Coversion to electric power steering

[Jeroen]

We have assisted Dutch based EZ Powersteering in developing electrical power steering systems, conversion kits, for among others E21 and E30 and this has resulted in beautiful PAS prodicts that are being used by forum members as we speak, perhaps they can cut in with their experiences as well.

How does it work:
No changes in the engine bay, the original precise manual steering rack (or even quick rack?!) can remein fitted including your fresh tie rod ends

What changes, is hidden under the dash. The original steering column is replaced by one with an electric motor (you get to keep the original if you ever want to change back). These power assisted steering kits are speed dependent using a pulse sender connected to the speedo (between cable and speedo), they're not using GPS data as seen in cheaper systems which may cause issues when there is no GPS signal like in tunnels. Manual adjustment of assistance is also possible and is being used for rally and race applications.

Fitting takes 4-5 hours max, a lot faster than fitting a conventional hydraulic system. Another advantage is that the setup only absorbs power when turned in a lot (usually only during parking and city use) while conventional systems use power continually. Electrical systems can and will not leak and do not need any maintenance.

Below a few pics of kits applied in E21 and E30 models and here are the installation manuals as .pdf (only Dutch version available to me atm): E21 ; E30

Pricing (ex 21% VAT):
Full electrical kit for E21 or E30 € 1.250,-
Installation by EZ Powersteering € 500,- (in the Netherlands)
If there's enough interest it may be worth while to set up a Group Buy.
Pricey? Don't think so, used PAS kits fetch quite some money these days and will at some point require an overhaul of rack and pump.

Manufacturer:
EZ Powersteering
Energieweg 21A
4143 HK Leerdam
The Netherlands
Phone. +31-345-633551
Contact: Mr Ruud Jong
www.ezpowersteering.nl power steering & classic steering parts

Fitted to E21:







original



neuw



Fitted to E30:

[petroscf]

If a group buy is to be set up, then it seems I am a bit late.
I can however tell you my experience on this so far, as I have already bought and fitted the product:

I am very happy with it, car steering overall feels much more like a today's car, and because of the quick rack (which I had already fitted after a group buy in the forum) it has a very precise feeling, I may not describe it exactly, and it may not be equal to today's cars, but it is much better than before (and especially after how much heavier had it become because of the quick rack)

Something that people should have in mind while fitting: The EZ steering column is almost like our old steering columns plus a motor. You have to dig a bit between your wires forest under dash to make this fit. In my case, as it seems that every older cable from whatever electric works were done in my car, even useless cables, were left in there, the panel under steering wheel column could not be put in place after fitting the EZ steering column, as the motor could not be pushed very deeply towards the upper part. I finally took the car to the electrician who had to find what each cable served for and then started cutting and reconnecting. Finally as he said, he had to cut (and reconnect) some of the factory cables as well, as, according to his words they were very long.
Now the under dash panel is fitted 98% perfectly

Also here I have to mention that part of the old metal tube that is covering the factory steering column had to be cut in order to fit the new one.

Another issue with me is - and here I would like to check this, Jeroen : We found no speed sensor that is connected to the speedometer etc. What came with my car is a rotary switch that increases or decreases power assisting of the column. This is used by hand and whenever driver wants to use it, but no speed sensor. Also, the difference this makes while driving is almost imperceptible. However, when car is still, especially I guess because of the quick rack, steering is very heavy towards each end even with the EZ power column. So there, this little switch has some difference (I like to turn this to lightest when parking and to heaviest all the other time)
However, can you please ask them about the sensor, Jeroen? Could this be a newer feature that was not included in the kit I bought? Or did they forget to send me something? Or is this something I could order and retro-fit now?

If you ask me my opinion, YES it is a fantastic addition to our cars, I have a very complete feeling of my car now.

[Jeroen]

Hi Petros, thanks for cutting in with your experiences! You are one of the very first to install these kits and I can imagine some things have evolved. For example the kit now replaces the entire steering column (no cutting required anymore, a straight swap) and while fitting the kit to Nick's E21 (without additional wiring added by previous owners) it appears as if it fits fine. And it is likely the speed sensor was added at a later stage, will check with them but that sounds very likely.

