 Introduction
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Yes, everyone knows that a train is steered by rails, a car by the driver, at least as long as we are not yet driving autonomously. By the way, why do we talk about this topic so incessantly
when it comes to cars, when it would obviously be much easier to do this with rail vehicles?
Of course, there are already subways without drivers, but why do we still have trains that are so long that tear through the area at 250 km/h? If the engines are in the chassis from the ICE
3, why can't the wagons drive autonomously, of course with an aerodynamic fairing at the front. Think about the possible cycle times.
Back to the topic. The steering cuts the lateral dynamics out of the issue chassis. This is their domain. Only something similar to tie rods can be found on the latter, admittedly connected
to the underbody so that it can move inwards.
The rest that makes up a steering system is missing there. It's unbelievable how many tasks the steering has now taken on. Steering gear, steering column and steering wheel are no
longer enough. After all, as the name suggests, the steering gear has always had a transmission ratio. But in the past this had a completely different task.
Despite more clearance, the steering was much more sluggish. This had to be compensated for by larger gear ratios and larger steering wheels, especially for trucks. Result: It required
many more turns of the steering wheel from stop to stop. Countersteering, for example, was actually only an option for light racing and sports cars. Steering wasn't fun, it was a necessity
to get through the corners.
Maneuvering became sweaty because the wheels had to be turned on the spot. After all, the tires weren't as wide and track-leading as they are today. You can understand it a little by
turning the steering wheel with the engine off. The steering usually also had the most grease nipples. Replacing sliding bushes was part of the normal repertoire of a workshop.
It is unthinkable that while driving the gear ratio would have changed or the wheels would have steered without turning the steering wheel. Under the circumstances described, feedback
through the steering was sought in vain in the production vehicles of the time. The steering remained mechanical, even long after electronics had found their way into the car. Only the
hydraulics had conquered a place as power steering.
All other components are also practically unrecognizable. Just look at the originally continuous steering column, which, depending on the front end, makes an almost intricate path from
the steering wheel to the steering gear. Sometimes it is designed in such a way that the latter does not even have to be changed when converting to left-hand drive. And the whole thing is
still free of clearance despite two knuckle joints.
The joints allow the height of the steering wheel to be adjusted, and longitudinal toothing allow a variable distance from the driver. And also after switching off the engine, it has to be turned
for insurance reasons no longer so that the locking bolt engages. There are vehicles where it is locked in any position.
Probably no part of the steering has changed as much as the steering wheel itself. From a simple round thing with up to three claps to the central control center with buttons, rotary
controls, sliders and paddles for sophisticated functions such as the adaptive cruise control and the operation of the center display. The only thing missing is the display on the steering
wheel itself. Couldn't something like that distract you from looking at the flow of traffic?
The only thing left to remember is the airbag, an extremely important innovation in the field of passive safety. And since you can now control its triggering in a very dosed manner and
based on necessity, it is finally impossible to imagine a car without it. No, all attempts to change the steering even more fundamentally, e.g. through 'Steer By Wire', have so far been
prevented mainly by legal regulations.
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