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Difference Between Power Steering & Electric Steering
Power steering these days has become extremely popular due to the effortless driving experience. It features an additional source that amplifies the power input significantly. There are two types of power steering – hydraulic power steering and electric power steering. Although both of them serve a similar purpose, their working principle differs significantly.
Nonetheless, before proceeding with hydraulic power steering vs electric steering, you must have a clear idea regarding how they work.
What Is Hydraulic Power Steering?
A power steering system that uses hydraulic fluids to amplify steering to a significant extent is known as hydraulic power steering. The engine pumps steering fluids from the reservoir via pulleys to a pinion. As soon as the driver starts rotating the steering wheel, the fluid exerts an intensified hydraulic pressure on the gear of the vehicle's wheel. This ensures faster turning with less effort.
It has several components such as a hydraulic piston, return lines, hydraulic control valve, rack housing, and pinion gear. Hence, they require servicing from time to time.
What Is Electric Steering?
The electric steering is a sophisticated form of power steering that uses sensors to increase the drivability of a vehicle with extremely less effort.
Electric steering works by drawing power from the electrical system of the vehicle. They have torque sensors to detect the amount of force applied by a driver while driving. Accordingly, they assist by compensating the remaining force in order to ensure a smooth and almost effortless driving experience.
Their components include a pinion shaft, rack-and-piston housing, steering torque sensor, ball-screw mechanism, belt drives, electric motor, and steering rack.
Now that you know about how they work, let's proceed to hydraulic power steering vs electric steering to know which system would suit your needs the most.
Difference Between Power Steering and Electric Steering
| Parameter | Hydraulic Power Steering | Electric Steering |
| Complexity | More complicated | Less complicated |
| Hydraulic fluid requirement | Operates on hydraulic fluids | Do not require fluids to operate |
| Electric motor requirement | They do not require an electric motor for their operation | Electric motors play a key role in operating them |
| Weight | They weigh more | They weigh less |
| Cost | Less costly | More costly |
| Maintenance cost | Maintenance cost is high. | Maintenance cost is low. |
| Durability | More prone to faults and hence do not last for a longer time. | Less prone to faults and hence more durable. |
| Response to varying speeds | Response to varying speeds is not that good. | Response better at varying speeds. |
| Effect on fuel mileage | Can reduce fuel mileage of the engine. | Does not affect the fuel mileage of the engine. |
| Components | Consists of a hydraulic piston, return lines, hydraulic control valve, rack housing, and pinion gear. | Consists of a pinion shaft, rack-and-piston housing, steering torque sensor, ball-screw mechanism, drive belt, electric motor, and steering rack. |
| Road feedback | They have more road feedback. | They have less road feedback. |
| Adjustability | This steering type can be adjusted manually. | This steering type is adjusted digitally. |
| Repairing frequency | They have a lot of components and hence can require repairing more times. | They do not have so many components and hence repairing frequency is less. |
| Damage to the steering system | If they get damaged, the car can still move but with a lot of effort. | If they get damaged, the steering will not move at all. |
FAQs About Hydraulic Power Steering vs Electric steering
Why does hydraulic power steering have a high maintenance cost?
Hydraulic power steering has a high maintenance cost since it uses hydraulic fluid. So there is an additional fluid cost as well as a service cost for replacing the fluid. This is absent in the case of electric steering.
What are the pros and cons of electric steering?
Pros of electric steering are:
- Eliminates maintenance cost.
- Have additional features such as lane changes, automated parking and guidance around obstacles.
- Offers greater fuel efficiency.
- Assists drivers in turning steering wheels without much effort.
- Can tolerate out-of-spec alignment settings.
- Uses a sensor to determine the quantity of additional effort required.
- Automatically adjusts to road conditions.
Cons of electric steering are:
- If the EPS encounters a problem, then the steering wheel stops working completely.
- Offer less road feedback.
What are the pros and cons of hydraulic power steering?
Pros of hydraulic power steering are:
- High road feedback.
- They have greater reliability.
- Comparatively less expensive.
- The vehicle can be driven even if they stop working.
Cons of hydraulic power steering are:
- Not reliable for high revving motors.
- Consumes more power.
- Weighs comparatively more.
- Their repair frequency is high.
- This system is comparatively more complex.