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62-521: The Gama Goat was a six-wheel drive semi- amphibious off-road vehicle originally developed for use by the US military in the Vietnam War . The Goat uses an articulated chassis, so that from distance it appears to be a four-wheel drive vehicle pulling a two-wheel trailer, but it is a single six-wheel vehicle with a four-wheel steering arrangement with the front and rear wheels turning in opposite directions. It

124-414: A centering cam which pushed the steering rack and wheel back to the straight-ahead position. The centering force increased with speed, requiring more effort to turn the wheel at greater speeds. Modern speed-sensitive power steering systems reduce the mechanical or electrical assistance as the vehicle speed increases, giving a more direct feel. This feature is gradually becoming more common. For example, it

186-491: A direct steering "feel". This means that the driver can feel the road better and have more precise control over the car's movement. BMW was one of the first manufacturers to adopt rack and pinion steering systems in the 1930s, with many other European manufacturers following suit. Auto manufacturers in the United States began to use rack and pinion steering with the 1974 Ford Pinto . Older designs use two main principles:

248-477: A large wheelbase, while at higher speeds both front and rear wheels turn alike (electronically controlled), so that the vehicle may change position with less yaw and improved build-up of the lateral acceleration, enhancing straight-line stability. The "snaking effect" experienced during motorway drives while towing a travel trailer is thus largely nullified. Four-wheel steering found its most widespread use in monster trucks , where maneuverability in small arenas

310-582: A perceptible lash, or "dead spot" on center, where a minute turn of the steering wheel in either direction does not move the steering apparatus; this is easily adjustable via a screw on the end of the steering box to account for wear, but it cannot be eliminated because it will produce excessive internal forces at other positions and the mechanism will wear very rapidly. This design is still in use in trucks and other large vehicles, where rapidity of steering and direct feel are less important than robustness, maintainability, and mechanical advantage. The worm and sector

372-412: A special type of active four-wheel steering. It operates by steering all wheels in the same direction and at the same angle. Crab steering is used when the vehicle needs to proceed in a straight line but at an angle: when changing lanes on a highway at speed, when moving loads with a reach truck, or during filming with a camera dolly. Rear wheel steering can also be used when the rear wheels may not follow

434-399: A vehicle only has six wheels by definition all are driven. When it has ten – with two pairs of ganged "dual" wheels on each rear axle as on a GMC CCKW – all are also driven but the 6×6 designation remains. For most military applications where traction/mobility are considered more important than payload capability, single wheels on each axle (often referred to as super singles) are

496-640: A version of this electronic four-wheel steering system on the Mazda 626 and MX6 in 1988. The first rally vehicle to use the technology was the Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 , which debuted at the 1988 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Previously, Honda had mechanical four-wheel steering as an option in their 1987–2001 Prelude and Honda Ascot models (1989–1996) later upgrading to electronically controlled. General Motors offered Delphi's Quadrasteer in their Silverado/Sierra and Suburban/Yukon. Due to low demand, GM discontinued

558-428: A vessel can steer the ship only when water is passing over it. Hence, when a ship is not moving relative to the water it is in or cannot move its rudder, it does not respond to the helm and is said to have lost steerage . The motion of a ship through the water is known as making way . Boats on rivers must always be under propulsion, even when traveling downstream, in order to steer, requiring sufficient water to pass over

620-405: Is also possible. A Hydraulic Power Steering (HPS) uses hydraulic pressure supplied by an engine-driven pump to assist the motion of turning the steering wheel. Electric Power Steering (EPS) is more efficient than hydraulic power-steering, since the electric power-steering motor only needs to provide assistance when the steering wheel is turned, whereas the hydraulic pump must run constantly. In EPS,

682-424: Is critical, and it is also popular in large farm vehicles and trucks. Some of the modern European Intercity buses also utilize four-wheel steering to assist maneuverability in bus terminals, and also to improve road stability. Mazda were pioneers in applying four-wheel steering to automobiles, showing it on their 1984 Mazda MX-02 concept car, where the rear wheels counter-steered at low speeds. Mazda proceeded to offer

