how heavy is F1 steering

With all the postings and web pages of how to make a steering wheel setup, i was wondering what does a real F1 car feel like to drive, with particular reference to the way the steering wheel should be built. Is it very heavy, eg. a car without power steering or is it light. Does it self centre and how much tendency does it have to do this. Some cars due to the way the front end is set up, tend to centre the wheel alot and some dont. any comments on the above would be much appreciated Thanks Rob Justice

MJ> With all the postings and web pages of how to make a steering wheel MJ> setup, i was wondering what does a real F1 car feel like to drive, MJ> with particular reference to the way the steering wheel should be MJ> built. MJ> Is it very heavy, eg. a car without power steering or is it light. MJ> Does it self centre and how much tendency does it have to do this. MJ> Some cars due to the way the front end is set up, tend to centre the MJ> wheel alot and some dont. I believe it's pretty heavy because of the wide tyres and high downforce pinning the nose down. On the other hand, with lock-to-lock being a tad less then 360 degrees only small movements are needed a lot of the time. Certainly you need strong arms and plenty of stamina to wrestle one around a twisty track for two hours. Cheers! --- * RM 1.3 U0414 * ANARCHY.COM :- [A]bort, [R]etry, [O]verthrow System

> With all the postings and web pages of how to make a steering wheel setup, > i was wondering what does a real F1 car feel like to drive, with > particular reference to the way the steering wheel should be built. > Is it very heavy, eg. a car without power steering or is it light. When stationary, the wheel is very heavy. Whilst moving, the wheel is fairly heavy as well, but it depends what you're doing. McLaren trialled power steering on their cars a few seasons ago to try and keep their drivers fresh for the end of the races. Personally i'd like to see steering wheels that weight up under corner forces. The steering also has a fair amount of self centring, but not overly so. -- =========================================================================== | Michael Knowles, NT Server Manager, HITS Group | | Nortel Ltd, London Rd, Harlow, Essex, CM17 9NA. United Kingdom | | |\ |\ | |/ |-- Telephone - (01279) 403100 | | | | \ |__ Mobile - (0385) 371470 | | Fax - (01279) 403030 FaxESN - 6-742-3030 | | Wolverhampton Wanderers, the world's number one football club | | O- Johnny Herbert Fan Club Member No. 855 - Go Johnny Go!!! | ===========================================================================

Quoted text (22 lines)

>MJ> With all the postings and web pages of how to make a steering wheel >MJ> setup, i was wondering what does a real F1 car feel like to drive, >MJ> with particular reference to the way the steering wheel should be >MJ> built. >MJ> Is it very heavy, eg. a car without power steering or is it light. >MJ> Does it self centre and how much tendency does it have to do this. >MJ> Some cars due to the way the front end is set up, tend to centre the >MJ> wheel alot and some dont. >I believe it's pretty heavy because of the wide tyres and high downforce >pinning the nose down. On the other hand, with lock-to-lock being a tad >less then 360 degrees only small movements are needed a lot of the time. >Certainly you need strong arms and plenty of stamina to wrestle one >around a twisty track for two hours. >Cheers! >--- > * RM 1.3 U0414 * ANARCHY.COM :- [A]bort, [R]etry, [O]verthrow System

Also, Most drivers change the gearing on the steering depending on circuit. There will be a big difference between say Monaco and Monza. Also, when going into the gravel you will always notice that the drivers quickly release the wheel as they say it can break your wrists if you hold on. I noticed Hill do this when he shunted himself and Schu off at Silverstone last year. Ian.