As the title says, what is it and do i want it???


Also why can one only get it with the premium package?


Thanks

 

4 wheel steering to put it simply.
It is a dirivative of the Super Hicas design used in the Z in the early 90's

 

It only comes in a package deal because they want to sell you more stuff that you may not want , need or buy in order to get what you want- rear active steer.

To me it is quite gimmicky. I don't think that it will make that great of a difference in your handling. I have not seen a 4WS system in the past (when it was first popular) that made a difference in the handling.

Low speed maneuvers will probably be aided by this system but that's about it IMO.

 

I am gonna agree that all its good for is a tighter u turn

 

i have it. and the handling is improved a lot... compared to the regular g's, if you guys try to do the same turns at the same MPH as i do, ur car will end up in a ditch and against a brick wall. (search and see those pics).

just test drive one with and w/o one, you can fell the difference. is it worth an extra 700... its all up to you. was it worth it for me? nope. but hell, might as well right?

it makes ur car that much funner when ur hugging those corners like nothing. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

 

It adjusts the angle of the rear wheels while turning. It's very slight, you'll never see it. The big benefit is that Infiniti coupled this with a tighter turning radius on the RAS cars. Do a U-turn in both and you'll really notice the difference.

 

how do you know if you have RAS?

 

random, i know, but the prelude sh's also have rear active steer... just thought i might add.

 

I bought the car with the RAS and its a worldddd of difference compared to the regular G's! I really couldnt imagine owning a G Coupe without it!

 

I have RAS, and I think the car does handle better than non RAS Gs. Went to a track south of Fort Worth, Texas with some other new G owners. Those with RAS were eating up the non-RAS is a long, sweeping, decreasing radius corner, and were able to carry more speed out of most corners.

I will disagree with comments on the tighter turning radius. I don't think the RAS activates until speeds exceed 25MPH, so I don't see much of an advantage on typical u-turns.

For everyday use, I doubt you would know the RAS is there.

One drawback with the RAS is that you are pretty much stuck with the stock exhaust until someone comes up with a workaround.

 

Does anyone know if RAS helps prolong tire wear in the back. That would be a great test to run if you could get 2 cars (one with and one without RAS) New set of tires for each car and a day at the track.

 

Hmm I would believe that you could eat a bit more traction with the RAS because it adjusts the camber of the rear tires a few degrees. I'm sure if you are pulling hard enough thru a turn and the wheels are moving back and forth then you would have certain spots of more tire wear. In terms of the U-turn radius the non-RAS and RAS are the same. The RAS system only activates after 12mph. So low speeds it doesn't do anything at all. But if you love to do highway driving/racing around you will immediately feel the difference in handling! The whole steering wheel feels stiffer and alot more responsive to the driver inputs. A good way to test to see what I'm talking about is to find someone with an RAS car. When driving in a straight line just shimmy the wheel left and right real quick like you are trying to see how much body roll the car has. Compare that in the RAS car to the non-RAS and you'll know exactly how much of a difference it makes. And COWJAZZ your comment about the drawback with RAS in terms of exhaust isn't true. I have the RAS on my car and also have the Borla true dual ss exhaust. Unfortunately it is the only exhaust that will fit cars with the RAS currently. I didn't have any fitment issues with the RAS servo under the car to put the exhaust in. You can always have a shop do custom work on whatever exhaust you get to make it fit. I'm sure aftermarket companies will realize they have to make their exhausts capable of working around the RAS because of future models. According to Infiniti averagely 60% of the new body design '08 coupes will be RAS. Cause its thats awesome! haha

 

It handles better through turns, but only when you're really pushing it.
Don't really know what speed it activates, as the manual doesn't disclose that, but it does not activate at low speeds. The manual states that fact.

When it activates, it turns the rear wheels momentarily in opposite direction and then changes to the same direction of front wheels, up to 5 degrees I've read somewhere.
It basically helps you not slide the back end out to the point of losing it and allows you to take turns at a faster speed than non RAS.
The steering ratio is 15.1:1 as compared to non RAS of 15.9:1 and the ratio is speed controlled, hence how much the rear wheels turn depending on your speed in the turn.

I've only pushed it a few times to feel the effect. When I felt the back end starting to slide out (VDC off ) and still kept it under acceleration, next thing I know, the sliding decreases and shoots me out of the turn. Very odd but awesome feeling once you realize what just happened.

You are not stuck with oem exhaust with this system, as previously mentioned. Many aftermarket exhausts will work fine, but some will have interference with the RAS servo depending on their design. Mainly the true dual designs that don't use the oem muffler design and location will have this issue.
Aftermarket systems that use a 'Y' pipe will not interfer obviously, being it's only one pipe and uses oem pipe location only.

Here's my Injen SES Track Edition Dual Exhaust. This one does hit the servo. I believe HKS Hi Power true dual does also.


If you like twisties or tracking, then I'd say it's worth the extra 700-750 bones for RAS.

 

Good info on the exhausts for RAS. Thanks.

 

glad to help out fellow G riders!