Powersteering

Two shops have added power steering to a small number of Panteras.Hall and Wilkinson. IMHO this will not cure tramlining with wide tires, which is a geometry issue involving too little castor. Pat Michel in MA has a fix for this that he's applied to numerous wide-body cars with universal success. Hall says that all the power-steering conversions he's driven felt over-boosted, which is likely due to mismatched components and a 10-ft separation between the pump & rack. An ideal candidate for a power steering car would be one with very wide front tires that was getting a 4.6-5.4 DOHC engine swap, as the assemblies have an integrated power steering pump that must be removed if not used. Note that all modern power steering setups nowadays use computerized reduction of steering boost with speed, so figure the cost of adapting this in as well.

Jim,

I highly doubt your car wanders because of the wide tires. I am running 245/45x16" up front on my standard body '72 and even at 80-100 mph, this car tracks straight and true, and is easily held in line with one finger. And trust me when I say California roads are not known for the their high level of upkeep. Jack is most certainly correct when he mentions your front end geometry as being the culprit. Power steering to 'cover' the problem won't fix it. I suggest you approach this problem from an alignment point of view. This will probably prove to be a cheaper, and much easier mechanically, solution to your wandering problem.

Larry

Thanks for the input. If anyone has power steering on a wide body let me know if your pleased with the upgrade
Thanks Jim

I THINK THE TYPE OF TIRES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE CAR WANDERS. I RAN 245 40 ZR18 HOOSIER ROAD RACE TIRES ON THE FRONT TO VEGAS TWO YEARS AGO AND AND IT WAS BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL OR THE CAR WOULD WANDER. I CHANGED TO THE SAME SIZE TIRE IN A GOODYEAR EAGLE FI TIRE THIS YEAR DUE TO CONCERNS OF GETTING A FLAT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND IT WAS LIKE PUTTING POWER STEERING ON THE CAR. I KNOW THE EDGE OF THE EAGLE TIRE IS MORE ROUNDED THAN THE HOOSIER AND I FEEL THAT HAS AN EFFECT ON HOW THE TIRE HITS AND UNEVEN SURFACE. I ALSO KNOW THAT THE HOOSIERS WITH GRAB EVERYTHING THEY CAN INCLUDING ALL ROCKS ETC AND SANDBLAST THE HELL OUT OF THE ROCKERS AND FENDERWELLS.
I THOUGHT MAYBE THE POWERSTEERING WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH THE HIGH PERFORMANCE TIRE. THEN I THOUGHT AGAIN AS MY 70 FIREBIRD TA HAS 275-17" AUTOCROSS TIRES OUT FRONT WITH POWER STEERING AND THE CAR STILL TENDS TO WANDER. THE PULL ON THE WHEEL IS EASIER SO YOU CAN HANDLE IT WITH ONE HAND BUT THE WANDERING IS STILL THERE, ESPECIALLY AT THE SLOWER SPEEDS SAY 45 MPH OR LESS. I DONT THINK THE POWER STEERING WILL REMOVE THE WANDERING JUST MAKE IT MORE MANAGABLE. I STILL RUN THE HOOSIER 345 18S OUT BACK AND THEY PICKUP AND THROW EVERYTHING BUT WHO CARES EXCEPT THE GUY BEHIND ME. YOU CAN CHECKOUT THE CAR AT KINESIS.COM- THE LOWER BLACK PANTERA- 18" K5'S ALL THE WAY AROUND ON A STOCK BODY PANTERA.

The only fix!!
Despite many well intentioned posts, the problem is the improperly engineered front and rear A arms on GT5 cars and GT5S cars. These suspension pieces were used on the 71-through 74 cars which were equipped with much smaller tires. And, even for them, the suspension wasn't right!! You currently have between 1 and 2 degrees of available castor in the front a arms. You need to have 4 to 5 degrees of castor in your front a arms. To fix the problem, arrange with Pat Mical to have the a arms remanufactured. I am running 4 degrees and the car is on rails with light steering wheel pressure. The power steering applications I have seen are over boosted at speed (very dangerous)and have had unequal lock to lock turning. Guys, it's an engineering issue that a patch won't fix.
Also, you will want to have your factory Koni Ariston shocks modified to be ride height adjustable, with correct spring rates front and rear. The alignment figures shown in the manual are not precise enough. Pat Michal can help you there. So, set the ride height all around first, get 1/8 total toe in (1/16 per side), set camber, set castor to four degrees and you will not believe the difference. Guys who have ridden in my car are amazed at how much lighter low speed steering input is. Power steering? Don't need it!

[This message has been edited by phill1 (edited 10-20-2003).]

I may be from the older school, but a couple of years ago my car started to wander, and make jerky moves. It drove me crazy, was it shocks..front-end..bearings??? Then someone mentioned, "have you changed the tires around lately" I never realized that the newer tires are Directional. Tire tread has to go in the correct direction. I had changed the tires around while working on the front end, and so we learn..