Steering

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Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will
allow for a vessel (ship, boat) or vehicle (car) to follow the desired course. An exception
is the case of rail transport by which rail tracks combined together with railroad switches
provide the steering function.

Part of steering mechanism: tie rod, steering arm, king pin.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Rack and pinion, recirculating ball, worm and sector
• 3 Power steering
• 4 Speed Adjustable Steering
• 5 Four-wheel steering
o 5.1 Recent application
o 5.2 Production cars with active four wheel steering
• 6 Articulated steering
• 7 Steer-By-Wire
• 8 Safety
• 9 Cycles
• 10 See also
• 11 External links
 • 12 References

[edit] Introduction
The most conventional steering arrangement is to turn the front wheels using a hand–
operated steering wheel which is positioned in front of the driver, via the steering
column, which may contain universal joints to allow it to deviate somewhat from a
straight line. Other arrangements are sometimes found on different types of vehicles, for
example, a tiller or rear–wheel steering. Tracked vehicles such as tanks usually employ
differential steering — that is, the tracks are made to move at different speeds or even in
opposite directions to bring about a change of course.

[edit] Rack and pinion, recirculating ball, worm and

sector

Rack and pinion animation

Rack and pinion unit mounted in the cockpit of an Ariel Atom sports car chassis. For
most high volume production, this is usually mounted on the other side of this panel

Many modern cars use rack and pinion steering mechanisms, where the steering wheel
turns the pinion gear; the pinion moves the rack, which is a linear gear that meshes with
the pinion, converting circular motion into linear motion along the transverse axis of the
car (side to side motion). This motion applies steering torque to the kingpins of the
steered wheels via tie rods and a short lever arm called the steering arm.
The rack and pinion design has the advantages of a large degree of feedback and direct
steering "feel"; it also does not normally have any backlash, or slack.[citation needed] A
disadvantage is that it is not adjustable, so that when it does wear and develop lash, the
only cure is replacement.

Older designs often use the recirculating ball mechanism, which is still found on trucks
and utility vehicles. This is a variation on the older worm and sector design; the steering
column turns a large screw (the "worm gear") which meshes with a sector of a gear,
causing it to rotate about its axis as the worm gear is turned; an arm attached to the axis
of the sector moves the pitman arm, which is connected to the steering linkage and thus
steers the wheels. The recirculating ball version of this apparatus reduces the
considerable friction by placing large ball bearings between the teeth of the worm and
those of the screw; at either end of the apparatus the balls exit from between the two
pieces into a channel internal to the box which connects them with the other end of the
apparatus, thus they are "recirculated".

The recirculating ball mechanism has the advantage of a much greater mechanical
advantage, so that it was found on larger, heavier vehicles while the rack and pinion was
originally limited to smaller and lighter ones; due to the almost universal adoption of
power steering, however, this is no longer an important advantage, leading to the
increasing use of rack and pinion on newer cars. The recirculating ball design also has a
perceptible lash, or "dead spot" on center, where a minute turn of the steering wheel in
either direction does not move the steering apparatus; this is easily adjustable via a screw
on the end of the steering box to account for wear, but it cannot be entirely eliminated
because it will create excessive internal forces at other positions and the mechanism will
wear very rapidly. This design is still in use in trucks and other large vehicles, where
rapidity of steering and direct feel are less important than robustness, maintainability, and
mechanical advantage. The much smaller degree of feedback with this design can also
sometimes be an advantage; drivers of vehicles with rack and pinion steering can have
their thumbs broken when a front wheel hits a bump, causing the steering wheel to kick
to one side suddenly (leading to driving instructors telling students to keep their thumbs
on the front of the steering wheel, rather than wrapping around the inside of the rim).
This effect is even stronger with a heavy vehicle like a truck; recirculating ball steering
prevents this degree of feedback, just as it prevents desirable feedback under normal
circumstances.