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744-431: Is normally achieved by changing the rates of the rubber bushings in the suspension. Some suspensions typically have compliance oversteer due to geometry, such as Hotchkiss live axles , semi-trailing arm IRS, and rear twist beams, but may be mitigated by revisions to the pivot points of the leaf spring or trailing arm, or additional suspension links, or complex internal geometry of the bushings. Passive rear-wheel steering

806-415: Is not a new concept, as it has been in use for many years, although not always recognized as such. Articulated steering is a system by which a vehicle is split into front and rear halves which are connected by a vertical hinge. The front and rear halves are connected with one or more hydraulic cylinders that change the angle between the halves, including the front and rear axles and wheels, thus steering

868-416: Is that of caster angle . Each wheel is steered with a pivot point ahead of the wheel, which tends to make the steering self-centered in the direction of travel. The steering linkages connecting the steering box and the wheels usually conform to a variation of Ackermann steering geometry , to account for the fact that in a turn, the inner wheel travels in a path of smaller radius than the outer wheel, so that

930-543: The ThrustSSC . In cars, rear-wheel steering tends to be unstable because, in turns, the steering geometry changes, hence decreasing the turn radius (oversteer), rather than increasing it (understeer). Rear-wheel steering is meant for slower vehicles that need high-maneuverability in tight spaces, e.g. fork lifts. For heavy haulage or for increased maneuverability, some semi-trailers are fitted with rear-wheel steering, controlled electro-hydraulically. The wheels on all or some of

992-457: The bushings to correct this tendency and steer the wheels slightly to the inside of the corner. This improves the stability of the car through the turn. This effect is called compliance understeer ; it, or its opposite, is present on all suspensions. Typical methods of achieving compliance understeer are to use a Watt's link on a live rear axle, or the use of toe control bushings on a twist beam suspension . On an independent rear suspension it

1054-435: The propeller pod only (i.e., Volvo Penta IPS drive). Steering wheels may be used to control the rudder or propeller. Modern ships with diesel-electric drive use azimuth thrusters . Boats powered by oars or paddles are steered by generating a higher propulsion force on the side of the boat opposite of the direction of turn. Jet skis are steered by weight-shift induced roll and water jet thrust vectoring . The rudder of

1116-764: The "general purpose" vehicle the Army had hoped for, and production was halted after the original contract expired. The air-cooled engine used in the original prototypes overheated in use, and was replaced in the production vehicles with a liquid-cooled Detroit 3-53 Diesel engine . Due to the high-intensity noise from the two-stroke Diesel engine, the drivers required hearing protection. The double hull construction and complex articulated drivetrain made maintenance difficult (the lubrication order alone took around six hours). In service in Vietnam, Gama Goats would often be sent out ahead of other vehicles in order to arrive at their destination at

1178-471: The 1959 Mercedes-Benz W111 Fintail, along with crumple zones. This safety feature first appeared on cars built by General Motors after an extensive and very public lobbying campaign enacted by Ralph Nader . Ford started to install collapsible steering columns in 1968. Audi used a retractable steering wheel and seat belt tensioning system called procon-ten , but it has since been discontinued in favor of airbags and pyrotechnic seat belt pre-tensioners. See

1240-459: The 1970s, so as to improve vehicle response and aim to allow for more comfortable steering, especially at high speeds. He also created a low cost press forging process to manufacture the racks, eliminating the need to machine the gear teeth. Other arrangements are sometimes found on different types of vehicles; for example, a tiller or rear-wheel steering. Tracked vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks usually employ differential steering , where

