Has anyone noticed the fact that the steering damper is in effect working against a good "feel" in the steering system?


The damper is a shock absorber that attaches on the frame of the car and to the steering assembly. Its purpose is to dampen movements in the steering, leading to a nice solid steering feel. However, it will also work to dampen out any ability of the driver to feel what is going on in the road.



I recently removed the damper with the intent to replace it, but after seeing what it is doing I have elected to keep it off. Of course, the steering was quite light.



I propose an alternative to the steering damper - do we have some other way of actually improving the feel? Here are some ideas:


- Lower the boost of the power steering system. Options might be to use a smaller pulley, or actually changing the pressure adjustment of the pump. I have not done this step, since I'm not sure what might work.

- Replace the power steering fluid with a higher-viscosity fluid. I've used Red Line ATF type F automatic transmission fluid. It has the highest viscosity of any compatible fluids (10 cSt at 100C compared to 6-7 of typical fluids). This has indeed improved the feel - I can actually feel the texture of the pavement through the wheel! The steering is a bit lighter than my Miata, but it is not bad.



Any experts here have any input? I'm an electrical engineer, so I have some technical knowledge but not the specific experience.


slipton