The steering linkage connecting the steering box and the wheels usually conforms to a
variation of Ackermann steering geometry, to account for the fact that in a turn, the inner
wheel is actually traveling a path of smaller radius than the outer wheel, so that the
degree of toe suitable for driving in a straight path is not suitable for turns.

The worm and sector was an older design, used for example in Willys and Chrysler
vehicles, and the Ford Falcon (1960s).[1]

[edit] Power steering

Main article: Power steering

As vehicles have become heavier and switched to front wheel drive, the effort to turn the
steering wheel manually has increased - often to the point where major physical exertion
is required. To alleviate this, auto makers have developed power steering systems. There
are two types of power steering systems—hydraulic and electric/electronic. A hydraulic-
electric hybrid system is also possible.

A hydraulic power steering (HPS) uses hydraulic pressure supplied by an engine-driven

pump to assist the motion of turning the steering wheel. Electric power steering (EPS) is
more efficient than the hydraulic power steering, since the electric power steering motor
only needs to provide assistance when the steering wheel is turned, whereas the hydraulic
pump must run constantly. In EPS the assist level is easily tunable to the vehicle type,
road speed, and even driver preference. An added benefit is the elimination of
environmental hazard posed by leakage and disposal of hydraulic power steering fluid.

[edit] Speed Adjustable Steering

An outgrowth of power steering is speed adjustable steering, where the steering is heavily
assisted at low speed and lightly assisted at high speed. The auto makers perceive that
motorists might need to make large steering inputs while manoeuvering for parking, but
not while traveling at high speed. The first vehicle with this feature was the Citroën SM
with its Diravi layout, although rather than altering the amount of assistance as in modern
power steering systems, it altered the pressure on a centring cam which made the steering
wheel try to "spring" back to the straight-ahead position. Modern speed-adjustable power
steering systems reduce the pressure fed to the ram as the speed increases, giving a more
direct feel. This feature is gradually becoming commonplace across all new vehicles.

[edit] Four-wheel steering

Four-wheel steering (or all wheel steering) is a system employed by some vehicles to
improve steering response, increase vehicle stability while maneuvering at high speed, or
to decrease turning radius at low speed.

In most active four-wheel steering systems, the rear wheels are steered by a computer and
actuators. The rear wheels generally cannot turn as far as the front wheels. Some systems,
including Delphi's Quadrasteer and the system in Honda's Prelude line, allow for the rear
wheels to be steered in the opposite direction as the front wheels during low speeds. This
allows the vehicle to turn in a significantly smaller radius — sometimes critical for large
trucks or tractors and vehicles with trailers.

Many modern vehicles offer a form of passive rear steering to counteract normal vehicle
tendencies. For example, Subaru used a passive steering system to correct for the rear
wheel's tendency to toe-out. On many vehicles, when cornering, the rear wheels tend to
steer slightly to the outside of a turn, which can reduce stability. The passive steering
system uses the lateral forces generated in a turn (through suspension geometry) and the
bushings to correct this tendency and steer the wheels slightly to the inside of the corner.
This improves the stability of the car, through the turn. This effect is called compliance
understeer and it, or its opposite, is present on all suspensions. Typical methods of
achieving compliance understeer are to use a Watt's Link on a live rear axle, or the use of
toe control bushings on a twist beam suspension. On an independent rear suspension it is
normally achieved by changing the rates of the rubber bushings in the suspension. Some
suspensions will always have compliance oversteer due to geometry, such as Hotchkiss
live axles or a semi trailing arm IRS.

[edit] Recent application

In an active 4ws system all four wheels turn at the same time when the driver steers.
There can be controls to switch off the rear steer and options to steer only the rear wheel
independent of the front wheels. At slow speeds (e.g. parking) the rear wheels turn
opposite of the front wheels, reducing the turning radius by up to twenty-five percent,
while at higher speeds both front and rear wheels turn alike (electronically controlled), so
that the vehicle may change position with less yaw, enhancing straight-line stability. The
"Snaking effect" experienced during motorway drives while towing a travel trailer is thus
largely nullified. Four-wheel steering found its most widespread use in monster trucks,
where maneuverability in small arenas is critical, and it is also popular in large farm
vehicles and trucks.

