4 ms·

Naive question: Could it be that it gets less responsive the faster the car gets?

Someone 6y ago
FTA: “Many companies have deployed steering racks that offer variable rates, changing based on speed and steering angle. Even at their quickest, though, these racks don't eliminate the need to reposition your hands for common, daily maneuvers. On top of that, most of them have been panned for making cars feel less predictable and, ultimately, less fun to drive.”
- lloeki 6y ago
  Except, not. It’s mandatory in EU at least that there’s an uninterrupted physical connection between the steering wheel down to the wheels and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear. What changes though is the power of the electric assist, which decreases as speed goes up, making it harder to turn the wheel, giving eased maneuvering and increased precision + hard to yank at high speed. This doesn’t preclude that steering might be driven automatically, but the wheel will then turn by itself. Which is also why it should be round (or almost so, some have a small flat area at the bottom) as it acts as a guard for any unexpected rotation.
  - Someone 6y ago
    “there’s an uninterrupted physical connection between the steering wheel down to the wheels and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear.” Having that uninterrupted connection would mean that car speed cannot affect how much wheels turn when you turn the steering wheel, but I don’t see how that necessarily follows. Couldn’t a first gear change that “more than 360 degrees” rotation in one that’s a lot smaller, and a second gear introduce a nonlinearity? (Question isn’t about actual cars (I know very little about their steering mechanisms), just about the logic)
    - lloeki 6y ago
      I get the theoretical angle :) You’d need some sort of gearbox. Of course fixed gears means jumping ratios, and that would mean some sort of clutch (stick style) or converter (automatic style), the jump would make for a surprising and poor experience. There’s the possibility of having a conical pulley system too (see continuous gearbox). Lots of added complexity for very little benefit IMHO.
  - andor 6y ago
    "and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear" Not sure what you mean exactly, but it's not true that only assist power can be modulated. BMW cars with "Active Steering" have been available in Europe since 2003. These cars use a gearbox to achieve a variable steering ratio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_steering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_steering
    - lloeki 6y ago
      Interesting! I did not know about that :) Seems like it’s similar to an automatic gearbox (planetary system). I’m not sure the benefit is worth the added complexity, but hey, who am I to judge, maybe it’s that much better.

FTA: “Many companies have deployed steering racks that offer variable rates, changing based on speed and steering angle. Even at their quickest, though, these racks don't eliminate the need to reposition your hands for common, daily maneuvers. On top of that, most of them have been panned for making cars feel less predictable and, ultimately, less fun to drive.”

lloeki 6y ago
Except, not. It’s mandatory in EU at least that there’s an uninterrupted physical connection between the steering wheel down to the wheels and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear. What changes though is the power of the electric assist, which decreases as speed goes up, making it harder to turn the wheel, giving eased maneuvering and increased precision + hard to yank at high speed. This doesn’t preclude that steering might be driven automatically, but the wheel will then turn by itself. Which is also why it should be round (or almost so, some have a small flat area at the bottom) as it acts as a guard for any unexpected rotation.
- Someone 6y ago
  “there’s an uninterrupted physical connection between the steering wheel down to the wheels and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear.” Having that uninterrupted connection would mean that car speed cannot affect how much wheels turn when you turn the steering wheel, but I don’t see how that necessarily follows. Couldn’t a first gear change that “more than 360 degrees” rotation in one that’s a lot smaller, and a second gear introduce a nonlinearity? (Question isn’t about actual cars (I know very little about their steering mechanisms), just about the logic)
  - lloeki 6y ago
    I get the theoretical angle :) You’d need some sort of gearbox. Of course fixed gears means jumping ratios, and that would mean some sort of clutch (stick style) or converter (automatic style), the jump would make for a surprising and poor experience. There’s the possibility of having a conical pulley system too (see continuous gearbox). Lots of added complexity for very little benefit IMHO.
- andor 6y ago
  "and the fact that it turns more than 360 degrees means the gearing is fixed -and- linear" Not sure what you mean exactly, but it's not true that only assist power can be modulated. BMW cars with "Active Steering" have been available in Europe since 2003. These cars use a gearbox to achieve a variable steering ratio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_steering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_steering
  - lloeki 6y ago
    Interesting! I did not know about that :) Seems like it’s similar to an automatic gearbox (planetary system). I’m not sure the benefit is worth the added complexity, but hey, who am I to judge, maybe it’s that much better.