Sporting steering weight

Hi quick question here and maybe a daft one!

just got my sporting multijet and well iys not a bad car just needs a few tweaks i reckon!

personally i find the steering pretty vaguw there is grio just hard to feel for it if that makes any sense?

Have always been used to heavier less assisted steering setups hence my question if the GP has am electrically assisted set up rather than hydraulic, has anyone tried reducing the motor assistance to give a bit more steering weight and hopefully feel?

If the system can increase assistance for city mode how does it do this? and can it be taken back the other way easily? eg reduce the current to the motor maybe?

any ideas or experiences be very helpful!

then just got to stop it rolling about lol

No - that third paragraph does not make any sense at all!

I have a Sporting Multijet and, as far as I am aware, the steering is exactly the same as on all other GP's. That is to say, rubbery! Your steering wheel is mounted on a big chunk of rubber which reduces the feel. You can check this by turning the steering wheel from side-to-side with the engine turned off. I also find the steering vague - especially on a smooth motorway when it becomes obvious that the wheel can be turned a small distance either way without the car changing direction.

I believe that sensors for the power steering use compliance in that big chunk of rubber to control the degree of power assistance so it may not be possible to ditch it. Perhaps someone with technical knowledge of the power steering could help here?

ok re 3rd paragraph -

Yes I find the steering a little vague - we both agreed here?

there is grip there - well the sporting has fairly wide low profile tyres and mine has good rubber on it so i doubt its a lack of grip issue.

just hard to feel - ok maybe thats where i was unclear I'm used to cars with less assistance eg heavier steering, generally this gives better 'feel' as the loss of grip can be felt by the steering becoming lighter and not masked by over assistance. I admit the level of assistance might not be the issue here rather the suspension geometry.

reports of the new arbath gp state the front track has been widened and more importantly the sport button reduces the assistance to the steering, and it sems to have far better steering than the normal car?

ok to 'the big chunk of rubber' - yeah that sounds familar my car has some lost motion in the steering when the engine is off, i was gpoing to check for worn/damaged steering joint ball joints etc, but is this a common fault eg do all the gps have this? if so is it there from new or does is develop due to wear.damage?

the steering at the moment is a little disconcerting and if nothing else at odds with the sporty appearence!

any thoughts or experinces on solving this be much appreciated!

My last GP suffered from a stiff steering column fault which required me to turn the steering wheel further than normal in order to achieve a change in direction. The fault was eventually fixed at a second dealership and my incessant moans to Fiat and the local dealer allowed me to upgrade to a new GP. However, I remain critical of the lack of feel in the steering and thumping of the suspension over bumps.

There is nothing wrong with my Sporting but the steering is not nearly as positive as my partner's Audi A3 (which cost more than double what I paid for my GP!).

My solution will be to upgrade to a Volvo C30.

Trust me you get used to it.... I even like it now, makes the car very relaxing to drive. I knew when I got the car it would never really do the business on the twisty stuff but for every day driving I find the steering a pleasure to use.

Oh except on the courtesy GP I have for the next few days, the basic plastic steering wheel is frankly awful!

mmm ok thanks for the replies guys

will give it some time see if i can live with it

don't get me wrong i don't mind the bangs from the suspension it just seems i get nothing for it! on my last car yeah it was noisy and banged but it hung on round corners the gp seeming kinda barge like lol which is odd as its smaller and lighter than my almera!

so if they all do it can it be traced to this large ruber block then? if so where do i find it to check it for damage etc?

defo need to look into this , take it the gp's are too new for anyone to have made upgraded parts for yet like poly bushes etc? a poly block in place of the rubber one springs to mind!

as for getting used to it well yeah i can see where tyou are coming from having less nervous steering ie that little bit of free play but does it not become a bit scary at speed when you ove the wheel and not a lot happens ?

guess i have just been spoiled in the past and i admit it i bought this car for its fuel consumption and looks that and it was half the price of the 120d sport i wanted lol

I can't live with the rubbery steering, the hard ride or the noisy suspension but at least there is nothing wrong with this, my second GP. Except for the usual ill-fitting glovebox lid! I am just about to order a Volvo C30 as a replacement.

When the steering of my last GP was faulty, you could drive it on the motorway (or very smooth road) at 60mph, turn the rim of the steering wheel about 10 - 12mm and the car would not change direction. It was horrible! It was necessary to constantly steer from side-to-side in order to maintain course. The fault was spotted by a Fiat technical specialist within 500m of driving the car but several other people from Fiat garages drove the car in excess of 10 miles without diagnosing the fault.

The rubbery steering is just a characteristic of the car. If you look at car magazine reviews you will see that it comes up more than once.

yep you are right i should have done my homework but i still reckon its fixable!

the first of the alfa 33's with power steering had similar problem but after changing the pulley size on the pump and uprating the rubber bushes to spherical bearinjg in the linkage it turned out to be a fantastic car to drive so I aint giving up yet!

Good luck! Your efforts on the Alfa 33 seem a little extreme. You are probably the only person in the world who has done such things.

Did you get an upgrade to newer car for free, I say thats nice.

You must be joking!!!

I put a lot of effort in writing many letters to Fiat and the owner of my local garage and I am pleased to say that Alan Gibson and Fiat gave me an exceptional deal on a new Sporting Multijet to replace my troublesome 1.3 Dynamic 1.3 Multijet. However, I had to cough up thousands.

The trouble is that I could have bought the Sporting when I bought the Dynamic but I didn't like the seats, brushed trim, white dashboard or the hard suspension. When I came to replace it for reliability reasons, the 90BHP Dynamic diesel and 120BHP Eleganza were no longer available and so I had little alternative other than go for the Sporting. Also, I was not inclined to buy a car with the same suspension set-up as my noisy Dynamic.

I have never warmed to the car and find the seats and suspension very uncomfortable. I think the dashboard looks cheap and hate the characteristic knocking noises as the car goes over bumps. The steering is rubbery and overall the GP is a retrograde step for a driver compared to Puntos of old. However, the car has no faults and has not revisited a Fiat dealership since new. That is highly commendable.

Today I ordered my Volvo C30 which will be delivered in September. My pumelled arse can't wait!

And of COURSE the Volvo will be purfect....

Guys, with no faults and expectations set for a budget car lets be honest and stop this pishin about.

The 1.9 GPS steering with no faults present is fine, no problem, accurate and responsive if a little "dull" but for Christ sake so what????

nah theres loads of alfa nutters out there hence why all the parts were off the shelf there was a backlash when the revised models came out as they were not as nice to drive kinda like the punto morphing to the grande punto!

I wouldn't call mine accurate. A consequence of having this big chunk of rubber under the steering wheel is that the car is able to change direction without you wanting it to. For example, you might have to brake suddenly on an uneven surface and the car could change direction in spite of your holding the steering wheel absolutely straight! Yes, the GP is a budget car and there is nothing more attractive for the price.

This is one of the things that ruins my GPS for me, the constant vibrations on the motorway, and the appauling steering 'vagueness'

If you turn the wheel while looking at the front wheel it turns instantly, but there is so much slack at high speed constant corrections are needed. I run my front tyres at 35psi which helps steering but makes the vibrations worse.

I actually find the car very good around town, but motorway work shows up the under-developed nature of this car. Ive had numerous 'old' BMWs that dont even have rack and pinion steering that are far more accurate.

It might be cheap compared to a Bentley, but noone would say 10k ish is throw away money, if it was they wouldnt have a GP in the 1st place, basic stuff like steering should be great on a car this modern, but its far worse than most old cars.