subject: Power steering in Cars [print this page] Power steering in Cars Power steering in Cars
Power steering assists the driver of a Car in steering by directing a portion of the Car's power to traverse the axis of one or more of its wheels. Chrysler Corporation introduced the first commercially available passenger car power steering system in the 1951 Chrysler Imperial.
Power steering was invented to deal with the excessive weight of modern Cars. Power steering uses an external power source that reduces the amount of effort that you have to put into steering the car by helping the wheels to turn. If your car has power steering you will need to make sure that the system is operating effectively on a regular basis.
There are two types of power steering systems used in Cars. The first is known as power rack-and-pinion steering. The second system, used mostly on larger Cars is called recirculating-ball steering.
Power steering relies on a simple principle: a hydraulic pump running off a belt driven by the engine places a small amount of fluid under pressure, which in turn assists the steering mechanism in directing the tyres as you turn the steering wheel. The system typically includes a pump, a pressure hose assembly, a control valve, and a return line.
Many Car manufacturers intentionally over boost their systems to give you that nice feeling on the road. Your choice in power steering feel may actually dictate the kind of car you drive. As a rule, power steering units offer years of maintenance-free service. They rarely break down. They steer our cars effortlessly and easily year after year, and we go down the road smiling and safe. And even when they do break down, we can still drive the car, although with greater effort.
One disadvantage of modern Car technology is that we think we are safer than we are. So too with power steering. We sometimes think the car is driving us instead of the other way around. Thus, technology can disconnect us from the actual experience of driving.