1302-498: The Southeast Asia theatre, as well as other projects of interest to the then-looming Vietnam War . Of 50 companies solicited for XM561 proposals, six entered the competition, including Clark , General Motors and LeTourneau Technologies , but on 15 March 1963, the research & development contract was awarded to Chance Vought division of LTV Aerospace , Dallas, Texas , best known for their combat aircraft (though, actually

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1364-409: The amount of assistance is easily tunable to the vehicle type, road speed, and driver preference. An added benefit is the elimination of the environmental hazard posed by leakage and disposal of hydraulic power-steering fluid. In addition, electrical assistance is not lost when the engine fails or stalls, whereas hydraulic assistance stops working if the engine stops, making the steering doubly heavy as

1426-494: The apparatus. Thus, they are "recirculated". The recirculating ball mechanism gives a driver a greater mechanical advantage, resulting in its use on larger, heavier vehicles, while the rack and pinion would originally be limited to smaller and lighter ones; due to the almost universal adoption of power steering , however, this is no longer considered an important advantage, leading to the increasing use of rack and pinion mechanisms on newer cars. The recirculating ball design also has

1488-415: The axis of the sector moves the pitman arm , which is connected to the steering linkage and thus steers the wheels. The recirculating ball version of this apparatus reduces the considerable friction by placing large ball bearings between the screw and the nut. At either end of the apparatus, the balls exit from between the two pieces into a channel internal to the box, which connects them with the other end of

1550-460: The capstan and bowstring mechanism) is also found on some home-built vehicles such as soapbox cars and recumbent tricycles . Power steering helps the driver of a vehicle to steer by directing some of its engine power to assist in swiveling the steered road wheels about their steering axes. As vehicles have become heavier and switched to front-wheel drive , particularly using negative offset geometry, along with increases in tire width and diameter,

1612-471: The company did have some experience in designing ground vehicles, particularly, a predecessor of Gama Goat, but they didn't have the truck assembly lines and production experience comparable to those of the mentioned car manufacturers). The principal competitor to the Goat was a tracked XM571 Articulated Utility Carrier developed by Canadair Ltd. of Montreal (yet another aerospace company,) which eventually lost

1674-445: The contest. The research and development contract for the Goat was completed by LTV at cost of about $ 8.7 million, over three times more expensive than when it had been awarded. The vehicle weighed almost three times as much as originally requested by the military and specified by the operational requirements (2,500 lb or 1,100 kg). Field testing had not been completed before the mass production order had been issued. During

1736-573: The current 5, 6, and 7 series, as an option. Renault introduced an optional all-wheel steering called '4control' in 2009, at first on the Laguna GT , which is currently available on the Talisman , Mégane and Espace vehicle lines. In 2013, Porsche introduced a system on the 911 Turbo as standard equipment. Since 2016, the Panamera has been offered with optional all-wheel steering. The 2014 Audi Q7

1798-405: The degree of toe suitable for driving in a straight path is not suitable for turns. The angle the wheels make in the vertical plane, known as camber angle , also influences steering dynamics as do the tires. Steering wheel turning is often measured in terms of number of full 360-degree turns to go lock-to-lock . This is when the steering input mechanism is restrained at its mechanical limit from

1860-538: The driver must now turn not only the very heavy steering—without any help—but also the power-assistance system itself. Speed-sensitive steering allows for highly assisted steering at low speeds for maneuverability, and lightly assisted steering at high speed for stability. The first vehicle with this feature was the Citroën SM with its DIRAVI system, first sold in France in 1970. The hydraulic steering system applied force on

1922-437: The driver to change the direction of the front wheels. The mechanism may include a rack and pinion mechanism that converts several turns of the steering wheel into a large linear displacement. Alternatively, it may use a recirculating ball system. The mechanism may be power-assisted , usually by hydraulic or electrical means. The use of a variable rack (still using a normal pinion) was invented by Arthur Ernest Bishop in

