Ford Is Launching An Adaptive Steering System

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While technology like this is cool and all, why not just go old school and install a close ratio steering box? Less parts, cheaper and it would last longer.

Ford’s adaptive steering makes it easier for drivers to maneuver a vehicle at low speeds while making the vehicle more fun to drive and agile at high speeds. Adaptive steering changes the ratio between the driver’s actions at the steering wheel – the number of turns – and how much the front wheels turn. In vehicles without the technology, this is a fixed steering ratio. With adaptive steering, the ratio continually changes with vehicle speed, optimizing the steering response in all conditions.
 
Steve said:
While technology like this is cool and all, why not just go old school and install a close ratio steering box? Less parts, cheaper and it would last longer.

Ford’s adaptive steering makes it easier for drivers to maneuver a vehicle at low speeds while making the vehicle more fun to drive and agile at high speeds. Adaptive steering changes the ratio between the driver’s actions at the steering wheel – the number of turns – and how much the front wheels turn. In vehicles without the technology, this is a fixed steering ratio. With adaptive steering, the ratio continually changes with vehicle speed, optimizing the steering response in all conditions.
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When it comes to modern eps systems, Ford has been the gold standard. It is only fitting that they take the eps system to the next level.
 
While i don't see a need for this, your statement about "they could do x, it's easier and lasts longer" could be applied to a wide range of vehicle options that we take for granted today. One that pops into my head immediately is the automatic transmission. The initial ones were clunky, slow, wasted horsepower, and didn't last as long as a good old fashioned manual transmission. Fast forward to today, and almost all passenger cars and trucks are automatics.

While i still prefer a manual transmission (i like shifting), there is really no reason to go manual over automatic, except for driver preference. Hell, it could be argued that modern automatics are better in ever measurable way to manuals.
 
I don't get it. This has been standard on many cars for several generations. Am I missing something? What's next, an announcement for electric windows?
 
I'm not excited? I mean I'm a little perplexed by this to be honest. At face value it seems to take more control from the driver and give it to the computer. I can think of very few situations I want to be in where the car determines the sensitivity of my steering wheel.:confused: I mean, I could be wrong here and would have to see it in action. But the way it is described as working, doesn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzy.
 
What was just described has been on the market for at least 10 years, especially with the prevalence of electric systems displacing hydraulic systems.
 
Meeho said:
I don't get it. This has been standard on many cars for several generations. Am I missing something? What's next, an announcement for electric windows?
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I believe the difference is that the old system only varied the level of power assistance, while this is actually changing the steering ratio the "sensitivity" would be another way to put it.

Old system: At parking lot speed Variable Assist Power Steering would provide let's say 80% of the force necessary to turn the wheel, multiplying the driver's input force by 5x.
At highway speeds VAPS might not provide any assist at all, multiplying the driver's input force by 1x.

But either way, going lock-to-lock on the steering wheel would take the same 3 turns.

New system: Only 1 full turn of the steering wheel at parking lot speeds to go lock-to-lock. At highway speeds, the steering sensitivity might decrease to 3+ turns lock-to-lock. The lower sensitivity gives more precise control at highway speeds, only an idiot would turn their steering full-lock at highway speeds.
 
Kueller's got the right idea - but remember those variable assist PS setups normally had VERY close ratio boxes. They felt DAMN good on the interstate, and weren't a bear in the parking lots.

IMHO, varying the steering's ratio would drive me (har har) insane. 2" of turn on my steering wheel should be the same deflection of the wheels, in all situations. I can't imagine trying to make a quick lane change because some idiot cut me off, and trying to keep the car flat without overcorrecting, because the stupid adaptive steering is trying to keep me from making those quick motions that I need!
 
Doward said:
Kueller's got the right idea - but remember those variable assist PS setups normally had VERY close ratio boxes. They felt DAMN good on the interstate, and weren't a bear in the parking lots.

IMHO, varying the steering's ratio would drive me (har har) insane. 2" of turn on my steering wheel should be the same deflection of the wheels, in all situations. I can't imagine trying to make a quick lane change because some idiot cut me off, and trying to keep the car flat without overcorrecting, because the stupid adaptive steering is trying to keep me from making those quick motions that I need!
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Oh, I was not endorsing the system, just trying to describe it for those that thought it had been done before.

It reminds me of window's mouse acceleration feature...a feature I always turn off because I prefer a linear control scale.
 
This is easy to understand.

When you are driving on the highway you want fine control. You don't want a twitch of the wheel to put in two lanes over.

When you are parking a car, you also don't want to turn the wheel 3.5 times over to get parked.