General Motors offers Delphi's Quadrasteer in their consumer Silverado/Sierra and

Suburban/Yukon. However, only 16,500 vehicles have been sold with this system since
its introduction in 2002 through 2004. Due to this low demand, GM will not offer the
technology on the 2007 update to these vehicles.

Previously, Honda had four-wheel steering as an option in their 1987-2000 Prelude, and
Mazda also offered four-wheel steering on the 626 and MX6 in 1988.

A new "Active Drive" system is introduced on the 2008 version of the Renault Laguna
line. It was designed as one of several measures to increase security and stability. The
Active Drive should lower the effects of under steer and decrease the chances of spinning
by diverting part of the G-forces generated in a turn from the front to the rear tires. At
low speeds the turning circle can be tightened so parking and maneuvering is easier.

[edit] Production cars with active four wheel steering

• BMW 850CSi (optional) • Mitsubishi Galant/Sigma (high speed only)

• BMW 7-Series (2009
onwards, part of sport
package) [2]
• Efini MS-9 (high and low
speed)
• GMC Sierra (2002) (high
• Mitsubishi GTO (also sold as the Mitsubishi
3000GT and the Dodge Stealth) (high speed
only)
• Nissan Cefiro (A31) (high speed only)
• Nissan 240SX/Silvia (option on SE models)
(high speed only)
 and low speed)
• Honda Prelude (high and
low speed, fully mechanical
from 1987 to 1991)
• Honda Prelude (high and
low speed, fully electronic
from 1991 to 2001)
• Honda Accord (1991) (high
and low speed, mechanical)
• Infiniti G35 Sedan (option
on Sport models) (2007-
Present) (high speed only?)
• Infiniti G35 Coupe (option
on Sport models) (2006-
Present) (high speed only) [3]
• Infiniti J30t (touring
package) (1993-1994)
• Infiniti M35 (option on Sport
models) (2006-Present)
(high speed only?)
• Infiniti M45 (option on Sport
models) (2006-Present)
(high speed only?)
• Infiniti Q45t (1989-1994)
(high speed only?)
• Mazda 626 (1988) (high and
low speed)
• Mazda MX-6 (1989-1997)
(high and low speed)
• Mazda RX-7 (optional,
computerized, high and low
speed)
[edit] Articulated steering
A front loader with articulated steering.
• Nissan 300ZX (all Twin-Turbo Z32 models)
(high speed only)
• Nissan Laurel (later versions) (high speed
only)
• Nissan Fuga/Infiniti M (high speed only)
• Nissan Silvia (option on all S13 models)
(high speed only)
• Nissan Skyline GTS, GTS-R, GTS-X (1986)
(high speed only)
• Nissan Skyline GT-R (high and low speed)
• Renault Laguna (only in GT version of 3rd
generation which was launched October
2007, GT launched on April 2008)
• Subaru SVX JDM (1991-1996) (Japanese
version: "L-CDX" only) (high speed only)
• Toyota Aristo (1997) (high and low speed?)
• Toyota Camry JDM 1990-1992 Camry
Prominent (Optional)(high and low speed)
[citation needed]
• Toyota Celica (option on 5th and 6th
generation, 1990-1993 ST183 and 1994-
1997 ST203) (Dual-mode, high and low
speed)
• Toyota Soarer (UZZ32)
Articulated steering is a system by which a four-wheel drive vehicle is split into front and
rear halves which are connected by a vertical hinge. The front and rear halves are
connected with one or more hydraulic cylinders that change the angle between the halves,
including the front and rear axles and wheels, thus steering the vehicle. This system does
not use steering arms, king pins, tie rods, etc. as does four-wheel steering. If the vertical
hinge is placed equidistant between the two axles, it also eliminates the need for a central
differential, as both front and rear axles will follow the same path, and thus rotate at the
same speed.