I also saw some comments on Facebook and I'd like to hear about your experience on these remarks:
1. that you loose most of the steering feel
2. that you loose the self centering of the steering

[petroscf]

On the images you posted, the hand operated rotary switch can be seen. (So I am not sure, if they now added a sensor, do they still give this switch with the column?)

About the old column cover cutting, the factory column cover would still have to be cut or fully removed, as the new column is thicker, so it wouldn't fit in the old housing. I mean, when the steering column from factory is removed, there still remains a metal tube, that is the housing. This has to be either cut up to a point, or removed, otherwise the EZ column won't fit. In one of your photos the two columns (old from factory an EZ electric one) are presented side by side and the difference is obvious.

About steering feel, ok a bit of it is lost, as because of the quick rack and the heavier wheel, when driving the feeling was firm and precise. Now the feeling is still precise, but very much lighter. When I first drove the car after fitting the column it felt quite weird, very quick, but I got used to it very quickly, after 7-10 days. I don't know, if there is now a speed sensor, I guess the feeling will be much better if power assist is cut after some km/h, this is why I am also interested in this if possible to retro fit.

About the self centering, I did not notice it so please give me a couple of days (I don't drive the car everyday) and I will post back here. However, shouldn't this be a serious issue, so I guess I would have noticed had it happened to me?
I'll be back about this.

[splitty456]

I don't have one of these columns, but i do have a corsa C EPAS column in my car and they're clearly the same system just packaged differently (same motor, very similar control box, similar layout etc)

Adding a speed sensor to the column on a standard E21 isn't really possible, as the E21 doesn't have an electric speedometer. I'm assuming the E30 kit does use the speed signal to adjust steering assist via a signal converter. If you want to add a speed signal to this kit on an E21, you need to install a wheel speed sensor somewhere - either an ABS ring and ABS sensor, or a trigger wheel on the diff as per E30/E36/E28 etc. Then you'll need a signal converter to make sure the column adjusts steering assist at the right speeds.

I currently have mine on the lowest assist setting - it's much easier to park even on this setting and not too intrusive when driving, but i do plan on adding a corsa ABS sensor to one of the front wheels in the future.

Regarding steering feel, I actually prefer the steering feel of my car with the power steering column. It feels a lot more damped and modern but still has a decent amount of feel when cornering.

The main downside is the lack of self centering, although you do get used to it. I expect removing the steering damper would help, as would adding castor. A quicker steering rack would probably improve things too.

[Jeroen]

If I read them correctly they are picking up a speedo signal by placing a pulse sender box between the speedo cable and the speedometer. Why would it be rocket science to pick up a rotation signal there when you can pick up something similar elsewhere on the car?

[petroscf]

If I read them correctly they are picking up a speedo signal by placing a pulse sender box between the speedo cable and the speedometer. Why would it be rocket science to pick up a rotation signal there when you can pick up something similar elsewhere on the car?

Will be waiting to see if this is something not yet available at the time I ordered mine, and also if it is easy to retro fit now

[petroscf]

...
2. that you loose the self centering of the steering

Yes, it seems that after cornering, the steering wheel returned 95% to straight position and I had to finish by hand the centering procedure.
I don't find this a too big problem, how does this work on newer cars with electric power steering wheels?
As splitty456 already said, might the fact that I have the quick rack installed (which makes the wheel too heavy near the ends) make things better? -which means that on cars with factory ratio racks things will become worse? (In these cases probably also a significant portion of steering feeling might be lost?)

Now I am not sure on which position I had the rotary switch when I tried cornering yesterday. I will retry having made sure that I switch this to the "harder" position, and come back here

[Jeroen]

Keep us posted mate!

[mcjjordan]

You could fit a transducer in line on speedo cable , my rhd model there is a join just by throttle cable so could screw it inline there- this is what taxis used todo to run the taximeters

[petroscf]

Was wondering about a couple of things:
1) Why (or how) does this "not self centering" issue happen exactly? Could it be, perhaps, due to the fact that because of the power assistance, the steering wheel becomes too soft? If yes, then, does this exist to newer cars as well?
and, 2) might this speed sensor correct the above issue ?

[TaylorE21]

Hello everybody! I have a BMW E21 1982 and i would like to ask a question steering column switches and ignition lock enters normally???? Send a photo to show switches!!!! (Thank you and i waiting)