Why do some cars respond so well to the driver? Great handling makes you feel safe and in control – and makes panic swerves and steering corrections as effective as possible. The lightest touch of the wheel should direct the steering system effortlessly and precisely. As well as a well-designed suspension parts, it takes a good quality steering system and steering parts to achieve excellent handling. If you’d like to know the anatomy of a steering system and how it supports handling, road holding and driveability, here is an easy overview.
The function of a steering parts
When you rotate the steering wheel, the car responds. But how does this steering system in cars give you a smooth route forward? A group of parts called the steering system transmits the movement of the steering wheel down the steering shaft to move the wheels left and right – although car wheels don’t turn at the same angle.
The popular rack and pinion steering system
In most cars, small trucks and SUVs on the road today, there is a rack and pinion steering system. This converts the rotational motion of the steering wheel into the linear motion that turns the wheels and guides your path. The system involves a circular gear (the steering pinion) which locks teeth on a bar (the rack). It also transforms big rotations of the steering wheel into small, accurate turns of the wheels, giving a solid and direct feel to the steering.
How does power steering affect the rack and pinion?
It’s likely that if you drive today, you’re used to power steering. Contemporary cars, and especially trucks and utility vehicles have a power steering system function – also called power-assisted steering. This gives that extra energy (either hydraulic or electric) to help turn the wheels and means parking and manoeuvering requires less effort than with simple manual force. The rack and pinion steering system is slightly different with power steering, with an added engine-driven pump or electric motor to aid the steering assembly.
So is ease the only benefit of power steering? The system allows you to have higher gear steering and means you have to turn the steering wheel less to turn the wheels further (less steering wheel turns lock-to-lock). It therefore sharpens up response times and makes the steering even more precise. With such busy roads and traffic jams, this means drivers can more safely manoeuvre in close proximity to other vehicles. Keeping tight control at all speeds, in any conditions and in critical situations, will help to avoid accidents.
What are the components of the steering system in cars?
Whatever a car’s make and model, quality auto steering parts support a flawless drive. Premium rack and pinion parts manufactured by MOOG include axial rods, tie rod ends, drag links, centre arms, steering rack gaiter kits, tie rod assemblies and wheel end bearings.
These steering parts are robust and hard wearing enough to provide both strength and durability. Choosing parts which meet OE manufacturer specifications means the whole assembly will be responsive and long-lasting.
Cars with front-wheel drive have much of their weight over the front wheels and therefore it becomes more difficult to turn the steering wheel. This factor, together with the use of wider tyres on SUVs and larger cars, compounds the difficulty to the point that unassisted steering would be almost impossible for many people. Thus most vehicles are today equipped with power steering, a system that is normally operated hydraulically with mineral oil serving as the working medium. A double-acting hydraulic cylinder controls a piston that applies a force to the steering mechanism to augment the effort made by the driver. The pump is operated by a belt-drive off the engine and therefore no assistance is provided unless the engine is switched on. A disadvantage associated with hydraulic power steering is that the pump is constantly running when assistance is not required and this consumes fuel.
An alternative form of power steering is an electrical system in which an electric motor provides assistive torque to the steering mechanism. Sensors detect the position and torque of the steering column and feed the data to a computer that then controls the current to the electric motor. A major advantage of the electrical system is that the degree of assistance can be tailored to the speed of the vehicle, with more assistance at low speeds and less at high speed. Other advantages are: (i) a hydraulic pump, a belt drive and hoses are not required and this leaves more space under the bonnet; (ii) the electrical system is more fuel efficient in that, unlike the hydraulic system, it only uses energy when it is operating.