[edit] Steer-By-Wire
The aim of steer-by-wire technology is to completely do away with as many mechanical
components (steering shaft, column, gear reduction mechanism, etc.) as possible.
Completely replacing conventional steering system with steer-by-wire holds several
advantages, such as:

• The absence of steering column simplifies the car interior design.

• The absence of steering shaft, column and gear reduction mechanism allows much
better space utilization in the engine compartment.

• The steering mechanism can be designed and installed as a modular unit.

• Without mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the road wheel, it
is less likely that the impact of a frontal crash will force the steering wheel to
intrude into the driver's survival space.

• Steering system characteristics can easily and infinitely be adjusted to optimize

the steering response and feel.

As of 2007 there are no production cars available that rely solely on steer-by-wire
technology due to safety, reliability and economic concerns, but this technology has been
demonstrated in numerous concept cars and similar technology is in used in military and
civilian aviation applications.

[edit] Safety
For safety reasons all modern cars feature a collapsible steering column (energy
absorbing steering column) which will collapse in the event of a heavy frontal impact to
avoid excessive injuries to the driver. Non-collapsible steering columns very often impale
drivers in frontal crashes. Audi used a retractable wheel system called procon-ten but has
since been discontinued.

Collapsible steering columns were invented by Bela Barenyi.

This safety feature first appeared on cars built by General Motors after an extensive and
very public lobbying campaign enacted by Ralph Nader.

Ford started to install collapsible steering columns in 1968.[4]

[edit] Cycles
Steering is crucial to the stability of bicycles and motorcycles. For details, see articles on
bicycle and motorcycle dynamics and countersteering.

[edit] See also

• Bump Steer
• Caster angle
• Camber angle
• DIRAVI
• Dry steering
• Power steering
• Steer-by-wire
• Steering law
• Steering ratio
• Steering wheel (ship)
• Steering wheel cover
• tiller

• Skid steer

SimHydraulics 1.5

Power-Assisted Steering Mechanism

The model represents a simplified version of a power-assisted steering mechanism showing all its
major parts: double-acting hydraulic cylinder; rotational valve; fixed- displacement pump;
pressure-relief valve; mechanical load consisting of a reduced to a driving shaft inertia, damping,
and stiffness; and torsion bar installed between the steering wheel and the pinion of a rack-and-
pinion mechanism. The rotation of the steering wheel causes the torsion bar to twist with respect to
the pinion position. The deformation of the bar is transformed into opening of the rotational valve,
which connects ports of the cylinder to pressure or exhaust lines depending on the direction of
rotation. If deformation exceeds 9 deg the wheel is connected directly to the pinion through the
hard stops installed in parallel with the torsion bar. The cylinder moves the steering rods and, at the
same time, twists the torsion rod in the opposite direction until the valve is in neutral position.

Copyright 2008-2009 The MathWorks™, Inc.

Power steering mechanism
Document Type and Number:
United States Patent 4296673

Abstract:
A power steering mechanism includes a control valve which acts both to control the flow
of pressurized fluid to and from a pair of working chambers of the mechanism and as a
pressure relief valve to limit the maximum pressure which may be communicated to the
working chambers. The valve includes a stack of plane annular discs which are relatively
rotatable and arranged coaxially with the control shaft of the steering mechanism. The
discs are resiliently biased together and define valve ports and compartments which
cooperate to control the flow of pressure fluid dependent upon the relative rotational
positions of the discs. Rotation of the control shaft causes rotation of one of the discs
relative to the others to correlate the ports and chambers so as to supply pressure fluid to
one chamber and to vent fluid from the other chamber. If the fluid pressure within the
compartments of the control valve should exceed a predetermined value, the resilient bias
holding the discs together is overcome and the discs separate slightly to open
communication between the fluid supply ports and the vent ports.

Another embodiment of the mechanism includes a linkage arranged to separate the discs
and an abutment which cooperates with the linkage when the mechanism reaches either
end of its range of travel. The working chambers are incapacitated when the linkage
separates the discs so as to prevent damage to the mechanism from a too-high fluid
pressure.

