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POWER STEERING > I think PS was an option on some of the early Elite / Eclat models, but I have no knowledge or details of the system. I think that all but the baseline models had it. The system used Ford Granada components IIRC. > Every Excel I ever saw had PS - not speed sensitive, but the pump had a flow characteristic which reduced with engine speed, giving an approximation to the effect. (In theory this would mean a change in assist with every gear change, but it was well disguised enough that I don't recall it being noticeable). In theory it was an option on the first few years of Excel production, but they all had it. You are right that the assistance change is not noticable. The rack centre comes from Ford Sierra in two forms, the early cars had constant ratio, but the later ones had variable ratio, with sloppier steering in the centre (you can tell which I prefer?). > The Elan was originally intended to have manual steering, but the steering efforts on the early prototypes were felt to be too high, so PS was added to the Turbo. (I think the NA retained manual ?). Nope, I ordered my NA without power steering, but it arrived with it. The good news was that Lotus didn't invoice for it ;-) > On a car that's heavy enough for low-speed steering effort to be a problem, however, it may be better to accept the PS system, instead of struggling with that effort every day or reducing the gearing and losing some sensitivity at higher speeds. It's definitely better than reducing the gearing! When I described driving the Esprit V8GT a few weeks ago I said that I didn't think the power steering was as good as the Excel's. I now know why -- it's due to the tyres. I'll have more about this when I've tried the new Bridgestones at Snetterton on Friday. Mike   page created with Webpage Designer (NS)