Steering too soft

[wilfredopr]

I've drive about 7 or 8 spyders belonging to a group of friend, I became the group's mechanic. But one off them, a 2011 RS-S se5, the steering is to soft compare to the rest. Any idea what this could be?

[zrc]

I've drive about 7 or 8 spyders belonging to a group of friend, I became the group's mechanic. But one off them, a 2011 RS-S se5, the steering is to soft compare to the rest. Any idea what this could be?

Maybe its the only one with a DPS upgrade? Most likely not, but other than that, you might have fox shocks on that one, and the other stocks, and believe it or not, they feel noticibly different.

[wilfredopr]

Maybe its the only one with a DPS upgrade? Most likely not, but other than that, you might have fox shocks on that one, and the other stocks, and believe it or not, they feel noticibly different.

No. factory shocks and every spyder that I drove have the DPS upgrade. It is so soft that scare me a little bit at speeds. It feels like the dps is not regulating properly.

[NancysToy]

Are you talking about the steering being "too easy", with no feel, or about the suspension being too soft, so the Spyder wallows in the corners? For the steering, check the front tire pressure. Too much air makes it steer like on ball bearings. Too little makes steering sluggish and may require a bit more muscle. The others could be low or the one too high. Try about 20 psi to start on the RS and 18 on the RT. Your preferences may vary

As was said, an earlier Spyder may not have had the DPS firmware upgrades and the new steering box. The older ones steer a bit harder. At a standstill, the newer versions may not steer as easily, because they built in some protective measures to prevent oversteering and box damage. Intermediate versions of the DPS firmware may offer their own variations. Depending on which Spyders had what, they could steer differently. The easier steering is not a problem, it is just different. You soon get used to it.

If the suspension allows the Spyder to have a lot of body roll, it can affect how the Spyder steers and how it feels in the turns. If the suspension is too soft, the Spyder tends to oversteer. Raising the preload setting, or switching to aftermarket shocks is the answer to soft suspension. Aftermarket shocks, or RT shocks on an RS, also increse the damping, which firms up things in the corners.

[BajaRon]

I'm with Scotty. He basically is saying you're not giving us enough specific information to do anything but shotgun answers, which is what Scotty did.

[Bob Denman]

...Just waiting to see what we've got to work with...

[wilfredopr]

Sorry about the lack of information. Ok, the spyder is set at 20psi on front and the shocks set at 5, just like mine (2010 rs sm5) and even when is not moving the steering is to soft. I compared with 3 other spyders last sunday and is like a cadillac compare to a vw bug without power steering. The reason I'm worry is because it belong to a 70 year old man without any riding experience. There always the possibility that the other are the ones with the problem.

[NancysToy]

I'm with Scotty. He basically is saying you're not giving us enough specific information to do anything but shotgun answers, which is what Scotty did.

You always seem to be able to pare my fanatic ramblings down to a meaningful sentence or two. You are the SpyderLovers equivalent of Readers Digest.

[wilfredopr]

You always seem to be able to pare my fanatic ramblings down to a meaningful sentence or two. You are the SpyderLovers equivalent of Readers Digest.

he is just a humble translator

[BajaRon]

You always seem to be able to pare my fanatic ramblings down to a meaningful sentence or two. You are the SpyderLovers equivalent of Readers Digest.

Not really! It's usually me giving volumes of information on a question that's impossible to answer precisely! I'm just glad you got to this one first and saved me the trouble!

[BajaRon]

Sorry about the lack of information. Ok, the spyder is set at 20psi on front and the shocks set at 5, just like mine (2010 rs sm5) and even when is not moving the steering is to soft. I compared with 3 other spyders last sunday and is like a cadillac compare to a vw bug without power steering. The reason I'm worry is because it belong to a 70 year old man without any riding experience. There always the possibility that the other are the ones with the problem.

This is completely from memory (which is always a BIG RED FLAG!) but there was an issue with too much DPS power while sitting still or moving slowly in the early RT's. I believe there was a software correction for this as it was too hard on the steering box/motor. I'm not sure if this translated throughout the speed range (over compensation by the DPS) or not.

This is where I would start. BUDS should tell you if this is the fix you need.

Just because they are the same year and model does not mean that they are set up the same. BRP made a lot of adjustments as they went along, especially on the new RT's. Plus some dealers delivered show room models without upgrading to the latest settings.

[Bob Denman]

You always seem to be able to pare my fanatic ramblings down to a meaningful sentence or two. You are the SpyderLovers equivalent of Readers Digest.

In another life; his name was Cliff Notes...

[wilfredopr]

This is completely from memory (which is always a BIG RED FLAG!) but there was an issue with too much DPS power while sitting still or moving slowly in the early RT's. I believe there was a software correction for this as it was too hard on the steering box/motor. I'm not sure if this translated throughout the speed range (over compensation by the DPS) or not.

This is where I would start. BUDS should tell you if this is the fix you need.

Just because they are the same year and model does not mean that they are set up the same. BRP made a lot of adjustments as they went along, especially on the new RT's. Plus some dealers delivered show room models without upgrading to the latest settings.

Beautiful, I'll take it to the dealer. Thanks