Steering Mechanism

Jack the front of the car up and place securly on

axle stands.

Grab each of the front wheels at each side and

shake the wheels vigourously. There should be no
free play and the steering mechanism should be
free to turn.

Check that the wheels do not wobble indicating

play in the wheel bearings, ball joints or
suspension mountings or bushes.

Repeat these tests grabbing each wheel from the

top and bottom to check for any vertical play.

Spin the wheels and make sure that they turn freely. There may be some friction
from the brake pad. If this is the case then touch the brakes and repeat. If the wheel
tends to lock up, this can be an indication of worn wheel bearings along with any
grating noise heard while the wheel is spinning. Again make sure that this is not the
brakes.
Repeat these tests to the back wheels after the back of the car has been jacked and
placed on axle stands.

Power-Assisted Steering Mechanism

The model represents a simplified version of a power-assisted steering mechanism
showing all its major parts: double-acting hydraulic cylinder; rotational valve; fixed-
displacement pump; pressure-relief valve; mechanical load consisting of a reduced to a
driving shaft inertia, damping, and stiffness; and torsion bar installed between the
steering wheel and the pinion of a rack-and-pinion mechanism. The rotation of the
steering wheel causes the torsion bar to twist with respect to the pinion position. The
deformation of the bar is transformed into opening of the rotational valve, which connects
ports of the cylinder to pressure or exhaust lines depending on the direction of rotation. If
deformation exceeds 9 deg the wheel is connected directly to the pinion through the hard
stops installed in parallel with the torsion bar. The cylinder moves the steering rods and,
at the same time, twists the torsion rod in the opposite direction until the valve is in
neutral position.

Copyright 2008-2009 The MathWorks™, Inc.

Steering mechanisms

One of the most difficult things to design and build on a kart is the steering mechanism. The
steering mechanism is used to turn the kart around the bends in the track. There are many different
ways in which this can be done.

Steering controls
This is how the kart driver controls how much the wheels will turn around any corner. Most kart
designs use handlebars to steer the kart like the ones used on bikes, but some use a steering wheel
or long rods with handles that can be pushed forward and back to turn the wheels, as you can see
in the photographs (right).

But how do we convert the turning of the wheels or handlebars, or the pushing and pulling of
handles, into the right movement of the wheels? - We use a steering linkage.

Steering linkages
A steering linkage changes the movement of the driver's handle bar or steering wheel into the
turning of the wheels to go round corners. Steering linkages on a kart are usually made from a
system of rods and pivot points (moving connections) between the handlebars or steering wheel to
the front wheels of the kart.

Some karts put the wheels in a diamond shape, with a single front wheel for steering. On a kart
with a single front wheel, like a bike's, the steering linkage can be very simple, as there is only one
wheel to turn. This can be done by having a set of handlebars connected to the front forks exactly
as you would do with a bike. If the driver is sitting further back from the front wheel, two
connecting rods can be used to steer the wheel either using simple handles, as shown in the
photograph above, or handlebars as in the drawing below.

Having only three wheels can make the kart unstable when going round corners, increasing the risk
of it falling over.

You can connect two front wheels to a single pivot point in the centre of the front axle, and use the
same mechanisms. But this can cause the wheels to jam on sharp bends and it also makes the kart
unstable when turning.

The kart is much more stable if it has two wheels at the front of the with their own pivot points, but
the steering linkages get more complicated.
The names of many of the parts in a steering linkage using two front wheels are shown below.

The Pitman arm is used to connect the steering column to the tie rods. The arm changes the
rotational (turning) movement of the handlebars and steering column to a sideways motion in the
tie rods.

The tie rods are connected to the steering arms, which then change the sideways motion back into
a rotational movement, which turns the wheels.

By changing the length of the Pitman arm you can change the amount the wheels turn.

The steering arms are connected to the wheels using a stub axle, or bicycle front forks in most
cases and a pivot point called a king pin. It is called a king pin because in early vehicle designs, it
was a large pin that held all the other parts together.

