Originally Posted by jackei
I notice the steering wheel is pretty tight comparing with other cars. is it because it is a MB (Does all MB has tight steering wheels?) or because it is a rear wheel drive? thanks.
I would say it's "tight feeling" because it's a luxury car. It's a Mercedes thing. Others have mentioned that Rack and Pinion is more complex, but that's not true. Rack and Pinion is actually much simpler than the Recirculating Ball system. There are two immediate advantages of the recirculating ball steering system. First, its mechanical advantage is much higher than that of rack and pinion. Second, it tends to prevent bump-steer when the suspension design limitations do not allow for the designer to completely remove it.
Originally Posted by jackei
I also notice most other cars (especially the japanese made or newer smaller cars) the steering wheel will quickly return to the straight position automatically while the car is moving, which doesn't happen on my crossfire too. Just wondering.
So here's some automobile engineering education for you.
The self-centering on a car typically comes from a combination of wheel camber, wheel toe, and most importantly, suspension trail. When these components are engineered correctly, the wheels will impart a self-centering force on the wheel knuckles, which are then transferred to the steering rack through tie rods and other linkages (such as the pitman arm and drag link).
However, the recirculating ball steering found on the Crossfire prevents any motion of the wheel knuckles from affecting the rotation of the steering column. Therefore, while the car wants to self-center the wheel, the mechanics of the steering rack prevent this from happening.
So, you might be asking, what the heck does the car do with all the self-centering forces that are being resisted? Well, they are basically being absorbed by the steering damper and the steer gears themselves.
So, when it comes to road "feel", the answer is simple - the Crossfire has no road feel through the steering at all! It's complete and utter isolation.
Should you feel disappointed that there's complete isolation? Well, consider this - the legendary E39 M5 - the one that we never got here in the US, came with a recirculating ball steering system. I've never heard an M5 owner complain about their steering either...