Photo: original image by autoevolution
Grab the keys to any contemporary Prancing Horse model and, among others, you’ll experience one of the best steering feels available in a car with warranty. Ferrari now wants to up the ante on this front and has reportedly patented a new steering assistance system that promises to rewrite the precision rules.
The aim of the system is to minimize the inaccuracy and consistence variations within the existing steering setups, as Evo writes. To achieve this, the engineers are looking to reduce the parasite signals that arrive due to the use of a steering box and universal joints in the steering column linkage.
The initial force is taken by the column and the linkage before actually reaching the wheels. This obviously won’t change and the same can be said about the steering geometry, which determines variations in terms of steering effort depending on the side on which the steering wheel is turned.
Fret not organic feel and safety fans, the current mechanical link will stay in place. However, Maranello’s engineers want to measure the angle and torque applied by the driver, using the data to tell a servomechanism how much feedback force is required. The catch here is that the system factors in the aforementioned inconsistencies.
According to the patent, the driver is treated with the same feedback as before, so as not to feel the system at work, but this feedback is more consistent. Since the hardware remains unchanged and the software additions reportedly don’t require all that much processing power or memory, the system shouldn’t be expensive to implement.
Still, we have to keep in mind that this is some sort of an experiment for the Italians, so we don’t know if future Horses will actually Prance to this updated tune.
Ferrari’s latest major steering development saw the caramaker approach TRW for the LaFerrari’s steering. Unlike Porsche, for instance, Ferrari isn’t currently willing to make the switch from hydraulic to electric steering assistance. Thus, their hybrid hypercar features TRW’s electrically-powered hydraulic steering.
We’ve always found Ferrari’s steering systems as near perfect, with the only grudge being against the fact that the systems are usually a bit on the light side. The 458 Speciale did solve this problem though, adding a bit of weight to the setup.
This is perhaps one of the most sensitive aspects when it comes to supercars, so we’re expecting Ferrari to spend quite some time evaluating it before any of this becomes dealer-to-customer talk.
The initial force is taken by the column and the linkage before actually reaching the wheels. This obviously won’t change and the same can be said about the steering geometry, which determines variations in terms of steering effort depending on the side on which the steering wheel is turned.
Fret not organic feel and safety fans, the current mechanical link will stay in place. However, Maranello’s engineers want to measure the angle and torque applied by the driver, using the data to tell a servomechanism how much feedback force is required. The catch here is that the system factors in the aforementioned inconsistencies.
According to the patent, the driver is treated with the same feedback as before, so as not to feel the system at work, but this feedback is more consistent. Since the hardware remains unchanged and the software additions reportedly don’t require all that much processing power or memory, the system shouldn’t be expensive to implement.
Still, we have to keep in mind that this is some sort of an experiment for the Italians, so we don’t know if future Horses will actually Prance to this updated tune.
Ferrari’s latest major steering development saw the caramaker approach TRW for the LaFerrari’s steering. Unlike Porsche, for instance, Ferrari isn’t currently willing to make the switch from hydraulic to electric steering assistance. Thus, their hybrid hypercar features TRW’s electrically-powered hydraulic steering.
We’ve always found Ferrari’s steering systems as near perfect, with the only grudge being against the fact that the systems are usually a bit on the light side. The 458 Speciale did solve this problem though, adding a bit of weight to the setup.
This is perhaps one of the most sensitive aspects when it comes to supercars, so we’re expecting Ferrari to spend quite some time evaluating it before any of this becomes dealer-to-customer talk.
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