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Thread: Electric power steering is installed

  1. #1
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    Electric power steering is installed

    I spent more time and money than I intended, but my SVO with electric assist power steering is done and driving. I used the fox body kit from EPAS Performance, so I didn't have to engineer much of it. I am making a few extra column support brackets because I don't think the kit is adequate in this regard, and I also made a custom collapsible steering shaft in front of the firewall instead of using the shaft from the kit. First driving impression is good, even with a bad alignment. The steering rack itself is a Flaming River quick ratio manual rack. I can add more details if anyone is interested.



    epas-03_small.jpgepas-05_small.jpg

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    owned since 2003, restomod

  2. #2
    Some Boost
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    Jun 2012
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    Cool! Does it have the separate modes like the late model Mustangs?

  3. #3
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    This kit is like most aftermarket kits, and has a knob to adjust the level of steering assist. Most people just settle on a middle ground position and leave it alone.

    My next step is to modify this to give it speed-sensitive power assist. I have a Ford speed sensor and Arduino microcontroller on my test bench, and have a proof-of-concept for changing the assist level as speed goes up. The adjustment knob is just a 100kΩ potentiometer, and I have a digital potentiometer that I will splice in to replace it.

    From here, I could add a switch to create different steering modes. I'm going to finish the base code while the car is in storage this winter, and see what makes the most sense after driving it more.

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    owned since 2003, restomod

  4. #4
    Half Boost rodster's Avatar
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    Would definitely like to hear more. Very interesting!

  5. #5
    Half Boost Raven855's Avatar
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    Post some more pics if you could. I had been gathering info to do the conversion for quite awhile. Just haven’t done it yet.

  6. #6
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    One negative of this system that I didn't consider until mid-install is that this replaces the collapsible portion of the steering column. This is why I made the collapsible shaft down below, but I may address it further. There is limited space to do this. There may be enough joints, couplers, and my new collapsible shaft section to prevent the steering column from going through me in a bad crash. My collapsible section of my stock steering column had a lot of rotational play in it, which was leading to thunking noises and loose steering, so at least that is gone.

    Here is a picture from early in the installation. The firewall plate is shown here. I didn't think to trace it for a template. The hole accepts a 3/4" steering shaft support bearing, like this one. The left side of the motor has a coupler welded to the end that accepts our 3/4" DD steering shaft just below the steering wheel. The right side of the motor has a splined end, and the kit comes with a coupler welded to a 3/4" DD shaft that goes through support bearing at the firewall.

    epas-02_small.jpg

    And here is my steering shaft. The top universal joint is 3/4" DD on the firewall end, and 1" DD on the lower side. I have a 1" DD tube from Borgeson that slides over a 3/4" DD shaft that came with my old Flaming River shaft kit. The lower universal joint is 3/4" DD on the top, and a splined end that fits a manual rack. I put a boot over the steering shaft, took a chance on this one and it was a perfect fit.

    IMG_1823-e1536171216762_small.jpg

    EPAS Performance has great technical support and I have to give them credit for making a fox body kit, even though there is not too much specific to a fox body. This could definitely be done cheaper, especially if you know how to weld.

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    owned since 2003, restomod

  7. #7
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    Here's the output of the motor to the firewall. There is no interference with the pedals.

    IMG_0047.jpg

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    owned since 2003, restomod

  8. #8
    Some Boost
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    Very cool, I m glad to see the Foxbody world getting some modern technology love from aftermarket companies.
    1986 SVO 1E (IRS'd and too much $$ spent making it turn and stop)

  9. #9
    Half Boost
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    The only thing I see I don't like is it looks like it hangs down past the bottom of the dash and looks like it makes it even more crowded in an already tight area.
    Other than that its a cool upgrade. I actually like the electic power steering on my 2012 F150 ecoboost. It feels like regular steering to me.

  10. #10
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    Yeah, if my clutch quadrant breaks, it's going to be a bad day. I should have swapped in a MM quadrant before I started this project, just so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

    Final driving impressions will have to wait until next year. I couldn't quite get it dialed in right, and finally realized my ball joints are bad. I'm going to use a MM coilover setup, which unfortunately means I won't be able to tell how much of the steering feel change comes from this modification, and how much is from the coilovers.

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    owned since 2003, restomod

  11. #11
    Noob
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    Thanks for the write up. Dumb question but I assume you must first convert to a manual rack prior to the conversion to electric power assist? Did you run for a while with the quick ratio FR manual rack, and how did you like that? ~Jim

  12. #12
    Building Boost Art Vandelay's Avatar
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    Yes, I probably drove 50 miles with a Flaming River quick ratio manual rack. I liked how it felt at speed, even with symptoms of bad ball joints creeping in. My driveway has poor visibility and makes me back into heavy traffic, so I ultimately could not keep it that way long term because I couldn't maneuver it quickly enough at low speed. If my home situation was different, I might have kept it fully manual for a season to give it a full evaluation.

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    owned since 2003, restomod

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