[elhigh]

You're not the first guy I've heard of, installing an EPS system to free up a few ponies for better performance. Decluttering the engine bay has got to be a plus, too.

What I had been seeing though was that for people looking for an off-the-shelf option, they were splicing in the business end of a Prius column to get the motor and rack. The Prius has some speed-sensitive hardware that it needs for proper function, but in a non-Prius install it defaults to a certain level of assistance so even when lobotomized it still works.

My experience in my HCH was there was a small range of deadness at the center of the steering where it gave no assistance, and beyond that it would suddenly jump in with added torque, causing a jolty ride if you weren't ready for it. I never dug into it much to try to adjust that out, I just got used to it.