Anyone converted over to electric PS from hydraulic on a big car?

r3meyer

r3meyer

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I had grand plans this year of having my car get body and update the look of my sand limo.  However with all the shortages and high costs of material I decided to just wait a year.  In the mean while I need to replace my Fortin rack.  Its worn out and getting sloppy.  They no longer make the one I have on my car so I have to fab in the new rack.  Before I spend $1600 on the rack I was pondering switching over to a manual rack and electric.

Anyone made the switch?

 
This past season I drove a few cars with EPS and was surprised how well it worked. Harvey sells them not sure if he is on GD.com anymore his instagram @ is dune_addict. They have an adjustable knob where you can go from no assist to turning the wheel with almost one finger. I now keep one in stock for customers when they purchase a Super Rack. The EPS system is $475. 

 
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parker@gearone said:
This past season I drove a few cars with EPS and was surprised how well it worked. Harvey sells them not sure if he is on GD.com anymore his instagram @ is dune_addict. They have an adjustable knob where you can go from no assist to turning the wheel with almost one finger. I now keep one in stock for customers win they purchase a Super Rack. The EPS system is $475. 
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Parker, oddly enough Joe Fab said you are making 10 racks that fit my car.  Was going to call you today to discuss.  

Would the Super Rack hold up to the abuse of my 36" tires?  Do you have a picture of super rack you could post.  Could not find it on the website.

 
We are just to finish up a run of 10 of them but we will continue to keep these in stock. I would not be worried about 36 " tires this rack uses the same pinion and very similar rack bar as our Power rack. 

anodized 6061 body and lid

4340 heat treated and precision ground rack bar

300m pinion

nylon wear bar

Feel free to call if you have any questions.

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r3meyer said:
Parker, oddly enough Joe Fab said you are making 10 racks that fit my car.  Was going to call you today to discuss.  

Would the Super Rack hold up to the abuse of my 36" tires?  Do you have a picture of super rack you could post.  Could not find it on the website.
Click to expand...
Also working on a new website, should be finished by mid July with more detail of our products and the ability to purchase them through the site.

 
Two friends have an EPS system on their rides. One a DD, the other has the same Buggyworks style suspension. Work great. None have them turned up all the way. 

 
I have EPS on my 2 seat Alumicraft and it has worked very well for the last 5 years.  The car has 35" baja pros and it handles those tires with ease.  I have never messed with the potentiometer, but however it it is set.... I can dune with one hand.  The only issue I ever had was with a stock small alternator, weak battery and too small of cable running from it to the battery.  It would cut out with all the lights, radios, fans running on night runs.  Since then everything has been way over built and it hasn't been a problem since

20210523_102339.jpg

 
If I was building a new car I would definitely go with EPS. Over the years I've had several clients ask me to convert their hydraulic steering to EPS but in my opinion it's not worth it. Most are looking for a way to gain HP and not have the hoses running front to back. There will be no noticeable HP gains and hoses are easy to hide or run cleanly. 

Your situation is different due to outdated parts, expensive replacement parts and a need to do fabrication anyway. I think EPS is the way to go for you. 

 
I run Harvey’s EPS kit. It works great. I have 12.50’s and car probably weighs 2500-3000 lbs

 
Ever sense experiencing Electric Power Steering in a UTV I’ve been a fan of the concept in a off road car. I like  when off it’s just like manual steering, so it’s still drivable if it fails. If hydraulic fails you can barely turn it. Plus with Elec.PS you don’t need to start the engine to activate the steering.
 

Now with that said the down side is the shock load the rack takes from both the terrain/suspension and the other side of the rack from the PS unit. Electric PS takes all the bad feedback out of the wheel, but everything below the rack still gets all the load. Elec. PS is full of torque. I know two guys who have added Elec. PS to their prerun buggys, and have both added steering dampeners to help protect the racks. 
 

When I get ready to tear down my pre run Baja Bug for a little restoration & upgrade, I will be adding elec. PS. I’ve already have Fox Shox steering dampener on it. 

 
I got harbors eps on the car I am building. He has complete kit with all wiring and connections. I picked it up during a dune trip and he welded up the joints for my set up at no charge. Very happy with his Coustomer service. There was a good tred pedometer sight went down on set up and the different ways that it could be done. 

 
I spoke with Parker and he thinks the manual setup will work great for what I have.  I am almost 99% sure it will actually bolt right up which makes it even better.

 
While I don't have a big car, I converted mine from hydraulic to EPS.  I had the Charlyn set up and it would cut out, give feedback and if it has fluid, it will eventually leak.  

I have one of Harvey's setups too.  The one thing I would/will do different is remove the rheostat in the system and hard solder a resistor for full on.  (400omhs I think).  I've had it for a couple seasons and never found any reason why I would adjust the steering to lighten or dampen.    I suppose you could wire it in and just stick it under the dash or panel in the full on position.

 
Ok, can we talk about me for a little?

I have a 4 seat SU car and I’m thinking of EPS but also want to replace the rack and pinion as they are ~20 years old. No noticeable play in them but I ride with who I bought the car from and he drove the living crap out of it.  Any ideas what I should look at?  I don’t have a hood so I’d rather not have an actuator up at the steering wheel but that’s not a deal breaker.  

Me me me  me Meeeeeee!

 
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