yes the ratio is independent, but the actual steering rack is not. it looks like the 16" wheels necessitated a new rack. just like the liftback and the V, with 17" wheels, need a new rack. perhaps the quicker rack is also stronger, which is needed to handle the wider tires? the V with 17's has a different EPS motor for just this reason no? dude, as i have alluded to in another post, you are probably feeling the steering benefits of the lower profile tires. the difference in the ratio is minute. if you're looking for a difference im sure you can find it, but if you're not then you probably wont. the turning circle/turns lock-to-lock however is very apparent. during parking maneuvers, tight u-turns, etc. you will definitely notice the difference...
Toe in/out is the alignment adjustment that is related to the side to side direction of the wheels and a lot of it is about balance between the two sides and their forces on each other. But keep in mind that that 2.27 degree difference was for a whole complete turn of the steering wheel. When you're out of the parking lot and on the road you're making much smaller steering inputs. Even sharp turns require only partial turns of the wheel so you're only seeing a fraction of those 2.27 degrees. The size of the rim wouldn't really affect the steering ratio since it's about turning on the side to side axis which doesn't change with taller or shorter wheels (and generally to keep the same rolling circumference when doing oversize rims the tire sidewall is correspondingly shorter to match anyway). On the C I think the whole reason for the different rack is likely just because they wanted the closer stops to avoid the rubbing with the wider, inward offset wheels/tires. I haven't looked at the V in any detail at all really but it seems like they are making a much larger jump in tire size/width, so in that case they may have needed a different boost profile to help maintain the steering effort they wanted maybe? As far as the difference the writers and people who have test driven both models have felt, I would have to agree with you that I think it's almost entirely due to the more direct response from the shorter/stiffer sidewalls on the lower profile tires, as opposed to the slight difference in the steering ratio. ron
For no really good reason, I am providing a couple of resources. You can avail yourselves of them if you wish and perhaps come to some agreement. First, Car Bibles: The car steering bible. Then, to address tire issues including 'patch' size and tread widths, etc., Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 4 of 4# I'll check back later to see if you're still throwing punches.
