Being old I grew up driving cars before pas was common, you learnt to drive and steer when wheels were moving, I was taught this saved wear and strain on the steering parts...lazy gits today just pas the steering whilst stationary.....to easy nowadays
I ran a non PAS rack for years on my track MK2. Fitted the belt driven PAS setup and hated it. Too over assisted, less feel and the belt kept jumping off and causing issues when on track. Fitted the electric PAS pump from a Saxo, its about halfway between the manual and VW PAS in assistance. Gives good feel, no belts to worry about and the pump can be fitted where convenient (mine has just been repositioned behind the drivers seat). For a road car, its probably overkill, but for a track car, removing the high RPM belt issues and increased feel made it very worthwhile for me.
My 87 had the worst steering when I got it,some clown had wound up the manual rack adjuster and the top hat inner bearing where chewed right out ,fixed all that and had a wheel alignment and all was good,people do complain about non PAS for this reason without finding out whats wrong first.
I love the feel of none pas when going but if i was offered a free pas setup i would fit it to my driver.
Both my mk2's have been non pas and like many I prefer it for the feel. I driven pas equipped friends mk2 and can see for everyday use it is a no brainer but mine's a track ****, only getting driven for fun.... flat out fun at that I will say my current mk2 with wide track, non pas and a quaife ATB diff is bloody lively!! I can barely hold it with one hand, adds to the drama and makes driving it fast a real event.
My Mk2 16V project did come with PAS, my old tornado red 16V didn't have it and once you got the numbers up on the clock the steering feel was unreal as the thing literally told you everything that was going on. That said when you were trying drive and park it around town it felt like I was aboard the bridge of the Bismarck - I might actually remove the PAS from 'Black Betty' if I can ever get her on the road..
definitely harder at low speeds and parking. Its not noticeable at speed, but ive fitted this to a track car
Have to agree! Also being old I did not drive anything with PAS until the mid-90s and have always preferred the feel of non-PAS.
My 90 spec has power steering 50% of the time and it's great, feels nice and responsive and gives good feedback... ...but then the rack decides to puke all the fluid out and it's hard work! I'd be interested in knowing how to fit an electric pump!
My manual and I love it so much more feedback from the car, so easy to feel when loosing traction as it goes light, tbh compared to the pas models I've had it seems more planted
What exactly would I need to do and what parts would I need to convert my Mk2 16v to non-power steering? My first Mk2 was non PAS and I loved it. My current Mk2 is PAS and whilst it is ok, I much preferred the non PAS setup. Seeing as my 16v is going to be off the road and I'm carrying out a 9A conversion, it would be an ideal time to also remove the PAS setup. Cheers
I have non PAS on my Mk2 20vt, prefer feeling everything, parking not an issue for me as used to old cars. Another plus is that the Mrs. Won't drive it as it 'feels to heavy' win for me and my golf :-) lol
My 2 pence... When I put an ABF into my 16v, the PAS is getting junked and the rack is getting looped. The feel with an assisted mk2 rack is still better than anything you can buy new today, but non assisted is just another league and I would say teaches you to be a better driver.
Can you get the looped pipe from any where in this country? My pas is behaving at the mo, but wouldn't mind losing all the pipes pump and tank if it started playing up
Just stripping a cordoba now and the weight of all the metalwork (pipes/pumps/pullys/brackets) is surprising. Think electric conversion is the way to go... Jon
Just ripped the PAS out of my 16v though its caused a slight issue with the lining up of the water pump pulley with the rest of the system. Need a new UJ boot too but folk are asking stupid money for them. That said there's IRO 18kg of weight saving removing the rack, pump and pipework which isn't too shabby. Can't beat a manual steering rack for feel and feedback. The best driving car I currently own is a Mk2 Polo. 30 feels like light speed and the manual steering gives such a pleasing feeling on the move.
How would a Mk2 r32 be without PAS? Same as a mk2 8v? I'm about done with my engine bay but the PAS pipes are in the way of everything, I don't mind the 8v without PAS so thinking of ****ing it off.
My 1.8T seems fine without PAS. Not sure about the R32 lump Ian ? Probably ok when moving but parking would be a mission.