These linkages show how the kart driver can make the wheels turn from turning the handlebars or
steering wheel, but by how much should we turn them to get round a corner?

Turning angle
You may think at first that both front wheels of the kart have to turn to the same angle to get round
a bend, but that isn't correct.

If a kart goes around a circle or bend, the outside wheels have to travel further than the inside
wheels – try running around a circle with a friend at different distances and see who has to run
faster to keep up!

To make the wheels go round these different distances they need to turn by different amounts.

If we draw an angle between the rear axle of the kart, the centre of the circle and the centre of
each front wheel, we see that this angle is different for each wheel. Using trigonometry, we can see
that these angles are also the angles by which each wheel needs to turn into the curve. The inner
wheel always turns more than the outer wheel; the difference between these two angles (Θ1 minus
Θ2) is called the 'toe-in' of the wheels.

So, for example, if the inner wheel turned by Θ1 = 45°, and we assume the kart dimensions to be x
= 1m and y = 2m, then;

• r = y/tan (Θ1) = 2/tan(45°) = 2/1 = 2m

• tan (Θ2) = y/(x+r) = 2/3, so Θ2 = 33.6°
• Toe-out = Θ1 - Θ2 = 11.4°

So how do we get the two front wheels to turn by different amounts?

Ackermann steering
Ackermann steering is named after Rudolph Ackermann, who designed a solution to the turning
problem in London in 1817. The idea is to angle the steering arms of the steering linkage towards
the centre of the kart so that the tie rods change the wheel angles by different amounts.

Calculating of the exact angle of each steering arm is complicated but angling the steering arms so
that a line drawn from the centre of each arm meets at the centre of the rear axle gives a good
result.
Conclusions
Using a design with four wheels at each corner makes the kart more stable but makes the steering
more complicated.

The front wheels should turn at different angles to get round a bend.
This can be achieved by using Ackermann steering i.e. angling the steering arms towards the centre
of the rear axle.

You know that when you turn the steering wheel in your car, the wheels turn. Cause and
effect, right? But a lot of interesting stuff goes on between the steering wheel and the
tires to make this happen.

In this article, we'll see how the two most common types of car steering systems work:
rack-and-pinion and recirculating-ball steering. Then we'll examine power steering and
find out about some interesting future developments in steering systems, driven mostly
by the need to increase the fuel efficiency of cars. But first, let's see what you have to do
turn a car. It's not quite as simple as you might think!

Turning the Car

You might be surprised to learn that when you turn your car, your front wheels are not
pointing in the same direction.
For a car to turn smoothly, each wheel must follow a different circle. Since the inside
wheel is following a circle with a smaller radius, it is actually making a tighter turn than
the outside wheel. If you draw a line perpendicular to each wheel, the lines will intersect
at the center point of the turn. The geometry of the steering linkage makes the inside
wheel turn more than the outside wheel.

There are a couple different types of steering gears. The most common are rack-and-
pinion and recirculating ball.

Rack-and-pinion Steering
Rack-and-pinion steering is quickly becoming the most common type of steering on
cars, small trucks and SUVs. It is actually a pretty simple mechanism. A rack-and-pinion
gearset is enclosed in a metal tube, with each end of the rack protruding from the tube. A
rod, called a tie rod, connects to each end of the rack.

The pinion gear is attached to the steering shaft. When you turn the steering wheel, the
gear spins, moving the rack. The tie rod at each end of the rack connects to the steering
arm on the spindle (see diagram above).

The rack-and-pinion gearset does two things:

• It converts the rotational motion of the steering wheel into the linear motion
needed to turn the wheels.
• It provides a gear reduction, making it easier to turn the wheels.

On most cars, it takes three to four complete revolutions

of the steering wheel to make the wheels turn from lock
to lock (from far left to far right).

