IIRC, 3.8 turns L2L instead of 4.1 so about 10% faster.

 

I've never removed the pump before--- are there any gotchas or is it just unbolt and yank?

 

Here is the m.net garage article:

CONVERSION TO MANUAL STEERING

and the FM one:

Flyin' Miata : Tech: 1.8 conversion

 

OK final update. I just jbwelded the hole. Having power steering back makes my miata feel like a luxury car now. I daily driver it and yes I have to parallel park and drive in parking lots with little kids acting as roving traffic cones and clogfucked traffic etc. Maybe you guys can curl 90 lbs at the gym with your pinky and it's no problem for you but with my freshly repowered rack I can steer so much faster and more easily. Track only I would go with depowered but for daily driving and autocross and buttsexing powered is so much nicer.

 

Depower it anyways, you will thank me later (for the kungfu-masturbation grip you develop alone).

 

No PS is great. Reduce the caster a little bit and it is sweetness incarnate. Much better steering feel.

 

PS is awesome.

 

Driving with the pump not working is not a good representation of what a depowered rack feels like. With the pump still in place there is a huge restriction in the system that makes turning terribly difficult.
Depowering my removing the pump and looping the lines is very very different from just taking the belt off and leaving the pump installed. Just so you know.
That JB weld might not stay long if the pipe is the high pressure one on the bottom of the pump. If it's the one on top then the JB weld will hold fine as long as the PS fluid doesn't eat through the epoxy.

 

If it fails on you, seeing as you really want power steering (I don't blame you-I do too) let me know and I'll send you a power steering pump for free. Just pay shipping.

 

No PS = can't DORIFTO.

 

What?


To me it seems a whole lot easier to chase the back end around w/o PS. The front stays on track since your shifting body weight doesn't overcorrect with the PS.

Maybe it's just me...but with no PS, I can pick the attitude I want, regardless of throttle position. I've never had so much fun gettin' a little sideways before...fun=turbo-PS.

 

I've had both PS and manual in my '99, couple of years in each. I started with manual and then converted to PS. Bottom line is that if you're doing track and open road driving, the manual has better steering feel, you'll know exactly when those front wheels start slipping. As an autocrosser, the conversion to PS made my car much easier to drive in those tight turns where I couldn't keep up with the manual steering. Most autocrossers take the weight penalty of PS in return for the faster steering.