Hi all, decided I no longer wished to drive a tractor trailer and went for the Griffiths High Pressure Power Steering Pump "upgrade." I put upgrade in quotations as some of you really like the very heavy feel that some of these cars have. I don't.

This all came about when I drove a 90GT (thanks Jim) and was impressed by how livable the steering was. After researching the issue, I found that Griffiths made a higher pressure power steering pump that was advertised as having 33% more power than stock s4.

The price of the unit is $199 with a refundable $150 core deposit (you get the $150 back when you return your old pump). The remanufactured unit comes with a 2 year warranty and looked factory fresh. I also decided to replace the power steering reservoir (who knows what could be in there after 15 years) as well as the hose (looked like a half cooked chicken liver). The total labor to have Devek install it was 2 hours (its quite a messy job--WYAIT look at your alternator hose too--mine was good, most are not).

So, the result? Well, my steering was VERY tight before and its much better now. Is it 33% easier? I'm not sure the "palm dyno" is that accurate but it is better. Would I do it again? Yes. Though the cost is relatively high for the level of improvement for most people, for me it was worth it b/c the parking lot behavior of the car was really starting to annoy me quite a bit. On the road/highway feel is almost exactly the same, just a tad lighter, so all of you who might be worried about losing that "porsche" feel on the road, not an issue.

I'll let you know how long it takes me to get my core deposit back from Griffiths.

Oh, one other thing. Also asked Jim to "loosen" the clutch adjustment (by tightening the spring underneath the driver footwell). WOW, what a difference. The clutch was previously a leg press machine and now its reasonable. Not as light as my Audi or wife's MB, but much better in traffic. This is a must for those of you who have been suffering.

Cheers,

Seth