I felt like the r-package miatas I’ve owned had better steering feel than my Elise. Absolutely perfect for backroads driving in the real world, but for a track toy, power steering equipped units are a bit better
ChrisTropea said:
Every time I drive a Miata I get the urge to buy one. Congrats on the new car Katie!
Driving the one we had at the FIRM for our AI versus human comparison made me itching for a Miata, too.
Luckily, I can’t afford any car right now so the temptation isn’t too bad.
It’s actually very simple. Pick a day with decent weather. Locate a Miata. Put the top down. Find roads with less traffic. Go for a drive. Have fun!
If you hated it, congratulations, you hate cars. Buy an appliance type car.
My first car was a massive 1960 Plymouth wagon with no power steering. I did have the advantage of a large steering wheel, so I had more torque to rotate the wheel with.
One of the tricks I remember for low speed maneuvers in parking lots was to slip the clutch just enough to move the car, barely an inch or two, when having to turn the wheel hard. Even the littlest bit of forward or backwards movement will make the steering wheel much easier to turn.
Edit: sorry for forgetting to compliment you on your writing. Well done!
My 91 was specced the same way. I remember my friend teasing me once when I told him parking is a bit of a pain without PS. So I tossed him the keys and said “ok you try” and he immediately was “how do you live with this every day?!” My 99 has PS and I was shocked how easy it was to steer when I test drive it.
The same car also had a clutch slave issue visiting the same friend so I ended up being stuck at his place over the weekend waiting for parts to show up to replace it.
L5wolvesf said:
MGB
An MGB that starts up every time and goes without having the warm up first.
I’m still not sure about driving a car in Florida without functioning A/C. I know it was common for decades, but these days we have options.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
L5wolvesf said:
MGB
An MGB that starts up every time and goes without having the warm up first.
Yes, I had 2 of them for street use. Both were daily drivers at different times. No oil drips either. I maintained them.
The NA manual rack is not great. It was developed on a short timeline because some purists decried power steering in a sports car. They were wrong 🙂 The manual rack has a slower ratio that dulls the cars reflexes and the lighter effort of the PS rack does not mean less feel, just less work.
It’s an easy retrofit, just swap the rack and install the pump and associated parts.
