What do you guys think of the Protege's 5/MP3's/3rd gen's steering?
 

What do you guys think of the Protege5's steering system?

I love it...and I guess the numbers are speaking for themselves
:D

that is one of the things that turned me on to the protege: excelent comminucation from the car.

I've got a 2001 with the four spokes and I love it too.

I also like the fact that at 3 and 9 you've got nice handgrips behind the spokes. Handy for spirited driving.

Good, except...
 

I think the feel is pretty good; a bit quick, maybe, but I'm comparing it to my old Nissan Sentra, which wasn't really a performance oriented car.

:rant:

The one thing that I really, really hate about the 3rd gen. Pro's steering is the wide turning circle. Especially for a car in the compact class, the turning radius is way too long. Shit, my mom's Lexus LS400 has a better turning circle than a Protege! That's bullshit! When you're on an average street you can't make a U turn without having to back up and complete the turn.

So, not to whine too much, but I've determined that a Mazda moron designed these things on our 3rd. Gen Pro's:

The turning radius
The center "armrest" (That's no damn armrest!)
The locking mechanism placement
(Arguably) The high RPM issue at normal, boring highway speeds

That guy should be flogged! :D

I love the handling of my Pro5, especialy after I upgraded my wheels and tire size......but I must admit that the "turning radius" on a Indy-car is better than my Mazda!!


Later, Speedbump

You know what... I said too light... but then I've been driving a toyota pick-up with no power assist... I've got fricken Popeye arms left over from driving that thing.

In response to ProtegeMaster's note of high rpms at highway speeds, you can modify the stock intake to a CAI or Short Ram Intake. Ractive, AEM, Injen, etc. I got a Ractive one and althought it revs easiers to freerer breathing, the revs are lower at constant speeds.
Before the intake, I was reving about 3000rpm in 4th (Yes, it's auto) at 60mph, now it revs at ~ 2700, take or give 100rpm.

Non, I never said HP does that, I never even claimed I had higher HP. It's maybe because the engine breathes easier, so the cylinders do not have to work so hard to suck air in, and therefore lower revs

Like the looks of the three spoke on my P5, but like the four spoke on my wifes ES for long hauls. The three spoke does not let you rest your arm and hold it without an un natural wrist flex, which does get on your nerves after about two to three hours.

What about rpm?

Back to the poll, I feel that the steering is a little on the light side, but it's already MUCH better than many other cars. Sad to say, car manufactures are making the power steering more and more powerful, and with that, you get less and less feedback from the road. And to add confusion, some of them realize that they've provided too much "assist" and so they add artifical power resistance back to add 'weight' to the steering when driving at high speeds... what a joke :)

My previous 95 Civic coupe was great. Very minimal power assist.

I also would like to say that the RPM sensitive power steering felt very weird in the beginning, but I think i'm getting used to it. :D

Yeah. I will admit that the steering is a little strange. I notice it acting different when I am accelerating and stuff. Sometimes the car feels kind of wobbly and you just get to accelerating and the unsteadiness just disappaers. It was weird at first for me too. I like it better now but would have preferred speed sensitive instead. My mom's Thunderbird has that and even though the steering is light and not very responsive you notice a large difference at highway speeds.

One thing I love about the steering is that I can scare the hell out of my friends and other motorist by changing lanes on the drop of a dime. Very fun!

One thing I've noticed is that the pro's steering is really nervous at times. Especially on bumpy roads. When coming to a stop one can sometimes feel the wheel move back and forth as it follows the bumps. It's a bit scary but what's more scary is on the freeway and the fact that if you take your hands off the wheel the wheel will follow the bumps and go whatever direction. I know one shouldn't take one's hand off the wheel but at times it might be necessary.