bonus12

I began with power steering in my 1986 951. However, I seek manual steering if it is practical, and ever since I bought the car I was interested in manual steering for the 951. However, it was not my choice to make the switch.

I drove with power steering for about 1000 miles on the street. At this time, steering is very precise and it is easy to hit the correct spot on a bend. The 951 responds quickly to turns of the steering wheel, and it has beautiful, sweeping grace on winding back country roads. Perhaps it all seemed too easy to steer this thing, or perhaps I was taking the "power" for granted.

Suddenly, the bracket for the power steering failed while at speed. The pump swung down on a pivot and lost the belt, which landed in the under tray and stuck there. Thus, I had officially made the switch to semi-power steering. Of course, I was still using a power steering rack, but I was steering without the pump. I drove like this for the next 1000 miles. It did not take me long to realize that the 951 feels stiff, unwilling, and reckless on sharp turns at speed. It is raw and real, and textures in the road are effectively translated through the steering wheel. Something was missing, though. Of course, it was the accuracy, swiftness, and gracefulness that was no longer there. Turns were all too easy to miss because the steering was heavy and brutish. High speeds are ruined around many turns because the "manual" steering feels simply uncomfortable when any type of steering adjustment is needed. Lastly, steering at slow speeds requires effort that hinders the driving experience.

I finally hooked up the power steering pump, finding myself looking forward to having it back. My return to power steering exceeded my expectations. In only 1000 miles, I had forgotten the very capabilities of the 951. Steering felt extremely responsive at high speeds, bringing the 951 into and out of turns like a whip. I noticed that I was steering the wheel too far and going into turns early. This was a result of using semi-manual for so long. It was welcome to use less effort and wield more precision behind the wheel. With power steering, I felt comfortable going around turns at much greater speeds. Nevertheless, slightly more effort to turn the wheel may be desirable. Lastly, turning at low speeds feels like spinning a coin on a tabletop.

Semi-manual: brutish, real and raw, inaccurate due to play, sluggish, detrimental to driving experience

Power: just a bit too easy, extremely quick, extremely precise, sheds light on the handling glory of the 951

Thanks for reading the review.

Van

I guess Porsche actually made the power steering for a reason!

Hollywood D

I de-powered my power rack because of too many leaks. It can be a bear at parking lot speeds but other than that it's not horrific. If I can find a good power rack I may replace it someday. But I hate to do that then have it leak months later.

b5audia4

Totally understand the feeling. I replaced my leaking PS rack 2 years ago and it leaked again recently. This time, I went with a Zims rebuilt unit. Looked way cleaner than the rebuilt one I bought off Ebay.

MAGK944

On the 951 yes it is a bear. The front is heavier and the wheels and brakes are bigger, so you have a lot more sprung and unsprung weight to deal with. On my 944 with 15in Fuchs I like it better depowered. The power seems too over-powered for my liking.

Butters944

I love my manual rack. Idk, I feel like I'm more "one with road" driving manual steered cars...

HJK

I put in a manual rack and was slightly worried about efforts required, but man, its good. The manual rack works a dream, not heavy, always feedback, parking no issues. better then fixing pumps. And.... you have more hp free to drive the car.

H

azbanks

There is a HUGE difference between a power rack that has just lost power and a true manual rack.


There is a write up in a thread about how to properly de-power a power rack. It involves re-routing the lines.


There is a big difference between a power rack that has just lost power and a power rack that has been properly set up to run without power.

arthropraxis

Now cue some one to chime in on how they are x seconds faster on the track with a power steering rack vs manual rack and this thread will be complete. Where is that can of worms icon?

ZR8ED

Might be true in an endurance race where driver fatigue is a factor!

nasty9er

i am in the middle of doing the PS to MS rack swap all i am waiting on are the new boots from 944online.......taking a while ......



ill let you know how i think the change from a leaky underpowered rack to a real manual rack

Oddjob

There is quite a range of effort between a power rack, production manual rack, a properly coverted depowered rack, and a non-coverted depowered rack.

Factory motorsport cars (Turbo Cups and S/S2 Clubsports-Escorts) all came w/ depowered power racks for the quicker ratio. So there is no issue/problem w/ using the power racks w/o the power assist.

The street/production manual rack has about a 20% higher ratio, so 20% less effort than a correctly converted depowered power rack, and requires 20% more input (have to spin the wheel more for the car to make the same turn).

When using any form of manual rack, the size/diameter of the steering wheel also has noticeable effect on effort, e.g. obvious difference between the large 380mm factory wheel and a 320mm aftermarket wheel.

I would not recommend driving a depowered power rack w/o correctly converting it to run as a manual. But otherwise, choosing to use a power rack, manual rack, or depowered power rack is all personal preference.

SamGrant951

I have a factory manual rack in the 951 and a depowered rack in the 944. I prefer the depowered rack.

MAGK944

You probably have bigger and wider wheels and tires on your 951 and it's a heavier front end than the 944 to begin with. Try that manual rack on your 944 and you will soon ditch the de-powered.

SamGrant951

Ive driven both on track, just my preference. I have 2 sets of wheels for the 951, one set is larger and one is the same width as the 944. You are right about the weight difference though.