power steering changing over years?

I've had 4 Hondas.. 87 Accord LX-i, 90 Prelude 2.0S, 91 Civic LX, and a 96
Civic EX

.... it seems that the newer the car was, the harder the steering wheel is
to turn.. my accord had little to no resistance... my prelude had some
resistance.. my 91 civic was about the same i suppose.. the 96 civic has a
lot more resistance than the other three..

is it just a coincidence? or have honda's power steering pumps changed over
the years?

 

i remember the old cars.. like the 54 Desoto, real fancy car,
convertible, everything convertible.... oh it had power steering and it
was so easy, even too easy... it was full power.. now days they call
them power assist, you dont need full power when driving forward at 65
mph... only when going slow or turning the wheel before pulling out into
traffic.. this is why the later the car the more effort it takes to turn
the wheel... they doing a better job now....

 

Maybe it's because you're getting older?

 

I was 19 when i got the accord, 19-20 when i had the prelude, 20 when i got
the 91 civic, and 23 when i got the 96 civic.

If I grew THAT weak in 4 years.. i'm in trouble ;-D


--
-Chris

http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/cars/ <- *NEW* My cars
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of the Star Wars Universe!

 

My '88 Accord has power assist, and it turns so easy at lower speeds,
you can drive with your finger tips. Not so at higher speeds. The newer
Accords (my 2004) use much less power compensation. Perhaps there is a
safety reason?

 

I still have my '88 and 2004. Driving them side by side I can plainly
see the '88 uses more power assist at lower speeds.

 

In the 86-88 models the power steering was vehicle speed sensitve, while
the newer ones are engine speed sensitive. I had an 87 and have a 98
Accord. Much prefered the former.

 

Wow, if you can drive them side by side, then you're twice the man I
am!

Nate

 

Your 88 accord is like that because that's the way it is designed. There is
a hose that comes out of the transmission that connects to the steering
rack. The gear on the tranny causes pressure to build up in the rack the
faster you go causing the steering to become "less sensitive" at speeds
faster than parking lot speeds. It's a speed sensitive steering rack.