but also the steering feel. I can actually feel my front wheels slipping in turns now, whereas before it was masked by the ps system, so you get much better communication from the road. I like it very much.

J.

 

ABSOLUTELY correct, the power is nice, the FEEL is better. I completely concur with your claim that you can really feel the tires. That's not just a nice term, you really can literally feel the tires loosing grip at the limits.

Bring on the manual rack!

 

but if your looking for more power while keeping the power steering
you could always get an electric power steering pump

 

You can get alot more communication from the front wheels with out powersteering. It takes awhile to get use too, but its worth it. I just took off my belt about a month ago. I was planning on only doing it for the weekend but I liked it, so it's in my closet right now.

 

Exactly how stiff does the steering become, i have only driven a couple of other Hondas without power steering.. One was a 91 Civic DX... I found the steering OK.. i could live with it, i actully liked it... but i also drove my friends 89 CRX /w no power steering, and you had to man handle that thing... definatly sucks for everyday driving, and i can imagine on a road course too... please any feedback would be great!

 

I was just thinking about this the other day....I have had my belt off for a few months now.....I have to manhandle the car when it is stopped....but when you are rolling, the steering feels good....I have just the belt off, and I wanna take everything out....what the hell is that electrical plug in where the fluid hose goes into the rack?? Is it ok to just rip out all that ****, like the compressor, lines and that electrical plug in?? Thx in advance..

 

Removed it tonight. I can actually feel the difference. Car seems a good bit more responsive and has a little more low end pull. A little on the tuff side at low speeds, but it is so easy to put on/take off its not really a problem.

 

How much harder is it to hold the wheel when you're at a stop at a corner, then you accelerate hard while making a 90 degree turn? You can overturn easily by doing this and it takes a tiny bit of effort bringing the wheel back if you want to keep accelerating. (I guess this would be torque steer I'm feeling?) Is there much more effort needed without the power steering?

 

i just take off my belt at the track , and put it back on when im done . . . . . that extra hp dont mean anything on the st, so i just deal with it being on . its a pain sometimes with it off on st driving. , but thats my opinion . i got my ac belt off too.

 

I've had my belt off for about a year now and all I have to say is that I like the feel and my arms are getting a bit bigger! LOL

 

I took mine completely off about a year ago... It's only a pain in the *** when im trying to park, anything else is fine with me... I got so used to it, i can park in less then 1minute in a paralel parking... Maybe even faster depending on how big the space is... I got so used to it and i think its worth it... On the highway, u feel the road much much better...

Well, once u get used to it, that wont happen... U'll know ur car's power and well before it, u would know how to control it...

I took off the basically everything and attached a 6" hose connecting both end's of the rack where the hose was to go and return from the pump and reservoir tank... I heard that leaving no powersteering fluid would mess up the rack, so i made sure before i connected the hose together there was enough fluid... I would recommend doing this to get horsepower, but it can also be a pain to drive when the car is going slow....

 

Yes, you should always leave fluid inside the rack.