The steering ratio is the ratio of how far you turn the
steering wheel to how far the wheels turn. For instance,
if one complete revolution (360 degrees) of the steering
wheel results in the wheels of the car turning 20 degrees,
then the steering ratio is 360 divided by 20, or 18:1. A
higher ratio means that you have to turn the steering
wheel more to get the wheels to turn a given distance.
However, less effort is required because of the higher
gear ratio.
Generally, lighter, sportier cars have lower steering ratios than larger cars and trucks. The
lower ratio gives the steering a quicker response -- you don't have to turn the steering
wheel as much to get the wheels to turn a given distance -- which is a desirable trait in
sports cars. These smaller cars are light enough that even with the lower ratio, the effort
required to turn the steering wheel is not excessive.

Some cars have variable-ratio steering, which uses a rack-and-pinion gearset that has a
different tooth pitch (number of teeth per inch) in the center than it has on the outside.
This makes the car respond quickly when starting a turn (the rack is near the center), and
also reduces effort near the wheel's turning limits.

Power Rack-and-pinion
When the rack-and-pinion is in a power-steering system, the rack has a slightly different
design.

Part of the rack contains a cylinder with a piston in the middle. The piston is connected to
the rack. There are two fluid ports, one on either side of the piston. Supplying higher-
pressure fluid to one side of the piston forces the piston to move, which in turn moves the
rack, providing the power assist.

We'll check out the components that provide the high-pressure fluid, as well as decide
which side of the rack to supply it to, later in the article. First, let's take a look at another
type of steering.

Recirculating-ball Steering
Recirculating-ball steering is used on many trucks and SUVs today. The linkage that
turns the wheels is slightly different than on a rack-and-pinion system.
The recirculating-ball steering gear contains a worm gear. You can image the gear in two
parts. The first part is a block of metal with a threaded hole in it. This block has gear
teeth cut into the outside of it, which engage a gear that moves the pitman arm (see
diagram above). The steering wheel connects to a threaded rod, similar to a bolt, that
sticks into the hole in the block. When the steering wheel turns, it turns the bolt. Instead
of twisting further into the block the way a regular bolt would, this bolt is held fixed so
that when it spins, it moves the block, which moves the gear that turns the wheels.

Instead of the bolt directly engaging the threads in the block, all of the threads are filled
with ball bearings that recirculate through the gear as it turns. The balls actually serve
two purposes: First, they reduce friction and wear in the gear; second, they reduce slop in
the gear. Slop would be felt when you change the direction of the steering wheel --
without the balls in the steering gear, the teeth would come out of contact with each other
for a moment, making the steering wheel feel loose.

Power steering in a recirculating-ball system works similarly to a rack-and-pinion system.

Assist is provided by supplying higher-pressure fluid to one side of the block.

Now let's take a look at the other components that make up a power-steering system.

Power Steering
There are a couple of key components in power steering in addition to the rack-and-
pinion or recirculating-ball mechanism.

Pump
The hydraulic power for the steering is provided by a rotary-vane pump (see diagram
below). This pump is driven by the car's engine via a belt and pulley. It contains a set of
retractable vanes that spin inside an oval chamber.
As the vanes spin, they pull hydraulic fluid from the return line at low pressure and force
it into the outlet at high pressure. The amount of flow provided by the pump depends on
the car's engine speed. The pump must be designed to provide adequate flow when the
engine is idling. As a result, the pump moves much more fluid than necessary when the
engine is running at faster speeds.

The pump contains a pressure-relief valve to make sure that the pressure does not get too
high, especially at high engine speeds when so much fluid is being pumped.

Rotary Valve
A power-steering system should assist the driver only when he is exerting force on the
steering wheel (such as when starting a turn). When the driver is not exerting force (such
as when driving in a straight line), the system shouldn't provide any assist. The device
that senses the force on the steering wheel is called the rotary valve.

