Let me start by saying that I'm not a small nor weak guy. I have no interest in bragging about my physical strength here. I'm no elite athlete or anything like that but it is relevant to note (before anyone suggests that weak arms are to blame) that I'm in good shape and exercise regularly. Having gotten that out of the way, I have to say that the steering effort in my Dart is very, very high. High enough that I want to check with you guys to see if I'm missing something or if this behavior is to be expected and I need to suck it up.
I am running a large sector manual box, ebay special reman. It probably has ~4000 miles on it since install. There are a few obvious things working against me:
16:1 ratio (IIRC, factory manual steering was 24:1, right?).
I am running a Momo Prototipo steering wheel that is 350mm diameter.
With the QA1 control arms, I was able to hit the target alignment specs for the aggressive street driven car which includes 5 degrees of caster
I am also running wider than stock (but not exceptionally wide) 225/60/15 tires
A few things that
should be working for me:
The car has almost entirely fresh front end including ball joints.
I recently installed the Firmfeel steering sector support
I have cut a significant amount of weight from the nose of the car (manual box, no pump, mini starter, fiberglass hood, deleted bumper brace, etc)
I installed sporty buckets with good side bolsters (which I can brace against)
I typically put a few extra PSI in the tires.
Given all of those factors, the steering is sufficiently difficult that I can't maneuver the car in a parking lot without it being obvious to onlookers that I'm working pretty hard. Once rolling, it's heavy but manageable. Still, quick steering inputs when slowing down for sharp turns (like in an autocross scenario) are greatly hindered by the level of effort.
How hard should the steering be in a setup like this? Is there anything that would help?
Thanks for any input!
EDIT: I LOVE this steering wheel. I've wanted a wheel like this in a car since I was a small kid...and I'd live with the strain before getting rid of it for one with a larger diameter. :)
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