variable speed steering rack

[bok1]

does a vx ss11 have a varitable speed steering rack.also does the vzclubsport have this aswell?

thanks phil

[hotvp]

VS SS II - No
VZ Clubsport - No

As far as i'm aware, Holden don't do variable speed steering racks - even on the Caprice.

I owned a few years ago a 1996 BWM 316i (2 door, hatch) and even this had variable speed steering rack!!

[macca33]

They do them on the Calais and the Caprice, also on the HSV Senator and Grange. That is all.

Cheers,

Macca

[hotvp]

Just had a quick look at the tech data for the Holden range and for all Commodores, Calais, Statesman, Caprice, Adventra, Crewman, Ute they state 'Variable ratio rack and pinion'.

HSV state for all cars "Responsive rack and pinion steering with power assistance"

So is this the variable speed variety, or just the variable ratio?? I still don't believe they are 'speed sensitive', but do have a variable ratio.

[goofafidamedes]

IIRC The only cars to have a linear ratio rack as standard were the SV6000, and DTS Clubsport/Clubsport R8's.

[hsv-105]

IIRC The only cars to have a linear ratio rack as standard were the SV6000, and DTS Clubsport/Clubsport R8's.

And the Coupe 4

[JNP304]

The old VP Calais 5.0 I had seemed to have speed sensitive steering. Light as at low speed and heavy at cruise. Feels a lot different to my VXSS.

[Aussie V8]

My VT Calais had variable steering rack which was renowned from oil leaks and the Holden Stealership said was not serviceable, ie. buy a replacement for ~$1000.

I was told by the Stealership that were dropped on later models because they were not durable and somany owners complained about the cost of replacement :(

[peber]

I had a VS II Calais and the rack was variable...

In fact, the shaft off the power steering pulley (for the pump) actually sheared off one day when i was on a long distance trip. The steering was bloody awful at low speed because of the lack of power assist. back on the freeway you'd never know the difference... it felt exactly as normal at that speed.

I was lucky enough that where it sheared was towards the back of the pump, so the pulley was still held in place by the bearings and the entire belt didnt just fly off!

If steering was as sensitive at 100km/hr as it is at 10km/hr, wouldn't the car be somewhat uncontrollable? (thats an open-ended question!)

[lease1]

My old VS11 Statesman had a speed dependant variable steering rack, and they are expensive to replace when they shit themselves too!

[planetdavo]

Option N40-Variable RATIO rack
Option NV7-Variable (road) SPEED rack

[Doug]

My VT Calais had variable steering rack which was renowned from oil leaks and the Holden Stealership said was not serviceable, ie. buy a replacement for ~$1000.

My VTII has the speed dependant variable steering rack. I had it reconditioned at 135,000km for $350. (Although 30,000km later it is again making a hell of a lot of noise...) While I have always liked the way it steered, it has had a nasty side effect. I've found the mildest brake rotor warping or wheel imbalance causes excess vibrations through the steering wheel. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to have disk rotor's mildly machined, or barely out wheels re-balanced.

[Tez82]

Monaro's have variable speed rack :D

[silvervyss]

VS SS II - No
VZ Clubsport - No

As far as i'm aware, Holden don't do variable speed steering racks - even on the Caprice.

I owned a few years ago a 1996 BWM 316i (2 door, hatch) and even this had variable speed steering rack!!


holden is about 50 years behind bmw. after owning a bmw 5 series and then selling it a and buying a vy ss :doh: i now appreciate german cars even more.

[planetdavo]

Monaro's have variable speed rack :D
Ours have variable RATIO racks. There are no road speed variable racks fitted to any Monaro's.

[hotvp]

Can someone from Holden clear this up for us???:doh:

Looking at the technical data on the Holden/HSV websites, the only cars which have the variable SPEED steering rack as standard is the SV6000 and the Coupe4.

It may be an option however - though it's not shown as an option on the websites.

[V-Car]

Are you talking about variable ratio rack, which most Commodores have, or variable assist, which is called Variomatic?
Variable ratio just gets quicker the more you turn it from straight ahead...a quarter turn near full lock will move your wheels alot more than the same amount of turn close to straight ahead.
Variomatic applies max assistance at parking speeds, but much less at hwy speeds.
I believe Holden did away with Variomatic sometime during VX or VY?? because of conflict between it and the BCM on some occasions.

[planetdavo]

Can someone from Holden clear this up for us???:doh:

Looking at the technical data on the Holden/HSV websites, the only cars which have the variable SPEED steering rack as standard is the SV6000 and the Coupe4.

It may be an option however - though it's not shown as an option on the websites.
The HSV models listed above have a HIGH RATIO LINEAR rack, which means the teeth on the rack shaft are all aligned with each other on the same angle. Keeping the same angle keeps the weight uniform along the rack length. This can mean say heavier steering at low speed, but gives good weight at higher speeds, which is what is good about the linear ratio rack. Variable RATIO racks, which the vast majority of Commodore variants have, have teeth that change angle along the length of the rack shaft, which varies how quick or slow the pinion moves along that shaft. They can make the teeth at one angle just off centre to give good "feel" for small high speed movements, but have a different angle further along to give light slow speed steering for parking. The compromise of this is that you can get "lumpy" steering around the ratio change. However, both the above DO NOT vary the hydraulic assistance level provided by the pump relative to ROAD SPEED. Variotronic steering on some Calais and Statesman models had an electronic valve that could vary hydraulic pressure to the variable ratio rack, adding further ability to vary assistance relative to road speed, not just engine speed like the first two. You have a mixture of different racks under each of the three types, so hopefully the above helps you understand their differences.

[bok1]

Thanks everyone for the replies that has answered my question.

thanks phil