Increase efficiency by disabling electric assist in steering

20521 Views 82 Replies 31 Participants Last post by IamIan, Jun 21, 2010

Guillermo

Discussion Starter · Jul 13, 2004

This is for the traditionalists and the hard-core milleage freaks.
By removing the fuse of the electric assist power steering you will conserve battery power that would otherwise be used every time you turn the wheel. It also gives you better feel of what is going on between the road and the tires at higher speeds.

This is a very simple, quick and easy mod you can do in 20 seconds just before you drive to work tomorrow to feel it for yourself.

Open the hood.
Look for 40A power steering fuse as shown on fuse box decal.
Remove the 40A power steering fuse and store in your cup holder.
Drive the car and feel the real effort it takes to drive without power steering. :shock:

It's not that bad really, it feels firm during normal driving.
I first tried it an auto-x and it felt like I was wrestling a bear when turning fast at low speeds. But at higher speeds I had a better feel what the tires where doing. On the highway I drove home and it feel firm but nice.
I'll try it on and off a few times and decide what I prefer after a few days.

Tell me what you think after you try it.

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Corey872

· #2 · Jul 13, 2004

I have been curious about this myself. I have sticky 195/50 tires on my CRX and I've never really thought it turned that bad with no PS at all. I was curious why honda even put power steering on an 1800 lb car w/ those skinny tires. My best guess is that they were trying to downplay the notion that an ultra high mileage car had to be some sort of a stripped down, gutted tin can of a car.

Good tip. Just out of curiosity...anyone have an amp probe big enough that you could patch in place of the fuse to see what kind of current the steering is drawing and when? I would be curious if it cuts off at some speed or if it is always giving some assist.

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Corey872

· #43 · Aug 8, 2004

Quite right...I have had mine disconnected for about a month now. Haven't really seen any change in mileage. But, my "unbiased" test subject (girlfriend) says it is more stable out on the highway. I concur.

I simply told her "an experiment to see if the battery stays charged more" She said, "doesn't seem to change the battery" then on her own, "but does handle better on the highway"

Corey

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