Why are car steering wheels not 1:1 with their wheels? Like bikes
In: Engineering
If you’ve ever driven a car without power steering – you’ll understand that the wheels are pretty hard to turn. So historically the steering rack was geared to make it physically possible to steer.
With modern power steering systems you could have a more direct ratio, however the steering would become twitchy and it would be more difficult to keep your lane. The gear ratio is a compromise between how much you need to spin the wheel during low speed maneuvers and how smooth and steady the car is at high speeds on relatively straight roads.
Racing cars often have much more direct steering so that the full range of steering is available without having to cross/slide your hands. However this demands a lot of skill and focus.
Edit: It’s probably also a safety requirement that the car is reasonably drivable if the power steering fails.
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