So it adjust the amount of turning you have to do based on speed.
 
If I'm not mistaken BMW has/had something like this. Some peoole hit objects at low speed because there was too much assistance at low speed and they weren't used to it.
 
Anaerin said:
Also, it's nothing new. Welcome (back) to the 1970's.
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Not even remotely the same thing. DIRAVI dynamically changes the boost of the power steering. This is dynamically changing the steering ratio.

This system is VERY similar to the Active Steering system BMW introduced in 2003, though. So still nothing revolutionary.
 
Kueller said:
I believe the difference is that the old system only varied the level of power assistance, while this is actually changing the steering ratio the "sensitivity" would be another way to put it.

Old system: At parking lot speed Variable Assist Power Steering would provide let's say 80% of the force necessary to turn the wheel, multiplying the driver's input force by 5x.
At highway speeds VAPS might not provide any assist at all, multiplying the driver's input force by 1x.

But either way, going lock-to-lock on the steering wheel would take the same 3 turns.

New system: Only 1 full turn of the steering wheel at parking lot speeds to go lock-to-lock. At highway speeds, the steering sensitivity might decrease to 3+ turns lock-to-lock. The lower sensitivity gives more precise control at highway speeds, only an idiot would turn their steering full-lock at highway speeds.
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Aha. Well, that sounds dangerous as the car's response is unpredictable when you have to make quick corrections in dangerous situations.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
This is easy to understand.

When you are driving on the highway you want fine control. You don't want a twitch of the wheel to put in two lanes over.

When you are parking a car, you also don't want to turn the wheel 3.5 times over to get parked.

So it adjust the amount of turning you have to do based on speed.
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I mean, I honestly don't find it difficult to spin a steering wheel. That includes my little fun car which happens to not have power steering. I guess this is just me, but I would rather it take me the same amount of steering wheel turn no matter the speed. I want consistency in how my car handles, not variation.
 
Hmm after reading it again and thinking a bit it seems like VAPS 2.0... i mean, on the highway your performance stays pretty much standard, untouched, and when parking you wouldn't need so many turns... still i am not sure that this would be all that good, sometimes one does require very precise turn controls when parking...
 
Revdarian said:
Hmm after reading it again and thinking a bit it seems like VAPS 2.0... i mean, on the highway your performance stays pretty much standard, untouched, and when parking you wouldn't need so many turns... still i am not sure that this would be all that good, sometimes one does require very precise turn controls when parking...
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That was what I was thinking, a VAPS 2.0. Ford has had that for a while in there vehicles, although I thought it only changed the tightness of the steering wheel to prevent sharp turns at higher speeds.
 
Watching the parking lot at work from a few stories up makes me think the last thing regular dildos need is more variables introduced to their driving.
 
From a variable pitch pinion? Still not what is being presented here.
 
sir you need a new steering wheel, that will be 4500$

lol
 
Parja said:
Not even remotely the same thing. DIRAVI dynamically changes the boost of the power steering. This is dynamically changing the steering ratio.

This system is VERY similar to the Active Steering system BMW introduced in 2003, though. So still nothing revolutionary.
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The difference is, BMW's system is tied into the rack and pinion system, while this is just an additional motor in the steering wheel. They can add it to every car in their line as a option tomorrow and have little to no engineering work to do to make it work.
 
amdgamer said:
When it comes to modern eps systems, Ford has been the gold standard. It is only fitting that they take the eps system to the next level.
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The eps on my Focus ST3 was glitchy and almost resulted in 2 accidents on the freeway. It wouldn't respond, and then it would "wake up" and over-apply assist, sending the car flying towards the next lane. Forums had tons of complaints. I ditched the brand new car after 5 months. Ford reps went silent on the issue.

Of the 4 cars I've had with eps, Honda was the best, then BMW, then Hyundai.
 
Audi's has speed sensitive steering going back almost 20 years, servotronic made by ZF.
I'd assume most if not all German cars made in the past 20 have it too.
 
WillC310 said:
If I'm not mistaken BMW has/had something like this. Some peoole hit objects at low speed because there was too much assistance at low speed and they weren't used to it.
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It's an option on most BMW's, has been for years.

when you have vehicles that routinely run at triple digit speeds on the autobahn, this is a very good idea. fine control running at 140 mph is nice to have. :D
 
I thought my Focus ST's "variable ratio rack" does this already..
 
NickS said:
I thought my Focus ST's "variable ratio rack" does this already..
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Different from a variable ratio rack. That's a progressive increment based on the amount of wheel turn. This is an instant increment ratio change based on speed not position.
 
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