How should my duster handle

-
It's driver preference.
And there it is. Nothing more needs to be said.

And to show you how crazy I am, I actually LIKE the manual 24:1 steering box. I think it has a good road feel to it and is really easy to turn. But that's me. lol
 
And there it is. Nothing more needs to be said.

And to show you how crazy I am, I actually LIKE the manual 24:1 steering box. I think it has a good road feel to it and is really easy to turn. But that's me. lol

In some situations you are going to need a fast ratio. In heavy autocross the front tire are turning high angles very quickly. Mitch Lelito I mentioned above runs a 12.7:1 ratio.

Guys that run bonnevile at 300 mph don’t run 12:1 steering ratios.
 
Lol. The fact that the tires have improved changes everything! The OP used the SKOSH chart correctly, you can't use the factory alignment numbers if you run radial tires. And I'm not even talking modern performance tires, I mean just plain old boring radials of any kind. They literally react differently to the road and steering inputs than the bias ply tires these cars were originally designed for.

If you do put modern performance tires on your car, everything changes. You have more traction, which means more force on the suspension. That means improving the wheel rates, upgrading the shocks to handle the higher wheel rates, etc, etc.

The simple facts are, if you upgrade your tires, you should also upgrade your suspension to be able to handle the forces those new tires can exert on your car. It's just physics, there are literally equations for it.


Clearly you're not someone that has actually improved the handling performance of an older car, Mopar or otherwise. You can increase performance by adding modern tires, updating and upgrading suspension components etc, but they're still nothing like driving a modern car. Which you would know if you'd ridden in one. Clearly your opinion is based only on aesthetics. Which is fine, if you want to run pinky finger power steering and 14" rims with big ol floppy tires on them as you cruise to DQ, have at it! Not for everybody though, I actually like to drive my car.



Well said!


See, that's the problem with over boosted steering. You think it's no big deal to just turn the wheels when your'e at a dead stop. Unfortunately, turning the wheels when you're at a dead stop is terrible for tire and steering component wear, there's a ton of force on the components because there's no rolling wheel or dynamics reduce it. The forces on all the steering components below the steering box are the same whether you've got some over boosted power steering box or completely manual steering. There's a reason why it's so hard to turn the wheel when you're at a dead stop with manual steering, and you should at least understand why that is, even if you prefer power steering. There's entire generations of people that will make steering corrections at a standstill, which is terrible for the steering components and tires.

Lol. The funny part about this is that the forces from that pothole or groove are the same on all the steering components below the steering box either way. The only difference is the effort it takes at the wheel. But if you're moving at speed, the effort isn't hard anyway. My 16:1 manual steering box is the same exact ratio as a factory power steering box, the same number of turns on the steering wheel for the same movement. I run 275/35/18's up front with +6.5° of caster and turning the car at speed is amazing, and you know what the tires are actually doing all the time.

And as @autoxcuda pointed out, the factory steering pump isn't fast enough to keep up with really fast steering movements. So really, the car with factory power steering is more likely to end up in the ditch.

Idaho roads are great too, not sure what you're whining about. Lots of other places with far worse road conditions.
I was not saying i sat there and turned the wheels at a dead stop for no reason. In a car as big as the newport you run into situations where you have no choice but to turn them while not moving. I also am not saying turn it while stopped from stop to stop but just partial turns. I was saying it to make a point on how easy it is to turn the steering wheel. Of course it puts a strain on things when you are not moving and turning the steering wheel thats why you should not do it. For those of us old enough to drive with manual steering it gets imbedded into you head that that is not the time to turn the steering wheel.
 
Last edited:
In some situations you are going to need a fast ratio. In heavy autocross the front tire are turning high angles very quickly. Mitch Lelito I mentioned above runs a 12.7:1 ratio.

Guys that run bonnevile at 300 mph don’t run 12:1 steering ratios.
I'm sure spirited driving on the street would benefit from the 20:1 or even the 16:1, but that's just not what I'm into anymore. I just like to cruise, man. Nice and slow.....with the occasional burst. lol
 
-
Back
Top