The key to the rotary valve is a torsion bar. The torsion bar is a thin rod of metal that
twists when torque is applied to it. The top of the bar is connected to the steering wheel,
and the bottom of the bar is connected to the pinion or worm gear (which turns the
wheels), so the amount of torque in the torsion bar is equal to the amount of torque the
driver is using to turn the wheels. The more torque the driver uses to turn the wheels, the
more the bar twists.
The input from the steering shaft forms the inner part of a spool-valve assembly. It also
connects to the top end of the torsion bar. The bottom of the torsion bar connects to the
outer part of the spool valve. The torsion bar also turns the output of the steering gear,
connecting to either the pinion gear or the worm gear depending on which type of
steering the car has.

As the bar twists, it rotates the inside of the spool valve relative to the outside. Since the
inner part of the spool valve is also connected to the steering shaft (and therefore to the
steering wheel), the amount of rotation between the inner and outer parts of the spool
valve depends on how much torque the driver applies to the steering wheel.

Animation showing what happens inside the rotary valve when you first start to turn the
steering wheel
 When the steering wheel is not being turned, both hydraulic lines provide the same
amount of pressure to the steering gear. But if the spool valve is turned one way or the
other, ports open up to provide high-pressure fluid to the appropriate line.

It turns out that this type of power-steering system is pretty inefficient. Let's take a look
at some advances we'll see in coming years that will help improve efficiency.

The Future of Power Steering

Since the power-steering pump on most cars today runs constantly, pumping fluid all the
time, it wastes horsepower. This wasted power translates into wasted fuel.

You can expect to see several innovations that will improve fuel economy. One of the
coolest ideas on the drawing board is the "steer-by-wire" or "drive-by-wire" system.
These systems would completely eliminate the mechanical connection between the
steering wheel and the steering, replacing it with a purely electronic control system.
Essentially, the steering wheel would work like the one you can buy for your home
computer to play games. It would contain sensors that tell the car what the driver is doing
with the wheel, and have some motors in it to provide the driver with feedback on what
the car is doing. The output of these sensors would be used to control a motorized
steering system. This would free up space in the engine compartment by eliminating the
steering shaft. It would also reduce vibration inside the car.

General Motors has introduced a concept car, the Hy-wire, that features this type of
driving system. One of the most exciting things about the drive-by-wire system in the
GM Hy-wire is that you can fine-tune vehicle handling without changing anything in the
car's mechanical components -- all it takes to adjust the steering is some new computer
software. In future drive-by-wire vehicles, you will most likely be able to configure the
controls exactly to your liking by pressing a few buttons, just like you might adjust the
seat position in a car today. It would also be possible in this sort of system to store
distinct control preferences for each driver in the family.

In the past fifty years, car steering systems haven't changed much. But in the next decade,
we'll see advances in car steering that will result in more efficient cars and a more
comfortable ride.

steering system

in automobiles, steering wheel, gears, linkages, and other components used to control the
direction of a vehicle’s motion. Because of friction between the front tires and the road,
especially in parking, effort is required to turn the steering wheel. To lessen the effort
required, the wheel is connected through a system of gears to components that position the
front tires. The gears give the driver a mechanical advantage, i.e., they multiply the force he
applies, but they also increase the distance through which he must turn the wheel in order to
turn the tires a given amount. Various types of gear assemblies, none with any decisive
advantages over the others, are used, although some manufacturers prefer a rack-and-pinion
system. In faster, heavier cars the amount of force required to turn the tires can be very
great. Many of these cars use a power-steering system. The system contains a hydraulic
booster, which operates when the engine is running and supplies most of the necessary force
when the driver turns the wheel. When a vehicle turns at a rate exactly proportional to the
rate at which the steering wheel is turned, it is said to have neutral steering; if it turns at a
slower rate it is said to understeer; if it turns faster it is said to oversteer. While any vehicle
can react in any of these ways under extreme conditions, most automobiles are built to
understeer. Racing vehicles are often designed for neutral steering; few vehicles are built to
oversteer, since this is considered hazardous by many authorities. As a safety feature in
many modern cars the column on which the steering wheel is mounted will collapse if the
driver is thrown against the wheel in a collision.