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1984-493: The effort needed to turn the wheels about their steering axis has increased, often to the point where major physical exertion would be needed were it not for power assistance. To alleviate this, auto makers have developed power steering systems, or more correctly power-assisted steering, since on road-going vehicles there has to be a mechanical linkage as a fail-safe . There are two types of power steering systems: hydraulic and electric/electronic. A hydraulic-electric hybrid system

2046-537: The field tests, it had not been able to go 20,000 miles (32,000 km) without a breakdown. Final construction of the vehicles was conducted by the Consolidated Diesel Electric Company (CONDEC) at their factory in Charlotte, North Carolina (on 11 June 1968, the Army awarded them a 3-year contract for 15,274 vehicles, 13,516 Army and 1,758 Marine Corps, at a total price of about $ 132.1 million, on

2108-443: The full right-turn stop to the left-turn stop. Many modern cars have a steering mechanism called a rack and pinion . The steering wheel turns a pinion gear, which moves a rack back and forth to steer the wheels. This mechanism converts the circular motion of the steering wheel to linear motion , which is applied to the wheels of the car via tie rods and a steering knuckle . Rack and pinion steering has several advantages, such as

2170-442: The lean of the rider and the bicycle: Ships and boats are usually steered with a rudder . Depending on the size of the vessel, rudders can be manually actuated, or operated using a servomechanism , or a trim tab or servo tab system. Rowing may be used to steer rowboats by using specific paddle strokes . Boats using outboard motors steer by rotating the entire drive unit. Boats with inboard motors sometimes steer by rotating

2232-417: The mid to late 2020s. Traditionally, cars feature a collapsible steering column (energy absorbing steering column) which will collapse in the event of a heavy frontal impact to avoid excessive injuries to the driver. Airbags are also generally fitted as standard. Non-collapsible steering columns fitted to older vehicles very often impaled drivers in frontal crashes, particularly when the steering box or rack

2294-435: The mid-1950s, and some German carmakers did not give up recirculating ball technology until the early 1990s. Other systems for steering exist, but are uncommon on road vehicles. Children's toys and go-karts often use a very direct linkage in the form of a bellcrank (also commonly known as a pitman arm) attached directly between the steering column and the steering arms, and the use of cable-operated steering linkages (e.g.

2356-427: The norm. Heavy hauler and ballast tractor 6×6s have had a long history as prime movers both in the military (as tank transports and artillery tractors ), and commercially in logging and heavy equipment hauling both on- and off-road . Most six-wheel drive vehicles have a forward axle and two at the rear (with only the front pair steering), or three evenly spaced in varying steering configurations. Depending on

2418-399: The path taken by the front wheel tracks (e.g. to reduce soil compaction when using rolling farm equipment). Many modern vehicles have passive rear-wheel steering. On many vehicles, when cornering, the rear wheels tend to steer slightly to the outside of a turn, which can reduce stability. The passive steering system uses the lateral forces generated in a turn (through suspension geometry) and

2480-457: The rear axles may be turned through different angles to enable tighter cornering, or through the same angle (crab steering) to move the rear of the trailer laterally. The aim of steer-by-wire technology is to completely remove as many mechanical components (steering shaft, column, gear reduction mechanism, etc.) as possible. Completely replacing conventional steering system with steer-by-wire has several advantages, such as: Steer-by-wire without

2542-456: The rear wheels are steered by a computer and actuators. The rear wheels generally cannot turn as far as the front wheels. There can be controls to switch off the rear steering and options to steer only the rear wheels independently of the front wheels. At low speed (e.g. parking) the rear wheels turn opposite to the front wheels, reducing the turning radius, sometimes critical for large trucks, tractors, vehicles with trailers and passenger cars with

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2604-551: The rear, and an integrated "roll steer" function built into the suspension design. All 6x6 Australia Pty Ltd vehicles are ADR-compliant with IPA for both "heavy" and "light" vehicles. Steering Steering is the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, and many more. Aircraft flight control systems are normally steered when airborne by

