I drove manual FBs for over 10 years. I now have a de-powered FC and I'm doing everything in my power to find the missing power steering parts so I can get it working again. Makes parking and navigating anything in SoCal a bear. Mind you I have huge arms and work out 4 days a week, de-powered FC's with a lot of front tire suck in slow & tight situations.

 

Well as of last night my power steering (among other things) no longer works, so I cannot wait to swap in the manual rack I have.

 

I did the Depowered rack (the propper way) and its ****... (I have 245's on the front)

I ended up converting it all back to power steering (but electric power steering to keep the engine bay clean) so nice to be able to park easily again

But good luck I'm sure with 205's its not a issue.

 

Its all about your state of mind.

If you are willing to give up comfort for a better feel with the road, go for it.
I depowered mine 5years ago (17:1) and did one a few months ago for someone in the club (15:1)

He loved it, and the next owner and his father too!
his is even harder to steer due to the ratio, although he is on standard wheels and i am running on 225's

It is harder to steer and park, but high speed cornering becomes a real pleasure!

 

Ow, keep in mind that our cars are not used daily..
I think that will be the biggest issue if you are depowering, over time it could get annoying i guess

 

I've got a stock wheel and 225s all the way around. Just unplugged the power steering computer because it the beeping as annoying me. After a couple of months of driving it feels weird to drive a car with power steering. I actually like this better. If I where to go to a wider tire I might get an aftermarket steering wheel if I could find something bigger.

 

Non-functioning power steering is crap and is a half-assed way psuedo-solution at best. If you want simplicity get a manual rack or depower your power rack properly.

 

Speak for yourself, mine is a daily driver.

 

I've properly de-powered two cars. Did everything. Removed seals, welded the quill, welded the housing, etc. I daily drive one of the cars and I've got no complaints. I think people who say "well if you work out every day and have huge muscles blah blah blah." Pussies. I'm a string bean. No muscle, and I never work out. Get over it. If you don't want some hard steering at low speeds, don't do it. How often are you driving at 5 mph and switching from lock to lock? If your answer is "Oh, I do that all the time" then don't get rid of your power steering.

 

I meant my car, and the other FC i was talking about

 

I'm just waiting for my new inner tie rods to come in. I got Raybestos rods, they were out of outers so I will have to wait on those. Tomorrow I will just loop the rack and remove the whole pump, not like its any better the way it is now. Literally half the fluid is on the ground and the other half is all over the engine bay. Makes quite the nasty smell when warm. The weird thing is that everything was torqued down to the right spec and the hoses were still good, so I don't know how it got out. But the pump is toast anyway, the pulley bearing is long past shot.

 

Internet tough guy calling me a *****. I wish you were local... On topic; I was specific when I mentioned low speed driving situations -which are very common in SoCal- make a de-powered rack a terrible idea. Swapping to a manual rack is a much better option. The previous owner of the car was on the fast track to modding the car and didn't take his time with everything. That being said I am putting the power steering back in. I drove my FB with a manual rack for years with 245 Hoosiers and it was easier to drive than my FC with some no name shitty 225's. As with everything it's a matter of preference. When you live in Bum Fu(k Misery I understand that there is very little low speed maneuvering going on. I know, I was stationed at Ft. Lost in the Woods, Bum Fu(k Misery. But in an actual city, under normal driving situations, in my opinion -which the original poster was asking for(opinions not **** talkers)- running a de-powered rack is just a bad idea in a daily driver.

 

Meh. I daily drive my car in the city. I've been in plenty of low speed situations. This car rarely (maybe once a year) gets to stretch it's legs on an open country road.

You're right. I could refrain from the **** talk, and calling people pussies. For that, I apologize. I'm just tired of people who have never done the mod, just kicked a belt off, or have an improperly modded steering system calling it "too hard to steer." (I'm not trying to make a stab. I just like to give people an informed opinion on a properly modded rack.)

It's true, de-powered isn't for everybody. But I've driven cars that had factory non-power steering that were harder to steer than this; it's really not bad if done right... Just my 2 cents. Just to clarify: I do run stock wheels/tires and a GSL-SE steering wheel on one of the two modded cars. Naturally bigger tires and a smaller steering wheel would make steering effort more difficult. Again, sorry I was so rude, I hate to **** off a fellow RX-7 guy.