2666-451: The rudder at high speeds. Missiles, airships and large hovercraft are usually steered by a rudder, thrust vectoring , or both. Small sport hovercraft have similar rudders, but steer mostly by the pilot shifting their weight from side to side and unbalancing the more powerful lift forces beneath the skirt. Jet packs and flying platforms are steered by thrust vectoring only. Helicopter flight controls are steered by cyclic control, changing

2728-726: The same day Detroit Diesel Division of General Motors received $ 30 million 3-year contract for the engines). CONDEC also had factories in Schenectady, New York , where the Gama Goat was originally manufactured, and in Greenwich, Connecticut , where the parts for the Gama Goat were produced. In the early 1960s, the company moved to Waterbury, Connecticut for a few years, then closed their plants in New York and Connecticut to move to Charlotte, North Carolina for cheaper labor and facilities. The Gama Goat

2790-405: The same time. While technically listed as amphibious , the Gama Goat's swimming capability was limited to smooth water crossings of ponds, canals and streams due to the very low freeboard and the lack of a propeller. Propulsion in the water was supplied by the six spinning wheels, and bilge pumps were standard equipment. Drivers had to remember to close the hull's drain openings before swimming

2852-417: The section § Bicycles . Differential steering is the primary means of steering tracked vehicles , such as tanks and bulldozers; it is also used in certain wheeled vehicles commonly known as skid-steers , and implemented in some automobiles, where it is called torque vectoring , to augment steering by changing wheel direction relative to the vehicle. The bicycle is steered by turning the handlebar and by

2914-457: The technology at the end of the 2005 model year. Nissan/Infiniti offer several versions of their HICAS system as standard or as an option in much of their line-up. In the early 2000s, a new generation of four-wheel steering systems was introduced into the market. In 2001 BMW equipped the E65 7 series with an all-wheel steering system (optional, called 'Integral Active Steering'), which is available on

2976-436: The thrust vector of the main rotor(s), and by anti-torque control, usually provided by a tail rotor. A conventional automotive steering arrangement allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle by turning the direction of the front wheels using a hand–operated steering wheel positioned in front of the driver. The steering wheel is attached to a steering column , which is linked to rods, pivots and gears that allow

3038-422: The tracks are made to move at different speeds or in opposite directions, using the clutch and brakes, to achieve a change of direction. Common steering system components include: The basic aim of steering is to ensure that the wheels are pointing in the desired direction to move the vehicle as required. This is typically achieved by a series of linkages, rods, pivots, and gears. One of the fundamental concepts

3100-410: The use of ailerons , spoileron , or both to bank the aircraft into a turn; although the rudder can also be used to turn the aircraft, it is usually used to minimize adverse yaw , rather than as a means to directly cause the turn. On the ground, aircraft are generally steered at low speeds by turning the nosewheel or tailwheel (using a tiller or the rudder pedals) or through differential braking, and by

3162-795: The use of a steering column was first offered in a production car with the Nissan Infiniti Q50 in 2013. Steer-by-wire continued to be offered with the QX50 and QX55, and as of 2022 is being offered with the Infiniti Q60 coupe. Production battery electric vehicles in the 2020s that offer steer-by-wire with no steering column include the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle , Lexus RZ 450e , REE Automotive P7-module -based vehicles, Toyota bZ4X , and Tesla Cybertruck . As of 2023 Lotus , Peugeot , and Mercedes-Benz plan to offer steer-by-wire cars in

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3224-459: The vehicle's role, the number of wheels varies between six (in three pairs) and ten (with two in the front and two dual axles with four wheels apiece in the rear). Drive may be limited to the rear two axles for on-road use. Military Military/commercial Commercial Conversions Recreational ATV/UTV Concept car , testbed , and limited production commercial examples include: Twin front axle Twin rear axle (Twin axle) drive in

3286-755: The vehicle. This system does not use steering arms, king pins, tie rods, etc. as does four-wheel steering. If the vertical hinge is placed equidistant between the two axles, it also eliminates the need for a central differential in four-wheel drive vehicles, as both front and rear axles will follow the same path, and thus rotate at the same speed. Articulated haulers have very good off-road performance. Vehicle-trailer-combinations such as semi-trailers, road trains , articulated buses , and internal transport trolley trains can be regarded as passively-articulated vehicles. A few types of vehicle use only rear-wheel steering, notably fork lift trucks , camera dollies , early pay loaders , Buckminster Fuller 's Dymaxion car , and

3348-407: The vehicles. Some models had extra equipment installed that made them too heavy to swim, such as heavy-duty winches, communications shelters that made them top heavy, or radar gear. It was designed to be air-transportable and droppable by parachute . In May 1972 Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos) cited the following problems as a result of examining 566 vehicles: Six-wheel drive When such

3410-417: The worm and sector design and the screw and nut. Both types were enhanced by reducing the friction; for screw and nut it is the recirculating ball mechanism, which is still found on trucks and utility vehicles. The steering column turns a large screw, which meshes with the nut by recirculating balls. The nut moves a sector of a gear, causing it to rotate about its axis as the screw is turned; an arm attached to

3472-539: Was an older design, used for example in Willys and Chrysler vehicles, and the Ford Falcon (1960s). To reduce friction, the sector is replaced by a roller or rotating pins on the rocker shaft arm. Generally, older vehicles use the recirculating ball mechanism, and only newer vehicles use rack-and-pinion steering. This division is not very strict, however, and rack-and-pinion steering systems can be found on British sports cars of

3534-449: Was famous for its ability to travel over exceptionally rough and muddy terrain. The vehicle's nickname came from two sources: "Gama" from the name of the inventor of its powered articulated joint, Roger Gamaunt, and "Goat" for its mountain goat-like off-road ability. Its military designation was M561, 6×6 tactical 1¼-ton truck . There was also an ambulance version known as the M792 . The vehicle

3596-680: Was launched with an optional system. Also the Japanese OEMs offer luxury segment vehicles equipped with all-wheel steering, such as Infiniti on its QX70 model ('Rear Active Steering') and Lexus on the GS. Italian manufacturers have launched the technology in the model years 2016–17 with the Ferrari F12tdf , the Ferrari GTC4Lusso as well as the Lamborghini Aventador S . Crab steering is

3658-412: Was mounted in front of the front axle line, at the front of the crumple zone . This was particularly a problem on vehicles that had a rigid separate chassis frame with no crumple zone. Many modern vehicle steering boxes or racks are mounted behind the front axle on the front bulkhead, at the rear of the front crumple zone. Collapsible steering columns were invented by Béla Barényi and were introduced in

3720-524: Was replaced by a variety of Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles and Humvees . The concept for the vehicle came when the French Army reported that the United States Army trucks provided to them were woefully inadequate for the terrain in Vietnam. In 1959, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) (now known as DARPA ) funded a research project called Project "Agile" to develop a new tactical truck for

3782-662: Was replaced in the late 1980s by a variety of CUCVs and "Humvees" (HMMWV). Overall, some 14,274 Gama Goats were built at a cost of US$ 8,000 each (1965 dollars; equivalent to $ 77,347 in 2023); this was considered quite high at the time. 12,516 were slated for the US Army and 1,758 for the USMC. While the Gama Goat had exceptional off-road ability, its quirky steering made it hard to handle on pavement, and its tendency to flounder in amphibious operations required drivers to have special training in order to operate it. This meant that it could not be

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3844-477: Was used on a production pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck, in 2023. Four-wheel steering is a system employed by some vehicles to improve steering response, increase vehicle stability while maneuvering at high speed, or to decrease turning radius at low speed. In an active four-wheel steering system, all four wheels turn at the same time when the driver steers. In most active four-wheel steering systems,

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